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Austin Clubhouse

Since our first meeting on March 19, the Clubhouse workgroup has met regularly to build support for the Clubhouse and flesh out an action plan and timeline for opening the doors to members.

NCD Training

On May 7 and 8, workgroup members Kelly Roten (NAMI Austin), Lisa Moore (NAMI Austin), Calvin Jefferson (Austin Area Mental Health Consumers at the SHAC), Liz Brown (Foundation Communities), Julian Huerta (Foundation Communities), Jency Dueitt (US Department of Veterans’ Affairs), and Kyle Hughes (KCL Foundation) attended the ICCD New Clubhouse Development training in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. This training was hosted by the Carriage House, which is a ten-year-old Clubhouse that began as a NAMI affiliate project. It was exciting to visit this lively, bustling, energetic Clubhouse and imagine where Austin’s Clubhouse could be in such a short time!

The training covered a wide range of important Clubhouse topics, including incorporation and nonprofit status, writing a vision statement and case statement of need, strategic planning, budgeting, fundraising, building and physical space, seating a Board of Directors, hiring an executive director, and establishing a transitional employment program.

Community Outreach/Board Initiative

The Clubhouse workgroup has been extremely fortunate to have the involvement and commitment of Kyle Hughes. He has been working tirelessly on the Clubhouse Board Initiative, in an attempt to attract talented, committed, influential Austinites to our cause. The working group will continue this outreach effort, and will be working in pairs to share our vision with even more people in the coming months.

Clubhouse Donations

Until the Clubhouse establishes its own nonprofit 501(c)3, NAMI Austin will continue to act as fiscal agent, and will accept donations earmarked for the Clubhouse. To date, we have received $20,150 in donations. This is in addition to the original $30,000 in start-up funds provided by NAMI Austin.

Incorporation as a Nonprofit

The ICCD recommends incorporating as a freestanding 501(c)3 as soon as it is feasible and makes sense to do so. The ICCD has found that freestanding Clubhouses grow faster, raise more funds, and have better outcomes than those that operate under an auspice agency. The Austin Clubhouse intends to begin its incorporation and nonprofit process by July 1, 2009.

Letters of Support

We have requested formal letters of support from the VA, Foundation Communities, SHAC, and ATCMHMR. To date, SHAC has provided a written letter supporting the Austin Clubhouse project.

Property Committee

David Knoll is the Chair of the Property Committee. The property committee members have identified 38th & Lamar and Airport & Lamar as two areas of primary interest for the Clubhouse location, and have established the following timeline:

• 2009 Search for commercial lease space (possible “angel investor” to offer property)
• 2010-2011 Two years of operation in leased space; creating and solidifying Austin Clubhouse brand identity; architectural/site improvements will match brand image; formation of Board of Directors
• 2012 Continued operation; Capital Campaign begins for purchase of space; Full Board of Directors is seated to help with fundraising (still open to “angel investor” willing to donate property)
• 2013 New construction or improvements to existing site
• 2014 Remain in leased space until construction complete; sub-lease for 2014 if able to move into new space in 2013

Transitional Employment

The unemployment rate for adults with severe and persistent mental illness is greater than 80%. The Clubhouse model provides the supportive framework to get 40 to 45% of members back into some form of paid employment. The Austin workgroup is beginning to think about local employers who would be a good fit for the Transitional Employment component of the Clubhouse program. It is important that these positions be geographically accessible, require a general (not specialized) skill set, and involve repeatable, expectable tasks that are not time-bound. For example, a position at a fast-food restaurant making French fries every day would be desirable. However, a position in which the job task changed from day to day – working the fryer, dishwashing, cashier, drive through – would be a poor fit for a person re-acclimating to the workplace after a significant absence. We want to foster experiences that maximize members’ opportunities for success.

How Can You Help?

The Austin Clubhouse workgroup is a collaborative team that can accept any level of involvement at any time. We currently need assistance with the following tasks:

• Gathering letters of support from organizations, family members, and consumers about the need for a Clubhouse in Austin
• Surveying existing Clubhouses
• Suggesting new contacts, making introductions, and supporting pitches to the general community and potential transitional employment sites
• Grantwriting
• Creating a 1-page graphic to illustrate the continuum of services in Austin and how the Clubhouse will fit
• Website development and maintenance
• Filing incorporation and 501(c)3 paperwork with the State

In order to present an organized and cohesive Austin Clubhouse image, all work done on behalf of this project should be strategic and administered from a centralized point of contact. If you are able and willing to help, please contact Kelly Roten at 512-420-9810 or Kelly@namiaustin.org.

Our goal remains to open the Clubhouse doors in early 2010. Your support and commitment will help get us there!

Clubhouse Brochure (pdf)

Posted May 17, 2009

A Clubhouse is coming to Austin!

The Austin Clubhouse workgroup is off to a strong start! Partners from across Austin have already held two meetings to prioritize immediate goals and tasks. Committees have been created for property acquisition, communications, and grantwriting. In addition, a consumer committee has formed to work alongside the communications/outreach effort to tell individual stories of recovery to personalize the need for an Austin Clubhouse.

7 members of the workgroup will attend a two-day ICCD New Clubhouse Development Training in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, on May 7 and 8. This training will include a visit to Carriage House, a renowned Clubhouse and training base that had a similar start to our own Austin efforts. At this training, the workgroup will solidify the action plan, create the vision and mission statements, work on the budget, and generate a fundraising strategy.

Our goal remains to open the Clubhouse doors in the next year. We need your help to do so! Please donate your skills, service, time, or treasure to support this important project. The workgroup is an open group than can accept any level of participation at any time. Our next meeting is scheduled for April 16, at 8:00 a.m. in the West Auditorium (Building 582) at Austin State Hospital (located at 4110 Guadalupe). Please contact Kelly Roten at (512) 420-9810 or Kelly@namiaustin.org for more information.

A Clubhouse is both a program and a place. It offers a comprehensive mix of rehabilitation services in a restorative environment for people whose lives have been drastically disrupted due to mental illness. Clubhouses offer a unique, alternative approach to psychosocial rehabilitation by creating a welcoming community of people. Clubhouses are organized around a work-ordered day and designed to help members – adults living with serious mental illness – to rejoin the worlds of work, education, family, and friends. Watch a video of a Clubhouse in action – providing its members with unlimited opportunities to live fully.

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