Dylan Croft
"What has Artreach done for me? Do you mean besides giving me the self-confidence to complete my college degree? And besides helping me learn to trust people? And besides assisting me to accept myself as who and what I am? Would that also be besides giving me a sense of family? Besides all that? By being involved with Artreach I have learned to reach down into myself to find my smile and receive the gift of laughter."

Sam Bliven
"Artreach (and the Second Step Players) helps me be creative in the shadow of limitations...to standup instead of giving up. Besides acting , I am blessed to be a board member of such a quality agency. Artreach has been a great place of growth and healing!!"

Cory Bridwell, Psy.D. says "I saw your troupe perform at Yale's Recovery Conference last Tuesday. I was a first time audience member, and an instantaneous fan. I LOVED IT! Theater usually doesn't appeal to me too much, but you had me in belly laughs! I am going to advocate that all the staff at our psychiatric clinic attend your show."

Anonymous
"Best part of the conference. I especially enjoyed when they introduced themselves and their own personal mental history. BRAVO"

Anonymous
"It was a wonderful production and was great at promoting awareness on various mental health issues, also was a great ice-breaker!"

Anonymous

"That performance is a master piece in the making and deserves national media coverage."

The Morning Call, Allentown, PA
"...a relevant and irreverent look at mental illness."

Norwich Bulletin, Norwich, Conn.
"This is theater at its best: rich, funny, touching, always surprising."

Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine
"The skits are performed by people who have been there... are not ashamed to admit they have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, for example..."

Stephen J. Bistran, Assistant Director, Northwest Mental Health Authority
On behalf of the Northwest Mental Health Authority, I would like to express both our congratulations and our heartfelt thanks to you and your troupe for your performances in Torrington on Thursday, November 1, 2007.

I have only heard repeated expressions of compliments and praise from those who were fortunate enough to see one of the performances; and the praise has come from people in recovery, their families, the general public and service providers.

Not only were the performances informational and contribute to the reduction of stigma endured by people recovering from mental illness but they also served to inspire all attendees to believe that recovery is possible. Please express our special thanks to the members of the Second Step Players cast who courageously, humorously and with aplomb portrayed a diverse and entertaining cast of characters and who openly shared their stories and answered questions from the audience.