“Clubhouses thrive best when staff and members work side by side in the operation of the Clubhouse. This allows each individual to focus on their strengths, talents, and abilities, and discover what makes them flourish.”
-Shelby Swiderski, MHAPB Director of Programs
The Clubhouse Model
A community-based approach where we believe you can achieve amazing things.
Enter either of our Clubhouses in West Palm Beach or Belle Glade and you will find members—they are not patients or clients here—working side by side with our staff, discovering their talents and abilities and building long-term relationships that support them in increasing social and vocational skills and obtaining employment, education, and housing.
We follow the Clubhouse International model, guided by 37 standards and an evidence-based approach that has been proven to help people with mental illness recover their lives.
Our Clubhouses are centered on the belief that every member has the potential to sufficiently recover from the effects of mental illness to lead a personally satisfying life as an integrated member of society. They are local community centers that provide members with opportunities to build long-term relationships that support them in obtaining employment, education, and housing.
The Work-Ordered Day
The Foundation of the Clubhouse Model
For members, sustaining a routine is important for creating a sense of support and normalcy and enhancing coping skills. Members carry out a day at the Clubhouse much like a daily job by supporting the needs of MHA in partnership with staff. At our Clubhouses, members build skills, relationships, and the confidence that they can do amazing things.
Members work side-by-side with MHAPB staff to complete daily activities like preparing lunches, data-entry, producing videos in our media center, maintaining the Clubhouse, and assuming responsibility for attendance, billing, and statistical information.
By participating in the Work-Ordered Day, a sense of structure and purpose is restored in members’ lives. This sense of purpose is crucial and it’s what makes the Work-Ordered Day the operational foundation of the Clubhouse Model.
Once members have fully immersed themselves in the Work-Ordered Day and are motivated with their newfound confidence, they are in a great place to start participating in the many other opportunities that MHAPB has to offer.
Other Member Opportunities
