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7/16/23, 5:24 PM Community Highlights: Meet Debbie Yones of Voices of Hope for Aphasia - VoyageTampa
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JANUARY 26, 2021
Community Highlights: Meet

Debbie Yones of Voices of Hope for
Aphasia
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 TWEET Today we’d like to introduce you to
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Debbie Yones. STORIES THAT INSPIRE
BUSINESSES & CREATIVES YOU
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Hi Debbie, we’d love for you to start by COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS:

MEET PETER GREENE
introducing yourself.
Thank you. I am a Speech-Language
Pathologist and the I am proud to be the
Executive Director of Voices of Hope for
Aphasia, a community-based non-profit
in Tampa Bay. If you don’t know what
“aphasia” is, you are not alone.
You probably remember the ice bucket

challenge and the awareness it raised for
ALS research. You may know someone
with Parkinson’s Disease. But did you
know there is a disorder that affects twice
as many people as Parkinson’s and 150
times more people than ALS? That
disorder is aphasia. And as much as it
affects so many of our friends, neighbors,
and community members – many of us
have no idea what it is.
CONNECT
To help people understand a little bit


what it might be like to live with aphasia,
I like to use this (admittedly simplified) 
analogy : Take a minute to imagine…. You

Trending find yourself
open your eyes and STORIES in a
THAT INSPIRE BUSINESSES & CREATIVES
foreign country. You can’t speak the

language. You approach a woman and ask
a question, but she shakes her head. She
says something back, but you don’t
understand. You’re scared, confused, and
feel alone. Now imagine you’re sitting on
your own bed, in your own home, having
the same experience. Your spouse says
something to you, but you don’t
understand. You respond, but it doesn’t
sound the way you want it to, the way you
know it should. You can’t find the words…
That’s a little like what it feel to have
aphasia. And it affects 40% of all stroke
survivors, as well as individuals with
traumatic brain injury.
More specifically, aphasia is a language

disorder that happens due to damage to
the parts of the brain that processes
language. It is the loss of language, but
CONNECT
not intellect, and it affects 23,000 people
in Tampa Bay alone. Aphasia limits a 
person’s ability to participate in activities

that the rest of us take or granted: having

Trending STORIES
a voice in discussions with THAT
doctors about
INSPIRE BUSINESSES & CREATIVES
our own care, staying connected to

friends and family by phone or email, or
participating in everyday activities that
make up a full and engaging life: book
clubs, spiritual services, even the joy of
writing a birthday card to a grandchild. As
prevalent as this life-altering disorder is,
few resources exist for people living with
aphasia.
Voices of Hope for Aphasia was formed to

provide people with aphasia and their
families the support, engagement, and
education to continue to thrive despite
the disorder. We only community-based
organization in the Tampa Bay area and
we partner with local hospitals,
universities, and Speech-Language
Pathologists to provide these services. At
VOH, we believe that an aphasia diagnosis
does not mean the end of a full, engaging,
CONNECT
and hope-filled life. Our purpose is to
help build back what those with aphasia 
have lost because of their stroke or injury:

a community of understanding and

Trending STORIES
acceptance, the ability to interact with
their world in this new normal, and a

sense of hope for life ahead.
Founded by a person with aphasia, Mike

Caputo, and his wife, Kathy, they gathered
a small group and created a grassroots
community for themselves – the first of
its kind in Tampa Bay and one of only a
handful across the country. What began
as a volunteer-driven organization with a
handful of members meeting twice a
month has grown to serve a community of
more than 320 individuals each year.
Programs are now offered five days a week
(in-person and online) in Dunedin, St.
Petersburg, and Tampa and run by
professional, licensed speech
pathologists.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into

the story – has it been an easy path
overall, and if not, what were the CONNECT
challenges you’ve had to overcome? 

Despite the fact that it affects millions of

Americans, aphasiaTHE
is aCHANGE-MAKERS:
little known word HIDDEN GEMS: LOCAL
Trending by many
and misunderstood STORIES until
THAT it
happens to them or to their loved ones. I

talk to people all the time who say
something along the lines of, “Oh…I had
an uncle who had a stroke and had
trouble speaking…I didn’t know it was
aphasia,” or someone breaking into tears
when they realized that their father could
have had more opportunities if they just
understood what was going on.
So, I think our biggest hurdles are tied to

the fact that the word “aphasia” isn’t
used. So people who need resources for it,
don’t know what to look for and it has
made it challenging for us to get the word
out to families that we are here for them.
As foundations and funders are beginning
to get to know us, we are able to increase
our capacity, so I am grateful for
publications like yours to help us raise
awareness of our services. We have
CONNECT
recently committed to a dedicated space
for our in-person meetings, which means 

we now have the space to expand our

Trending
programs. STORIES THAT INSPIRE BUSINESSES & CREATIVES
Great. Can you tell our readers more

specifically what you do and what you
think sets you apart from others?
People are diagnosed with aphasia every
day, typically after a stroke or brain
injury. They’ll carry this diagnosis with
them for the rest of their lives. As
devastating as the diagnosis can be, with
long term support and language therapy,
individuals with aphasia can make gains
in their speech ability and, more
importantly, their ability to meaningfully
interact with their world. Long term
support can help those with aphasia live
with hope, excitement, and fun – rather
than loneliness, isolation, and frustration.
Unfortunately, our insurance companies

are not currently equipped to handle
long-term support, so eventually coverage
runs out or the deem that the progress on CONNECT
quantitative measures isn’t enough to 

continue to extend coverage. Private

therapy can be expensive, $100+ for a 45

Trending STORIES
minute or hour session, and for INSPIRE
THAT aphasia, BUSINESSES & CREATIVES
intensive and immersive language

practice is the key (just like learning a
foreign language).
VOH currently provides 3 to 4 hours of

activities Monday through Friday. The
activities are interactive, participation-
based group activities and encourage the
use of conversation – and laughter! Our
online sessions are free because we will
never turn anyone away due to a lack of
ability to pay. Since we are a non-profit
who depends on donations, if our
members are able, we are grateful for a
contribution towards the sessions.
Voices of Hope for Aphasia fills an urgent

need in the aphasia community – a long-
term, affordable community of support,
education and resources for the families
affected by this life-changing disorder.
While not individualized therapy, the CONNECT
professionally credentialed staff and 

therapeutic nature of the community

provide a long term,THE

affordable resource
CHANGE-MAKERS: HIDDEN GEMS: LOCAL
Trending STORIES
for individuals living with aphasia. It
offers people and their families a ray of

hope, a source of support, and most of all,
a lifelong community of others that
understand exactly what they are going
through.
2020 was a pivotal year for VOH. In

addition to responding to needs
presented by COVID 19, VOH is making its
next big leap as an organization – as I
mentioned before, we have committed to
creating a permanent home for the
aphasia community in Tampa Bay.
By putting down roots and creating a

dedicated space for the aphasia
community, both in-person and online,
we are pledging to serve the aphasia
community for decades to come. With this
dedicated space, VOH has the opportunity
to build a true community without
bounds — the original vision of that small CONNECT
grassroots group that convened more 

than nine years ago. This space will equip

us to offer more classes, serve more

Trending STORIES THAT
families, and grow visibility for INSPIRE
aphasia BUSINESSES & CREATIVES
and disability awareness here in Tampa

Bay. Prior to this, we were constrained by
the generosity of partners to open up
their sites each week for our staff to host
sessions. Now, we have exponentially
expanded our opportunities for
connection and engagement. Not only
will weekly sessions expand, but there
will also be a space for those with aphasia
to come and be together. We have the
space to hire additional staff to support
our fast-growing community in need of
services. Although 2020 has created
obstacles, Voices of Hope for Aphasia is
looking to the future.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you

love? What do you not love?
I am proud that St. Petersburg is
dedicated to being an inclusive and
accessible city for all! It makes it a perfect
CONNECT
place to highlight the specific needs of
communication disabilities. Recently, I 
was appointed by the St Pete mayor to the

Committee to Advocate for Persons with

Trending STORIES
Impairments (CAPI). Together
THATwith other
panelists representing visual disabilities,

physical disabilities, hearing disabilities, I
will have the opportunity to represent the
many disorders that can impede a
person’s ability to interact with our
community due to communication
disabilities and disadvantages (aphasia
being just one: autism, Parkinson’s,
functional illiteracy, Cerebral Palsy, and
many more).
What do I not love? We live in a beautiful,

vibrant, open, artistic city! There is
nothing I don’t love! I am grateful to be
living here! (except for the mosquitos – I
don’t love the mosquitos!)
Contact Info:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.vohaphasia.org
CONNECT
Facebook: /VoicesofHopeAphasia

Twitter: /VOHAphasia

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM-
HZSJbebxpJM4xrbRalyA
CONNECT


CONNECT


Image Credits
Voices of Hope for Aphasia
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community; it’s how we uncover hidden
gems, so if you or someone you know
deserves recognition please let us
know here.
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7/16/23, 5:24 PM Community Highlights: Meet Debbie Yones of Voices of Hope for Aphasia - VoyageTampa

THE CHANGE-MAKERS: HIDDEN GEMS: LOCAL

THE CHANGE-MAKERS: THE TRAILBLAZERS: #LADYBOSS: 15 AMAZING FEMALE 12 POSITIVELY BRILLIANT

JANUARY 26, 2021

Community Highlights: Meet

LOCAL STORIES CONNECT

Hi Debbie, we’d love for you to start by COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS:

You probably remember the ice bucket

To help people understand a little bit

analogy : Take a minute to imagine…. You

foreign country. You can’t speak the

More specifically, aphasia is a language

that the rest of us take or granted: having

our own care, staying connected to

Voices of Hope for Aphasia was formed to

a community of understanding and

their world in this new normal, and a

Founded by a person with aphasia, Mike

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into

challenges you’ve had to overcome? 

happens to them or to their loved ones. I

So, I think our biggest hurdles are tied to

we now have the space to expand our

Great. Can you tell our readers more

Unfortunately, our insurance companies

quantitative measures isn’t enough to 

therapy can be expensive, $100+ for a 45

intensive and immersive language

VOH currently provides 3 to 4 hours of

Voices of Hope for Aphasia fills an urgent

professionally credentialed staff and 

provide a long term,THE

offers people and their families a ray of

2020 was a pivotal year for VOH. In

By putting down roots and creating a

grassroots group that convened more 

us to offer more classes, serve more

and disability awareness here in Tampa

Let’s talk about our city – what do you

Committee to Advocate for Persons with

panelists representing visual disabilities,

What do I not love? We live in a beautiful,

THE CHANGE-MAKERS: HIDDEN GEMS: LOCAL

THE CHANGE-MAKERS: HIDDEN GEMS: LOCAL

Suggest a Story: VoyageTampa is built

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