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The Clubhouse International World Seminar welcomed over 700 attendees from 151 Clubhouses across 16 countries, from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, Europe and the US, who all joined together in Detroit Michigan on September 23-28, 2017.

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ABOUT THE WORLD SEMINAR

Clubhouse International is partnering with Clubhouse Michigan to provide an extraordinary learning opportunity for anyone interested in the Clubhouse Model and innovative strategies in mental health services. Click here to view and download the Seminar Brochure!

World Seminar 2017 offered an exciting and inspiring array of learning opportunities about developing and sustaining an Accredited Clubhouse. Plenary sessions, interactive workshops, and content rich institutes will provide a compelling forum for the exchange of information and ideas of interest to new and veteran Clubhouses, and others who are interested in our work. Topical agenda included:

• Emerging Clubhouse best practices in Young Adult programming, Employment, Education, Housing
• Core Clubhouse practices related to the International Standards for Clubhouse Programs
• Numerous other areas of interest such as: Research, Board development, Fundraising, Reach out, Developing community partnerships and alliances, Supervision, Accreditation, Training

By Daniel K. Arnold

After too many mental health hospitalizations to count, I’ve been around the block with my mental health recovery. I have asked myself, “Who will take the time to understand my individual situation on a day-by-day basis?”  “Who will give me the dignity to see myself as a professional in training?”  “Who will give me a hand-up and not just another hand-out?”

Easy answer: Charter House Clubhouse. 

Every day is a new chapter, an inspirational adventure.  Those around me are my friends and peers.  There are no ‘supervisors’, just helpers and facilitators that are true to self. You can see the human side in everyone, and I feel truly appreciated and respected here.

When did it begin?  Three weeks ago. I realized I’ve been emotionally sick for a long time, without structure in my life.  I found that I was ready to check out the Clubhouse in Lansing. I’ve known I’ve had something to offer, but where do I truly fit in?

I want to be somewhere where I am challenged to be real, and to better myself.

I quickly found Charter House to be that place. It is a casual, safe, yet serious environment – that changes lives.  Many days I assist with Medicaid billing and make reach out cards for members who are sick, or have been gone from Charter House.  Other times, I attend meetings involving Clubhouse outreach and membership. I provide my input, knowing that people really care what I have to say.  Just about every day I contribute something new to the community newsletter.

Staff are almost always willing to be interrupted, even when they are extremely busy.  My work in the Clubhouse matters to them, because they know that we the members are a major part of the solution, the puzzle, the mission. The staff work alongside the members. They talk with us, not at us.
Members have a deep heart for each other, modeled by staff.  They are willing to work together, and find that everyone has something unique to bring to the table.  I am finding those around me willing to help lend an ear, to help me write a book that I have always wanted to write.  Every voice matters here!

In addition, I never knew that working on menial tasks could add to my professional development when they become part of a greater, beautiful whole—Our Clubhouse.  I am developing discipline, love, and teamwork skills. My goal is to come to the Clubhouse for 40 consistent hours a week in the near future, to develop work endurance.

People call me a leader; I am learning to speak up.

Thank you Charter House and the Clubhouse Model.

Most Sincerely,
Daniel (A Grateful Member)

As Reported By: Nick Baumgardner for MI Live

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN: An annual Michigan event prompted Jim and Sarah Harbaugh to act Tuesday night in Ann Arbor.

Midway through the Michigan Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s annual “Mock Rock” event at the Power Center, the night’s main beneficiary — Fresh Start Clubhouse — put on a presentation that stole the show and drew the loudest applause.

A young man named Adam Ballard went into detail about his story. He explained how mental illness left him divorced and homeless. He attempted suicide on three separate occasions. Then he found Fresh Start Clubhouse and his life with mental illness became more manageable thanks to the program.

“Adam was brilliant, just powerful,” Jim Harbaugh said. “I think everybody’s been there in a way, to a degree. … That was the most powerful thing of the night for me.

All the proceeds from Tuesday night’s Mock Rock event — which were not yet tabulated at the close of the show — went to benefit Fresh Start Clubhouse.

Shortly before the evening came to a close, Harbaugh took the microphone and told the audience that he and his wife wanted to match whatever the donation total closed at.

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Photo Credits: Members of the University of Michigan men’s gymnastics team perform at the Mock Rock on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. Hunter Dyke | The Ann Arbor News

Fountain House will be welcoming our third group of Executive Leadership Fellows for their first phase of training on Friday, January 20th.  Jill Horan is from Wellspring Clubhouse in Pennsylvania, Jay Brubaker is from Circle City Clubhouse in Indiana and Johan Rydergard is from Fontanhuset Skondal in Sweden.  

Jill Horan

Jill Valiant Horan has worked in the mental health field since 2006, and started working within the Clubhouse community in 2008 as the Career Development Coordinator at Wellspring Clubhouse in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.  She was promoted to Director of Wellspring in 2015, and is thrilled to be a part of the Clubhouse Community in this role.  She also serves as the Vice President for the Pennsylvania Clubhouse Coalition.  Jill received her BA in Psychology from Arcadia University, holds a MS in Psychiatric Rehabilitation from Rutgers University, and is currently a PhD candidate in Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Rutgers University.  Jill holds her Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP) credential through the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, and has also completed a certificate program in Supported Employment through Virginia Commonwealth University.  When not working, Jill can be found spending time with her children, taking care of the family’s myriad pets, or at her favorite yoga studio both as a teacher and a student.

Jay Brubaker

Jay Brubaker is the Executive Director of Circle City Clubhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, and also a recovering attorney.  Prior to beginning his work at Circle City Clubhouse, Jay worked for nine years in various social service positions, focused on providing mental health services from strengths-based and consumer-centered perspectives for both adults and children.   He then attended law school and worked for four years as a general practice attorney, focusing largely on business and organization matters.   Jay became involved with Circle City Clubhouse because of his belief that persons living with mental illness should have a place where they are valued as individuals and a community where they belong.  Jay holds B.A. in Religious Studies from Bluffton University in Bluffton, OH and a J.D. from the Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Johan Rydergård

My name is Johan Rydergård and I am the director at Fontänhuset Sköndal in Stockholm, Sweden.  I have been working in clubhouse for thirteen years, starting as staff at Fountain House Stockholm in 2003. In 2008, I was appointed project manager for Fontänhuset Sköndal, which was a co-op initiative from Fountain House Stockholm and Stora Sköndal Foundation. In 2009, Fontänhuset Sköndal started on a more regular basis and eventually I became director.  Besides working to become a clubhouse, we have done many interesting, exciting and fun projects at our clubhouse; sailing, trekking, festivals, survival course etc.  Our main ambition at Sköndal has been to reach young adults. This year in December we had our first accreditation visit and we are still awaiting the final outcome.

I am 50 years old, married with four children, three boys and one girl.  My oldest son is disabled, which has had an impact on who I am today.  I live fairly close to the clubhouse, in Stockholm, which means I can bike to work.  I like to exercise but is no fanatic.  Besides work I keep myself busy with family and friends.  Sometimes I start minor projects in my neighborhood such as trekking and camping in surrounding nature.

My professional career has been mixed with studies and a bit of travel.  I studied art and sculpture for many years with a master of fine arts from National College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm.  Previous to my studies I spent a year in the Swedish military service.  I have mainly worked with people in my various jobs; custody, kindergarten, elderly care, schools, service centers.  I was an exchange student at high school in Minnesota back in 1983/84 which was a great life learning experience.

Congratulations to Indiana Clubhouses, which, after a 6-year, hard-fought battle, have achieved support from the state of Indiana to include Accredited Clubhouses as eligible for Medicaid funding.

It was a little six years ago when we received word that the Medicaid billing code that Clubhouses in Indiana used was going away.

Overnight, programs closed. Sunshine Clubhouse, one of the two Accredited Clubhouses in Indiana hung a sign on their door the next day saying “closed.”

But that was not the end of the story in Indiana. Not by a long shot.

Advocacy efforts blossomed: letters to the editor, letters to the legislature, meetings with the department of mental health, meetings with Medicaid, visits to the statehouse, hiring professional advocates and letters to the governor. At one point, the entire Commission on Mental Health came to Carriage House Clubhouse in Fort Wayne. We received great support. But no fix for the funding issue.

We survived multiple Administrations, and never stopped fighting.

During this time when there was no money from local, state, or Federal sources, no reimbursement stream at all, several independent Clubhouses opened their doors. First, Elkhart County in Goshen, IN, then Circle City in Indianapolis and the Clubhouse for St. Joseph County, and finally New Hope Kendallville became Accredited. It was remarkable.

Ultimately, a new crop of Indiana administrators came into office and came to visit The Carriage House. They came to recognize the importance of Accredited Clubhouses and they began the long and challenging journey to modify the Indiana State Medicaid Plan.

Last week, Carriage House was notified that it was finally completed and approved.

We will look back on these six years as some of our hardest, and some our best. Our story in Indiana has not been easy, but we are proud report that it is just beginning!

Story by: Andy Wilson, Director, The Carriage House, Fort Wayne Indiana

Clubhouse International recently completed a one-week intensive training for prospective Faculty members from 12 Clubhouses located in various regions of the United States. We are grateful to Genesis Club in Worcester, MA for hosting the training and are pleased to announce that we have 14 new Faculty members! Please welcome:

• Jen Cardenas, San Antonio Clubhouse, Texas
• Karen Christ, Genesis Club, Massachusetts
• Lisa Dembrosky, Wellspring Clubhouse, Pennsylvania
• Kailey Fielder-Gohlke, HERO House, Washington
• Michael Hamlin, Fountain House, New York
• Lee Kellogg, Clubhouse International
• Kerri Kief, Neponset River House, Massachusetts
• Valerie Lambert, Looking Ahead Clubhouse, Maine
• Willene Leffall, Crossroads, Oklahoma
• Elizabeth Padilla, Lantern House, New York
• Anna Park, Alliance House, Utah
• Luis Rivas, Club Success, Florida
• Joe Shaffer, Fountain House, New York
• Linda Williams, San Antonio Clubhouse, Texas

As the interest in Accreditation continues to grow across the world, Clubhouse International is looking to host our next Faculty training in Europe in October of 2016. More information about this training will be forthcoming.