Cubicle

A few weeks ago, I was asked if it ever gets emotionally difficult to visit clubhouses and work at the ICCD because of how much I care about mental health issues. My response was a quick and emphatic "not really."

To me, clubhouses are hope, they are what the world should be. They are what the approximately 20 - 25% of the single adult homeless population who suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness needs. They are what the nearly 1 million people who die by suicide every year need. They are what the thousands of people trapped in a cycle of release and readmit from psychiatric hospitals need.

"This is the happy ending, and the people I work with every day are the authors."

We have the medical model in place, we know how to treat people with mental illnesses physically, chemically, and emotionally, and that is amazing. But have we learned how to treat them as people? At clubhouses, people with mental illnesses are given support, purpose, and respect. They are members, not patients. They partake in decision making and work side by side with staff. They have roles and tasks and they are who keeps these community centers we call clubhouses running. Even more, these 341 worldwide clubhouses prove to those who think people with mental illnesses are helpless, that they are wrong.

For that reason, I want there to be a clubhouse in every city, and every community in the world. Please check out the website for the International Center for Clubhouse Development, and find out even more reasons why!

Working at the ICCD this summer has been a blessing and sitting at this cubicle, next to beautiful, empathetic, talented, and joyful people, a blast. I've learned so much, grown so much, and become more INSPIRED than ever as a result of my time here!

It's going to be hard to say goodbye!