How Does a Clubhouse Work?

A Clubhouse is a warm, supportive, accepting place where community serves as therapy for people living with serious mental illness. Membership is open to adults aged 18 and older with histories of mental illness.

The Clubhouse provides a place for Members to work, make friends, and socialize. Engagement with the community, meaningful work, and responsibility help Members to regain mental health. During a "work-ordered day," Members and an intentionally small, Clubhouse-trained staff work in partnership, sharing responsibility for the Clubhouse's functioning, activities, and success. Together, Members and staff plan and execute the tasks of maintaining the Clubhouse and the range of programs they develop. Work units are designed to help members obtain employment, resume education, and build relationships and social networks in the wider community. Our Members also regularly engage in advocacy work for those suffering from mental illness.

Employment is a key area where Clubhouses have a substantial impact. The Clubhouse partners with local employers to provide transitional and supported employment. Members work at jobs with these partner businesses as part of the Employment Program. Many also pursue independent employment with help from the Clubhouse team to research job opportunities, apply for jobs, and learn interview skills.

The Clubhouse offers a holistic approach to wellness, which is essential to recovery. Members and staff together engage in nutritious meal planning and preparation. Where possible, Members enjoy community gardening and have access to fresh produce. Members also have regular opportunities for exercise and a range of wellness practices such as yoga and meditation. Members together plan varied social activities both at the Clubhouse and in the larger community. The Clubhouse provides a place to make long-lasting friendships.

A sample Member’s day at a Clubhouse might include:

  • A morning community meeting

  • Meal planning, shopping, and preparation

  • Outreach phone calls to Members, advocacy work for mental health

  • Job research, data gathering, resume building, and mock interviews

  • Outreach to schools, application support, tutoring for fellow Members

  • Management of a library/media center

  • Art studio or music time

  • A tech literacy study group

  • Design, editing, publication of a Clubhouse newsletter

An Evidence-Based, Cost-Effective Solution

Research has proven that Clubhouses promote recovery and help people with serious mental illness reintegrate into the greater community.

Clubhouses are cost-effective:

  • Clubhouse membership has been shown to reduce the number of hospitalizations by one-third and the average number of hospital days per year by 70%.

  • Clubhouses are 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of other mental health care models.

  • One year of holistic recovery services can be delivered to Clubhouse members for the same cost as a 2-week psychiatric hospital stay.

  • The employment rate at accredited Clubhouses tops 42%, which is 2-3 times higher than that for adults in the public mental health system.

Often, Clubhouse Members are at risk, and the Clubhouse becomes a center for accessing community resources for healthcare, housing, and more.

Clubhouses are funded by government grants, including Medicaid, as well as by foundation grants and private donations. The funding model varies from state to state and country to country but in all cases reflects a strong public-private community partnership.

The Clubhouse model has been implemented in more than 400 communities in 28 countries since its inception in 1948. A global network, Clubhouse International, assures the development and quality of Clubhouses through training and an accreditation process. Hudson Valley Clubhouse will join a coalition of more than 174 accredited Clubhouses in the United States.

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Our Community

The Hudson Valley Clubhouse offers people living with serious mental illness a supportive community to foster long term recovery. When you join our Clubhouse at 98 Cannon Street, you become a member alongside peers and staff. We value each other, we work together, and we believe community is the best therapy.

A Day at the Clubhouse

At the Clubhouse, each day’s activities are structured like a day in the workplace, “a work-ordered day.” You will find friends and engage in work that reflect your own immediate interests and longer-term goals ranging from; learning to cook, finding a job, returning to school, to finding a place to live. Every member of the Clubhouse contributes to our operation as we meet daily, plan meals, cook together, keep our house clean, reach out to support fellow members, and advocate for mental health awareness.

Advocacy

When you speak to legislators, policymakers, lobbyists, and healthcare professionals you teach them how important it is for them to pass bills and laws that support programs like the Clubhouse. What’s more, as a Clubhouse member you tell them what our community can do for recovery that no other community mental health initiative does. Your story will attract the media. Speak out to make leaders aware so they can work to fund more Clubhouse programs.

Member Testimonials

  • I came into the Hudson Valley Clubhouse on January 10, 2024. I was across the way in the basement of the church next door working/volunteering like I Always do, at least once a week at Meals on Wheels. I finished up in the church and then on the urgency of my situation with housing and finding services my church family referred me over to Mr. Blaise Sackett, the gentleman who started the HVC (Hudson Valley Clubhouse) here in Poughkeepsie. That day I joined the clubhouse and I never left. After joining my life became more meaningful. I, since then, have been a very loyal member coming in every day to the Clubhouse and making a difference any way I can. Since joining in January 2024, I have been coming every day. By doing this I naturally fell into the role of teacher/educator. I am an English teacher by degree. So rather than the traditional role of teacher, but rather a teacher from experience and that includes my diagnosis of Bipolar I and ADHD. I have made it my life mission to educate and help anyone suffering from a diagnosis who really needs the guidance and patience to help those who are in desperate need of help. In conclusion, since becoming a member of the HVC my life has gained life-long friends and a place where not only am I heard, but I also help those who come through our doors.

    Rana M.

  • On my first day at the clubhouse, I helped the Executive Director set up a computer and installed a laser printer. The test page worked. I then set up three more computers for peer members to use. I have education in information technology and do artwork in my spare time, so on my second day I got out my markers to create a logo for our first professional brochure. I live with a serious mental illness and am unable to work for now. But my skills and talents can help others. Having moved to Poughkeepsie knowing not a soul, I was looking for a way to do meaningful but less stressful activity in my interest area and to socialize with like-minded people. At the Clubhouse we participate in a work-ordered day in which our tasks and projects are like real-world jobs. Members looking for jobs in the community learn how to be part of a workplace together and independently. Socializing in a community while focusing on projects is also important for members who seek further education to get more skills. Also critical is to do house tasks to maintain our space with order and neatness, keep our space social-friendly and organize our workstations so we can work productively together. Some peers transition out into the community, some members stay at the clubhouse to keep the space in good order so future members can join to experience our work-ordered day and meet others. We socialize, work, learn and grow. Each of us is valued for our unique opinion and ideas about how we can better our community here at 98 Cannon St. The more we help each other, the more members will come in. We need to do whatever it takes to keep The Hudson Valley Clubhouse

    Sarah K.

Employment

The Clubhouse partners with local employers to help you get and keep a job. In the Clubhouse Employment unit, members and staff reach out and build relationships with potential employers and employment-related service agencies. You will help peers to develop resumes and practice interview skills, and to re-enter the workforce where and when they are ready. The Clubhouse offers specific programs of Transitional and Supported employment, adding an additional layer of assistance as needed. Clubhouse members get jobs at least twice as often as persons with serious mental illness who are part of the public mental health system.

Education

High school and college are often interrupted by serious mental illness. The Clubhouse Education unit offers members a place to reconnect, and restart their schooling as they wish. Together with fellow members, you can reach out to local schools, apply for admission, revise or extend your program of education. We support each other in tutoring, and broader curriculum planning, as we work to achieve career goals. 

Health and Wellness

Our approach to mental health recovery begins with the basics of self care. We make lunch together at the Clubhouse. Members and staff plan a menu, prepare the meal and enjoy healthy eating together. Often members plan in house exercise classes, yoga or stretch, pilates or weight training. And we enjoy music and arts whenever possible. We believe that a holistic approach to wellness nourishes mind, body and spirit for a long term healthy life.

Become a Hudson Valley Clubhouse Member

When you become a Hudson Valley Clubhouse member, you join a community that values your contribution, insight, and ambition. We want to see all our members lead dignified lives and realize their dreams. Hudson Valley Clubhouse currently operates programs at 98 Cannon Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601