September 8, 2023
Dear Friends,
On behalf of our Board of Directors and our staff team, I am writing to let you know that NYAPRS will be enhancing our state and national impact as the newly re-branded Alliance for Rights and Recovery, effective October 9th, 2023.
Promoting human rights, social justice, self-determination, community integration and recovery-centered rehabilitation and peer delivered services has always been at the center of our mission, dating back to when we were formed as the New York Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services in 1981 and when we expanded our big tent and efforts as the renamed New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services almost a decade later.
Since then, we’ve been frequently asked to advocate alongside the nation’s premiere national advocacy organizations, often serving as the only statewide recovery focused and peer-led member of a long list of coalitions and campaigns. For some time, national media have regularly sought our reactions and recommendations on a host of policy related developments.
We’ve also been engaged to lead or partner in a number of national and state training, technical assistance and research initiatives that have advanced recovery culture and culturally responsive peer and rehabilitation values, practices and models, including the original NYAPRS Peer Bridger Model™ that we created in 1993.
As a result, we’ve been encouraged to take on a more intentional national role by our community members, state and national partners and a number of federal agencies.
Accordingly, our most recent board strategic planning process produced a recommendation that we take the steps necessary to engage in a rebranding process and increase our national presence and impact.
After much consideration and discussions with our members and partners, we will be moving forward in this direction on October 9th, shortly after this year’s NYAPRS Annual Conference.
After the date, we will identify ourselves as the Alliance for Rights and Recovery (formerly NYAPRS) in all of our communications, materials, newly redesigned website and enhanced internet presence.
As the Alliance for Rights and Recovery, our broadened national focus and profile will make our support and impact on behalf of our New York and national grassroots recovery and peer support communities that much stronger and successful, allowing us to tap into a more extensive and diverse set of national resources and opportunities to strengthen our commitment to advance our mission, movement and the priorities of our greater community.
We are excited about these developments and enthusiastically look forward to partnering with you to strengthen our shared efforts to promote the rights, recovery, wellness and success of our community members across the nation.
As always, please feel free to share your thoughts and recommendations with us at harveyr@nyaprs.org.
Thank you,
Harvey