Our History

Portland Hearing Voices was founded in 2008 by Will Hall and quickly grew to a broad grassroots volunteer effort. Since then, we’ve facilitated hundreds of support groups (up to three times a week with 15-30+ participants) and dozens of community events that served many hundreds of voice hearers, people who experience different realities, trauma survivors, people diagnosed with psychosis, bipolar and schizophrenia, community members, mental health professionals, and family members.

We’ve created safe spaces, understanding, and awareness surrounding voice-hearing, different realities, vision-seeing and other unique experiences and states of mind. We’ve supported many people in staying out of crisis and the hospitals, in finding support and friends, connecting with resources, and come out of the shadows. We accomplished all this on grassroots volunteerism and donations, without any salaried budget, public contracts, or pharmaceutical company sponsorship.

Portland Hearing Voices Flyer 2012

We’ve formed many alliances with organizations such as Folktime, Mental Health Association of Portland, Empowerment Initiatives, Icarus Project, Outside In, Write Around Portland, Portland State University, Zen Peacemakers, Powell’s Books, Backspace, and many others. We were covered on KATU tv and on the cover of the Portland Mercury newspaper, and Portland Hearing Voices co-sponsors Madness Radio monthly on KBOO FM, first Monday of the month at 11:30am.

Due to limited resources Portland Hearing Voices suspended our Empowerment Initiatives and Outside In support groups a few years ago, and since then we have been working to develop more readiness in the region for these innovative approaches.

We are also looking for volunteers, support and resources!

Media Coverage

Newsweek: The Growing Push for “Mad Pride” — Newsweek profile of Will Hall. Magazine pdf here.

Check out the KATU local news coverage — ‘mad’ men and women embrace their mental health issues.

Portland Mercury newspaper cover story: Mad Medicine A New Group for People Who Hear Voices Celebrates Mental Diversity .

Portland Hearing Voice on Blogtown.

Mental Health PDX: Meet Kate Hill.

KBOO: Exploring Mental Diversity – An Interview with Portland Hearing Voices

What are the goals of Portland Hearing Voices?

  • Public education events
  • Regular peer-run Extreme States and Voices group. All groups low-income
    accessible.
  • Training and consulting for mental health, social service providers, and the community on mental diversity.
  • Resource referrals to non-judgmental counseling,
    holistic healthcare, and other support.
  • Monthly KBOO FM program Madness Radio, first Monday of the month at 11:30am
  • Website portal to
    resources and learning about hearing voices and unusual sensory
    experiences.
  • Opportunities to meet each other and weave a
    community together.

How can we help Portland Hearing Voices?