At Places for People, the Club is a vital resource and support system for its members who are learning to live complete and meaningful lives with their mental illness.

Located in the lower level of the administrative building at 4130 Lindell Boulevard, the Club is PfP’s day program, providing core treatment programs to educate members on mental illness, help with co-occurring substance abuse issues, and guide members in making improvements to their overall health.

Open every day of the year, the Club also provides a welcoming environment, a daily lunch program, and opportunities for social interaction. It’s easy to see why members enjoy the program.

“The staff are extremely friendly,” Club member Paul explained. “We’ve got a pool table, a foosball table. We have ping pong, we have computers. You can get on the Internet with no problem. And the meals here are excellent.”

What’s a little harder to see initially, but critical to the success of its members, is that there’s a whole lot more going on in the Club than even meets the eye. There’s rehabilitation happening in nearly every interaction–obviously in formal group sessions, but also in what looks like just a casual game of pool.

Psychosocial Rehabilitation

The Club, which celebrated its 33rd anniversary on July 1, is a psychosocial rehabilitation center. Understanding what that is reveals why and how the Club works the way it does and why it makes such a big difference to members’ lives.

It’s a complex concept: On one hand, there are easily identifiable therapeutic activities happening at the Club all the time.

• Programs based on an Eli Lilly curriculum offer members opportunities to understand their mental illness and overall physical and mental health.
• Groups on substance abuse issues co-occurring with mental health illness address a serious challenge to rehabilitation.
• The Club has recently added a Wellness Center, with heavy-duty exercise equipment funded through a grant from Express Scripts.
• The Club’s Vocational Resource Center has recently expanded with support from the John Allan Love Charitable Foundation and the Allen P. & Josephine B. Green Foundation.

On the other hand, the Club is not just a series of programs or facilities. The Club also offers numerous enrichment activities, including group outings to local museums, the Muny, and baseball games. Additionally, Club membership entails responsibilities, which means everyone has work to do daily.

Key to understanding psychosocial rehabilitation is seeing the value in all of these activities.

Rehabilitation: An Active Process

Clubhouse programs are modeled after New York’s Fountain House, which opened in 1948. Their governing philosophy is that people recovering from mental illness benefit from real-life experiences, from having meaningful work to do, and from being able to identify with a community of peers.

A key premise of psychosocial rehabilitation is that learning skills is best accomplished in the process of living and doing. Centers like the Club provide a supportive environment, while at the same time engaging members in real-world situations designed to help build core daily living skills essential to successfully integrating into society.

For Club members, that may mean learning how to live with their illness and how to function in spite of symptoms.

Psychosocial rehabilitation targets three primary areas of growth: social/recreational, vocational/academic, and wellness. While PfP’s Club addresses all of these areas, one thing that distinguishes it from similar programs is the extensive needs of some members.

“We provide services to people who might not get services in any other agency,” said Mark Brennan, Director of Procovery at PfP. High-need members require a focus on developing support and skills–“real basic, nuts and bolts, hands-on” assistance is required in some cases, said Brennan.

Redefining Self-Image

One way the Club helps to develop a support system is through a sense of affiliation–becoming a member of the Club fulfills a basic, human need for people who have struggled with the social stigmas of their illness.

“People need to be needed. That’s the essence of what the Club provides,” said Ingrid Murphy, Club Coordinator.

Club members are needed by their peers, in part, because everyone participates to perform daily operating functions. Along with staff, clients plan and prepare meals, maintain the building, perform clerical and receptionist tasks, operate the snack bar and thrift store, and participate in planning Club activities.

These responsibilities can help people with mental illness redefine themselves–removing the stigma of their illness and providing them a new identity and role.

“People know their work is needed because if people don’t get in on time, then lunch is not ready at noon,” said Murphy, who described the staff’s role as “hands-off,” stepping in to educate only if needed.

Ensuring that lunch goes out promptly–and lives up to its lofty reputation–is a daily goal for Chuck, who worked as a chef before mental illness and physical ailments resulted in him needing treatment and eventually coming to Places for People four years ago.

When he joined The Club, Chuck was at a personal low point in his life, describing himself as a recluse. His first activity in The Club was working on the kitchen crew.

“That was almost as much therapeutic for me as it was creating a good meal for everybody,” Chuck recalled, explaining that working with others and gaining praise for his culinary talents helped to rebuild his self-esteem.

Work is an expectation of members, but one that members, including Paul, welcome.

“I just feel like I should pay back for the free meal and everything,” he said, adding, “My grandfather always said there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

A Community of Individuals

People working, learning, and socializing together: PfP’s Club is a busy, thriving community. For people living with mental illness, developing a positive social support group is critical to a successful recovery.

“You’re around people that can help you. And you’re also around people that have the same issues that you have. And you’re all in the same boat. There’s nobody better and there’s nobody worse,” said Club member Florence, who joined a few months ago and recently found a job through the Vocational Resource Center.

Though part of a larger community, members each have their own stories and their individualized stages of recovery. How each member utilizes The Club is tied closely to a larger treatment plan, one that is driven by goals a member has identified and by his or her personal stage of recovery.

“We meet people where they are and engage them in a conversation about where they want to be,” said Brennan.

A client may say, for example, they don’t know how to make friends, explained Brennan. The Club then offers those clients opportunities to engage in real-life, personal interactions, including talking over coffee, playing cards, or shooting pool.

Rehabilitation really can happen even during a game of pool.

“Somewhere in that process, we say, ‘This is what we do to make friends,’” said Brennan.

When Paul joined Places for People about eight months ago, he identified improving socialization skills as a goal and was referred by his community support team to the Club. He now works regularly at the snack bar–“Tuesday to Thursday, all day long”–and has expanded his social network.

For some members, though, the starting point might be more fundamental: perhaps needing somewhere to rest after spending a night on the streets. If a new member’s only use of The Club is sleeping on a couch, then, “That’s good enough for us at the time,” said Brennan.

Opening Doors

The goals, short and long term, are different for each member. What is common, however, is that psychosocial rehabilitation through the Club seeks to fulfill a core value at Places for People, by opening doors to hope and recovery.

Longtime member Ben recalled some initial apprehension when first coming to the Club. He wasn’t sure if he was interested in attending regularly until other members asked him to get involved. Now he participates in a variety of events, including advocating for mental health issues. He was recently elected to the new Consumer Advisory Board and will represent his peers in discussions with PfP’s Board of Directors.

Also elected to the Consumer Advisory Board was David, who termed himself the “silent candidate,” because he is very engaging, but soft-spoken. David has been a member of PfP and the Club since 1990.

He identified the various programs, the exercise equipment in the Wellness Center, the daily meal, the air-conditioning during St. Louis summers, and the thrift store offerings as highlights of the Club. He also said he enjoys the accessibility of community support workers in offices upstairs and that he is very comfortable in the whole building.

“I just feel real good about The Club,” he added.

Labels: Agency Philosophy, Client Stories, Club, Summer - 2008