Update: To view a clip from the video online, go to: www.hireus.org and click on Employer Perceptions Video in left box

Work Works is not only the name of the video we produced recently, but also of an article I wrote and our motto at Vocational Opportunity Works! (VOW) the supported employment program for which I work. While many of us think of work as an unfortunate necessity, we don't realize it's importance or what it's like not to be able to work. I believe through my personal and professional experiences that work is an essential part of recovery from mental illness. This is why I do what I do. Please take the time to read attached articles and find out more about the video. Thanks - George

Link to Work Works! Article by George V. Nostrand

Link to Rutland Herald Article: A Different Mind by Kevin O'Conner

Work Works!

A Community Video Project

Work Works , is a 30-minute, documentary-style video that looks at how work

can play an important role in the lives of people with mental illness.

Addressing a variety of topics, through interviews with a wide range of people,

this video speaks frankly and from the heart.

This video was part of a Community Video Project. A grant from the Orton Family Foundation (www.orton.org ) and funds from Rutland Mental Health Services along support from a few private donors made this possible. Over a hundred people were involved in making this video, many of them people with mental illness.

Read Review --Counterpoint, Spring 2005 issue in PDF format
Read Review --Counterpoint, Spring 2005 issue in HTML format

Major support for this project was provided by Marcos Levy of The New Learning Project

Here’s what a few people had to say about Work Works:

“Anyone expecting an amateur production out of the community video project, “Work Works!” will be caught off guard by this well-paced and educational look at the role of work in our lives, and in particular, how it affects the lives of persons with mental illness.”

~ Anne Donahue, Counterpoint Spring 2005

"Here is a must-see film! This video takes a refreshingly honest and personal approach by interviewing individuals about the twists and turns in their own journey, from first learning of and accepting a mental illness to finding their place in the work world. Sit down, watch this video, and prepare for an attitudinal shift, and then pass it on!"

~ Denise Bissonnette, Diversity World

If would like more information on how to get a copy or you would like us to present the video in your area call George Nostrand  at: (802) 786-4935 ---or e-mail:  gnostrand@rmhsccn.org

Thanks,
George V. Nostrand