ABOUT SKAGIT CLUBHOUSE

Skagit Clubhouse is a place where people living with serious mental illness can thrive in a community of hope and opportunity. This is a space where individuals can find the support and resources they need to lead fulfilling lives. Our mission is to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment where members can develop meaningful connections, explore their potential, and contribute to the community. We are dedicated to promoting mental wellness and empowering our members to achieve their goals.

OUR PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES

EMPOWERING THROUGH SUPPORT

At Skagit Clubhouse, we offer a range of programs and initiatives designed to support our members on their journey toward recovery and personal growth. We are committed to providing a safe and nurturing space where individuals can engage in meaningful activities, gain valuable skills, and access resources that promote overall well-being. Through collaborative efforts and a person-centered approach, we aim to empower our members to lead fulfilling lives and become active participants in their communities.

What is a Clubhouse?

A clubhouse is a community-based location designed to support the recovery of people living with serious mental illness (SMI). Each clubhouse provides a restorative environment for people whose lives have been severely disrupted because of their mental illness.

Clubhouses are an intentional community, where members and staff work together, side-by-side, to carry out all daily operations of the clubhouse. Members are also given access to crisis intervention services when needed and are connected with resources to support their basic needs, including support with employment, relationship building, education, housing, and daily meals.

Daily Life of a Clubhouse

The Clubhouse model is organized around a belief that work, and work-mediated relationships, are restorative and provide a firm foundation for growth and important individual achievement. Clubhouses believe that social and recreational opportunities are an important part of a person’s path to recovery.

Inside of a clubhouse, members engage in what’s known as a “work-ordered day,” which is used to help individuals learn new skills, hone their talents, build dignity, develop a sense of belonging, and make progress towards their goals.

At the Clubhouse members can chose how they utilize the Clubhouse and what work they wish to participate in. Although there’s no typical day inside of a clubhouse, some examples of tasks that are completed throughout the day can include: answering phones and greeting visitors; clerical work (office tasks); preparing food; watering plants; cleaning and repairing areas of the clubhouse; collaborating on research projects; facilitating meetings; or planning a visit to a homebound member.

The clubhouse model is centered around member choice. Members can choose their daily activities, the amount they want to contribute, and all aspects of their work-ordered day.

Working together in a community promotes a feeling of shared achievement. The work allows members to try out different roles and identities, while also forming a variety of community connections (both professional and non-professional) and long-lasting social relationships and friendships.

What Makes a Clubhouse Different?

In contrast to traditional day-treatment and other day program models, membership in a clubhouse is voluntary. Members are integral and active participants of the program and are relied upon for their knowledge and experience to keep the clubhouse running. This leads to a sense of inclusion and agency in members.

Unlike day programs, members make their own decisions and lead daily operations and activities in the clubhouse. Leadership in the clubhouse is equally distributed between staff and members, both an integral part of the operation of the clubhouse itself.

Teamwork is emphasized over hierarchy, and members engage in real work, rather than simulated work. There is a focus on treatment being strengths-based (as opposed to deficit-based), in which staff see members as a valuable contributor to society, with the goal of allowing each member to find their identity, their sense of self and their purpose. In this way, clubhouses aim to change the way people with serious mental illnesses think about themselves.

Membership is always voluntary, free, and without time limits. When recovery is achieved, members can voluntarily stay involved and active in the community as long as they choose. There is no limit to how long a member can participate in a clubhouse.