Clubhouses on governor’s chopping block

Clubhouses on governor’s chopping block
(February 2009 Issue)

By Phyllis Hanlon

Sixteen years ago, "Annie" spent her days hanging out on the streets, disheveled and incoherent much of the time. At night, she cowered in a corner of her room to avoid physical and sexual attacks from the men who lived in the building. Suffering from mental illness, she was unable to pull together the pieces of her life until the support and encouragement of a clubhouse program saved her. She now lives in her own apartment, receives regular treatment to regulate her mental illness, pays her own bills and has regained her life. Success stories like this one may become victim if the governor's 9C budget cuts are implemented.

According to Reva Stein, MSW, executive director of the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition, these rehabilitation recovery centers offer individuals with mental illness - known as members - an opportunity to live successfully in the community. The combination of work within the clubhouse, outside employment and relationships are "at the heart of recovery," according to Stein. "We don't focus on deficits. We look at strengths, assets, interests, talents," she says.

Staff members attempt to create bonds with members and help them find employment, housing and health care or finish high school. "Within the clubhouse atmosphere, leadership develops. Members become involved in meetings, make decisions and become active in civil society," Stein says. "The model is designed to ensure there are no gaps. Each person decides his own needs."

Massachusetts currently operates 32 clubhouses statewide and approximately 8,100 people participate each year, reports Stein. Statistics demonstrate the success of the clubhouse program. Stein says, "Two thousand of our participants got jobs in FY07 and members earned a total of $11 million. Clearly we're succeeding."

The governor's recent budget cuts have already eliminated some staff positions and forced the closure of some evening and weekend programs, which offer socialization opportunities for members. Losing these activities has "weakened the safety net," Stein says. She fears that governmental failure to continue commitment to the clubhouse program will swell emergency rooms, hospitals and prisons. "This support is a critical piece of what helps people get a job, an apartment and relationships," she says.

Valerie E. Comerford, program director of the Crossroads Clubhouse in Hopedale, says that the clubhouse offers the only option for some members. She says, "If you take that away, people would have no place to connect, no family. Their basic needs wouldn't be met. They would not have a warm place to go and get meals."

Crossroads has already trimmed one staff position from full-time to quarter-time and has reduced its social programs from six per month to one and a half. The small amount of revenue generated from sales at the clubhouse's thrift store and café subsidized social programs in the past; this year, those funds will be used to pay bills, Comerford says. Also, the program provides more than 1,600 rides annually to appointments and jobs. "If we can't buy another van, how do we decide who gets rides?" she adds.

The budget cuts have generated an atmosphere of fear at Crossroads, Comerford says, "People are wondering if we'll keep our doors open. We won't go down without a respectable fight."