Contra Costa Clubhouses, Inc.

Components of the Clubhouse

Work-Ordered Day

The Clubhouse is designed to provide the opportunity to work for all the members organized around a work-ordered day. The work-ordered day is an eight hour period, Monday through Friday, during which members and staff work together as colleagues to carry out the tasks involved in running the Clubhouse. Members volunteer to participate as they feel ready and according to their individual interests. The Clubhouse work includes cooking and cleaning, gardening, fundraising, research, assisting each other with housing, outreach, intake and orientation of new members, new staff orientation, evaluation of Clubhouse effectiveness, administering the employment programs, assistance with education, planning social activities, and assisting members to obtain services from the wider community.

The Clubhouse provides members with opportunities to return to paid employment. Transitional employment is a highly structured program for members returning to work. The Clubhouse contracts with employers for jobs that it guarantees to fill. The Clubhouse then trains members to do the job and assures that a member or staff person fulfills the commitment. These placements generally are part-time, include a lot of support from the Clubhouse staff, and last from 6 - 9 months. When concluding a placement, the member can choose to try another placement or move to supported or independent employment. Supported employment is a program through which members, when ready, are given help from the Clubhouse to apply for and acquire a job of their own. Assistance from the Clubhouse, either at the Clubhouse or on-site when requested, is available. Independent employment assistance is provided at the Clubhouse for members who are ready and want to find jobs on their own within the larger community.

The Clubhouse organizes structured and non-structured social activities for the members. These activities are always scheduled outside the work day. On evenings and weekends, members and staff have the opportunity to get to know each other outside the pressures of the Clubhouse work day.

The Clubhouse assists members to complete education that has been disrupted or to start certificate and degree programs at academic or adult education programs. The Clubhouse may also take advantage of the talents and skills of staff and members to provide in-house educational opportunities.

Members are given support in acquiring and keeping affordable housing, good mental health and general medical services, government disability benefits, and any other services they may need.

Part of the daily work of the Clubhouse involves keeping track of members. When a member does not attend the Clubhouse, a "reachout" telephone call or visit is made to let the member know that he or she is missed.

Members and staff meet in open forums to discuss policy issues and future planning for the Clubhouse.

Benefits of the Clubhouse

Documented research on existing ICCD clubhouses indicates that members and their communities benefit from higher employment rates, a decrease in hospitalization, reduced incarceration, improved well-being, and reduced cost of services in comparison to other programs. The Contra Costa Clubhouse expects to achieve similar outcomes. Providing people with mental illness the opportunity to achieve social, financial, and vocational goals through a clubhouse program can lead to the following results::

Two studies have shown that the clubhouse model produces higher rates of employment, longer job tenure, and higher earnings than other programs offered for people with mental illness. A study of 17 clubhouses has shown that longer job tenure and higher earnings correlates to longer clubhouse membership.

In one study, membership in a clubhouse reduced the number of hospitalizations by one third and reduced the average number of hospital days by 70%. For the membership in the Contra Costa Clubhouse this would translate into savings of more than $500,000 annually if hospitalization could be reduced by 10 days per year per member.

Criminal justice system involvement has been found to be substantially diminished during and after clubhouse membership.

Compared with individuals receiving services as usual, clubhouse members were significantly more likely to report that they had close friendships and someone they could rely on when they needed help.

The cost to support one person for one year at the Contra Costa Clubhouse is projected at $5,000. This is significantly less than other service models.