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    • Club House International – Our Clubhouse Building Is Closed. Our Clubhouse Community Is Open.

    By on March 31, 2020

    As our international Clubhouse community responds to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Clubhouses are now adjusting to the reality of having to operate as ‘virtual’ Clubhouse communities.

    Clubhouse International has been in communication with our International Training Bases and with many Clubhouses around the world.

    We have been learning about how they are creating systems to ensure that their members still have the critical supports of belonging to a Clubhouse, even as they are not able to gather together in their Clubhouse buildings.

    We have always said that Clubhouses are communities, rather than simply being mental health ‘programs.’

    Club SUCCESS of Lakeland Florida is keeping the community together via ZOOM 

    Now we are learning just how true this is. Clubhouse resiliency, innovation, passion, and dedication have quickly led to an inspiring array of strategies and solutions to address the new reality.

    Members and staff may no longer be able to gather together inside their Clubhouse buildings, but they have shown that they will continue to support each other through this crisis.

    We are deeply moved and awed by the extraordinary level of care and connection that continues to hold Clubhouse communities together, despite the severe restrictions regarding physical togetherness.

    Our international Clubhouse community should take a moment to reflect on this phenomenon.

    We should be aware that, as a Clubhouse community, we have succeeded in creating a network of human connectedness and unconditional support that is almost unheard of in today’s society.

    Even in the uncertainty and anxiety of these days, this is something we should all understand, and celebrate.

    Rather than implementing ‘social distancing,’ as our governments have suggested to us, Clubhouse communities have chosen to implement a system of ‘physical distancing.’ And in spite of this physical distancing, we are finding creative ways to remain socially engaged with each other.

    Below, you will find a compilation of suggestions for implementing a Virtual Clubhouse, gathered from many Clubhouses, coalitions, and our Training Bases.

    As it looks as if this situation may continue for some time, we will continue to update you with new strategies as we move ahead into this unknown terrain of this ‘new normal.’

    It is also important to note that even amid all the anxiety and chaos of this moment, Clubhouses have identified some bright spots. Here are a few:

    Clubhouse community is about getting to know one other as whole human beings. Our work-ordered day, Transitional Employment and social program have established a framework in which staff and members develop multi-dimensional relationships.

    As we move into this new dimension of ‘virtual’ Clubhouse connectedness, we will have the opportunity to further deepen and broaden the ways in which we know each other as human beings.

    With the temporary reduction of daily Clubhouse tasks, until we are organized with a new kind of workday, staff and members can take advantage of the extra time we now have to engage in longer conversations than we might have had in a typical busy Clubhouse workday.

    Clubhouse relationships have the opportunity to grow stronger, deeper, and richer as a result of this pandemic.

    The following is a compilation of strategies and suggestions from Clubhouses around the world, as they begin to operate as Clubhouse communities ‘without walls.’

    These ideas are from Clubhouses with a wide range of different circumstances, in different countries, of varying sizes.

    Although not all of the ideas in this document will be relevant for all Clubhouses, we hope that your Clubhouse will be able to find some suggestions that will be helpful for the unique needs of your Clubhouse community.

    We have organized this document loosely according to the overall headings of:

     

    Peace River Center’s Club SUCCESS is part of an international program certified by Clubhouse International, which includes more than 330 Clubhouses in 30 countries throughout the world.

    Source: Club House International

     

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