David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Area mothers fuel 'mental health clubhouse'
By JENNIFER BOOTH REED, News-Press.com
December 1, 2008
Buzz up! When mental illness strikes, life is put on hold.
But now, two Lee County mothers want to start a program to reintroduce people with mental illnesses to society and get them back to work. And they're offering a guarantee to employers who agree to hire them - if the employee can't come to work, someone trained in the job will take his or her place.
"The whole goal is to get them off (public assistance) and back to work so they are not a drain on the community," said Susan Tew, who, along with Sharon Dardy, is a founding board member of the Hope Clubhouse. "They have been ostracized from society."
Dardy and Tew opened Hope's administrative office in late November at the new East United Way House on Palm Beach Boulevard. A grand opening party will be held Thursday, introducing the concept of a "mental health clubhouse" to Lee County.
Here's what the women, both mothers of adult children with mental illnesses, intend to do:
The women, through local mental health advocacy work, met a member of the international center's board who encouraged them to start a clubhouse locally. Dardy and Tew visited Vincent House, a clubhouse in Pinellas Park. "We were so mesmerized by the time we walked through the door," Dardy said. "That's what stopped us in our tracks - everyone was smiling," said Tew.
Research suggests participation makes a difference. One study showed that clubhouse participants worked for longer periods of time and earned more money than those in another supported employment model. Another study looked at the hospitalizations of 32 clubhouse members and found they had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons five times as often in the period before their membership. A third report found that clubhouse members were far less likely to be arrested during and after their clubhouse involvement. The research was compiled by the Program for Clubhouse Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Sherri Trahin of Lehigh Acres needs no research to attest to the importance of work and a structured day. Trahin, 47, was a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida when mental illness struck her. She was diagnosed in 1996 with anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. "I went from a productive, useful person with a purpose to someone who filled their days with a lot of meaningless nothing," said Trahin, who left the university and her husband.
The isolation made matters worse. "When you have no interaction, when you have no purpose, when you have days that are meaningless, the only thing you have to concentrate on is your mental illness symptoms," Trahin said.
She has since worked for organizations that include the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Lee Mental Health. She volunteers for the Hope Clubhouse and is engaged to be married. She considers her illness to be in remission - the combination of medication, volunteer work, an overall healthy lifestyle and personal relationships keep the symptoms at bay.
Elliott Steele, the executive director of Vincent House, sees clubhouses fostering this kind of recovery. "When they come to the clubhouse, the philosophy is to forget about the illness. That is a very small part of their lives," Steele said.
The business partnerships work, said Kristie Fraga, general manager of Liberty Lanes in Largo, who has been employing Vincent House members for about three years. She had turned to the clubhouse to help fill gaps in her staff. "I thought it would be a great fit for us. Not only do they do a great job, but if they are not here, somebody from the clubhouse will fill in their job for them," she said.
She also likes the fact that the clubhouse staff train the employees. "They are better equipped to deal with the emotional and psychological difficulties their members have," Fraga said.
Hope Clubhouse is still in its early stages. Dardy and Tew are searching for a suitable location, beginning to seek an executive director, applying for grant funding. Dardy estimates she'll need about $300,000 to start. Services are free for members, so all funds must come from government contracts, grants and private donations.
Grace Chegut, 59, of Fort Myers is eager to see the program start. She was diagnosed with bipolar disease when she was in her 30s. She said fellowship is critical for people with mental illnesses. They need to know that others are living with the same problems. "This is such a wonderful thing to happen in Southwest Florida," she said.
By JENNIFER BOOTH REED, News-Press.com
December 1, 2008
Buzz up! When mental illness strikes, life is put on hold.
But now, two Lee County mothers want to start a program to reintroduce people with mental illnesses to society and get them back to work. And they're offering a guarantee to employers who agree to hire them - if the employee can't come to work, someone trained in the job will take his or her place.
"The whole goal is to get them off (public assistance) and back to work so they are not a drain on the community," said Susan Tew, who, along with Sharon Dardy, is a founding board member of the Hope Clubhouse. "They have been ostracized from society."
Dardy and Tew opened Hope's administrative office in late November at the new East United Way House on Palm Beach Boulevard. A grand opening party will be held Thursday, introducing the concept of a "mental health clubhouse" to Lee County.
Here's what the women, both mothers of adult children with mental illnesses, intend to do:
- Find a space for a clubhouse, a place where people with mental illnesses can spend their days, learn to establish relationships and begin reassembling their lives. Among their goals might be returning to school or finding affordable housing. The clubhouse does not offer medical services.
- Put everyone to work. Those who aren't ready to hold a traditional job will work around the clubhouse.
- Find willing employers. Here's what makes the model unique: Clubhouse staffers will go into the work force and train for jobs that don't require professional or technical skills - such as supermarket work and custodial positions. They will then train the clubhouse members. The members go to work, but the staffers will fill in as needed.
- If they can, the clubhouse members matriculate to independent employment.
The women, through local mental health advocacy work, met a member of the international center's board who encouraged them to start a clubhouse locally. Dardy and Tew visited Vincent House, a clubhouse in Pinellas Park. "We were so mesmerized by the time we walked through the door," Dardy said. "That's what stopped us in our tracks - everyone was smiling," said Tew.
Research suggests participation makes a difference. One study showed that clubhouse participants worked for longer periods of time and earned more money than those in another supported employment model. Another study looked at the hospitalizations of 32 clubhouse members and found they had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons five times as often in the period before their membership. A third report found that clubhouse members were far less likely to be arrested during and after their clubhouse involvement. The research was compiled by the Program for Clubhouse Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Sherri Trahin of Lehigh Acres needs no research to attest to the importance of work and a structured day. Trahin, 47, was a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida when mental illness struck her. She was diagnosed in 1996 with anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. "I went from a productive, useful person with a purpose to someone who filled their days with a lot of meaningless nothing," said Trahin, who left the university and her husband.
The isolation made matters worse. "When you have no interaction, when you have no purpose, when you have days that are meaningless, the only thing you have to concentrate on is your mental illness symptoms," Trahin said.
She has since worked for organizations that include the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Lee Mental Health. She volunteers for the Hope Clubhouse and is engaged to be married. She considers her illness to be in remission - the combination of medication, volunteer work, an overall healthy lifestyle and personal relationships keep the symptoms at bay.
Elliott Steele, the executive director of Vincent House, sees clubhouses fostering this kind of recovery. "When they come to the clubhouse, the philosophy is to forget about the illness. That is a very small part of their lives," Steele said.
The business partnerships work, said Kristie Fraga, general manager of Liberty Lanes in Largo, who has been employing Vincent House members for about three years. She had turned to the clubhouse to help fill gaps in her staff. "I thought it would be a great fit for us. Not only do they do a great job, but if they are not here, somebody from the clubhouse will fill in their job for them," she said.
She also likes the fact that the clubhouse staff train the employees. "They are better equipped to deal with the emotional and psychological difficulties their members have," Fraga said.
Hope Clubhouse is still in its early stages. Dardy and Tew are searching for a suitable location, beginning to seek an executive director, applying for grant funding. Dardy estimates she'll need about $300,000 to start. Services are free for members, so all funds must come from government contracts, grants and private donations.
Grace Chegut, 59, of Fort Myers is eager to see the program start. She was diagnosed with bipolar disease when she was in her 30s. She said fellowship is critical for people with mental illnesses. They need to know that others are living with the same problems. "This is such a wonderful thing to happen in Southwest Florida," she said.
