Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.
Joseph Campbell
Our Philosophy
Encourage Positive Development. Promote Self-Sufficiency. Foster Independence.
Volunteers of America is a non-profit human services organization committed to serving people in need, strengthening families, and building communities.
Volunteers of America was founded in 1896 on a core belief in the potential of every person no matter the circumstance. Since then, we have been transforming the lives of America’s most vulnerable, including children and families from under–served communities, at–risk youth, Veterans, individuals and families struggling with homelessness, men and women returning from prison, victims of human trafficking, and people challenged with addictions and substance use.
We help all people realize their full potential through relevant programs and services that have an impact that is deep, resulting in a change in the way they see themselves and the world; broad, extending beyond individuals to their families and communities; and long-lasting, outlasting the time spent with us. Our programs receive continual improvements resulting from ongoing evaluations.
At Volunteers of America Los Angeles (VOALA), we see the potential in all people to rewrite the story they are living and build skills that will allow them to face challenges with positivity and resilience. Although the people we serve face extreme obstacles and have doubts about their future and the ability to improve it, they all have exceptional strength and potential. It’s our job to make sure that potential is realized.
In VOALA programs people learn that they are the authors of their own stories and able to make positive choices that move them toward an empowered future. Every day, we combine deep compassion, highly effective programs, and an unshakable belief in each person’s innate health and strength, to achieve what many consider “impossible.”
6 FUNDAMENTALS THAT GUIDE US IN EVERYTHING WE DO EVERY SINGLE DAY
Cultivating an AWARENESS of our stories helps us recognize the impact they have
Cultivating an AWARENESS of our stories helps us recognize the impact they have
Developing the ABILITY to reframe our stories can help us authentically transform our lives
Being of service and GIVING opens us to self-empowerment and unconditional love
Focusing on our STRENGTHS will help us access and reinforce our innate health
Knowing that increased HAPPINESS is attainable for everyone gives us hope and faith
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Friends,
Our commitment to bring lasting solutions has led us to embrace a health – rather than illness – model in all of our services. While the people we serve certainly face challenges of poverty and other obstacles, we do not regard them in any way as ill, disabled, or damaged. A major influencer of this perspective is the Jesuit theologian/scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. One of Teilhard’s sayings is “The whole of life lies in the verb ‘seeing’.” What he meant by this is that authentic reality is something beyond our senses and thinking, what in theological terms he calls ‘the body of Christ’ and in scientific terms he calls ‘consciousness’. He means all people are one, without separation, in this profound spiritual reality and, therefore, all people regardless of their station in life enjoy the same measure of innate spiritual health. He also means that we see ourselves in every other person and we are drawn to that person with curiosity and compassion. How does VOALA translate this into practical and accessible terms for its staff and the people they work with? The approach is called Storywork which is a unique creation of the organization. Storywork simply asserts that negative emotions which we all struggle with are the products of the retelling of stories we have learned about ourselves which have become so habitual we are not even aware of their telling. On the contrary, we are all born with the capacity for a healthy, positive and constructive outlook.
This innate capacity for common sense, mature judgment and wisdom is always available. It emerges from within, akin to Teilhard’s ‘seeing’, as a much better alternative to viewing life than looking through, and being wedded to, the ‘filters’ of stories learned via upbringing, culture, environment or other sources of conditioning.
I am grateful for your support of our efforts as we continue to serve those that are in need. It is in giving to something greater than ourselves, we find the greatness in ourselves.
Sincerely,
Bob Pratt
President, Volunteers of America Los Angeles