1. Membership is voluntary and without time limit.
2. The Clubhouse has control over it's acceptance of new members. Membership is open to anyone with a history of mental illness, unless that person poses a significant and current threat to the general safety of the clubhouse community.
3. Members choose the way they utilise the clubhouse,and the staff with whom they work. There are no agreements, contracts,schedules,or rules intended to enforce participation of members.
4. All members have equal access to every clubhouse opportunity with no differentiation based on diagnosis or level of functioning.
5. Members, at their choice, are involved in the writing of all records reflecting their their participation in the clubhouse. All such records are to be signed by both member and staff.
6. Members have a right to immediate re-entry into the clubhouse community after any length of absence, unless their return poses a threat to the community.
7. All clubhouse meetings are open to both members and staff. There are no formal member only meetings or formal staff only meetings where program decisions and member issues are discussed.
8. Clubhouse staff are sufficient to engage the membership, yet small enough in number to make carrying out their responsibilities impossible without member involvement.
9. Clubhouse staff have generalist roles. All program staff share employment, housing, evening and weekend, and unit responsibilities. Clubhouse staff do not divide their time between clubhouse and other major work responsibilities.
10. Responsibility for the operation of the clubhouse lies with the members and staff and ultimately with the clubhouse director. Central to this responsibility is the engagement of members and staff in all aspects of clubhouse operation.
11. The clubhouse has its own identity including its own name, mailing address and telephone number.
12. The clubhouse is located in its own physical space. It is separate from the mental health centre or institutional settings, and is impermeable to other programs. The clubhouse is designed to facilitate the work-ordered day and at the same time be attractive, adequate in size, and convey a sense of respect and dignity.
13. All clubhouse space is member and staff accessible. there are no staff or member only spaces.
14. The work ordered day engages members and staff together, side by side in the running of the clubhouse. The clubhouse focuses on strengths, talents and abilities; therefore, the work-ordered day is inconsistent with medication clinics, day treatment or therapy programs within the clubhouse.
15. The work done in the clubhouse is exclusively the work generated by the clubhouse in the operation and enhancement of the clubhouse community. No work for outside individuals or agencies, whether for pay or not, is acceptable work in the clubhouse. Members are not paid for any clubhouse work, nor are there any artificial reward systems.
16. The clubhouse is open at least five days a week. The work-ordered day parallels normal working hours.
17. All work in the clubhouse is designed to help members regain self-worth, purpose and confidence; it is not intended to be job-specific training.
18. Members have the opportunity to participate in all the work of the clubhouse, including administration, research, intake and orientation, reach out, hiring, training and evaluation of staff, public relations, advocacy and evaluation of clubhouse effectiveness.
19. The clubhouse enables its members to return to paid work through Transitional Employment and Independent Employment; therefore, the clubhouse does not provide employment to members through in-house businesses, segregated clubhouse enterprises or sheltered workshops.
Transitional Employment
20. The Clubhouse offers it own transitional employment program which provides as a right of membership opportunities for members to work on job placements in business and industry. As a defining characteristic of a clubhouse transitional employment programme, the clubhouse guarantees coverage on all placements during member absences. In addition, the Transitional Employment program meets the following basic criteria:
a.The desire to work is the single most important factor determining placement opportunity.
b.Placement opportunities will continue to be available regardless of success or failure in previous placements.
c. Members work at the employer's place of business.
d. Members are paid the prevailing wage rate but at least minimum wage, directly by the employer.
e.Transitional Employment placements are drawn from a wide variety of job opportunities.
f. Transitional Employment placements are part-time and time-limited, generally 15 to 20 hours per week and from six to nine months in duration.
g. Selection and training of members on transitional employment is the responsibility of the clubhouse, not the employer.
h. Clubhouse members and staff prepare reports on TE employment for all appropriate agencies dealing with members' benefits.
i. Transitional Employment Placements are managed by clubhouse staff and members and not by TE specialists.
j. There are no Transitional Employments placements within the clubhouse. TEP at an auspice agency must be off-site from the clubhouse and meet all the above criteria.
Independent Employment
21. The clubhouse assits and supports members to secure, sustain and supports members to secure, sustain and upgrade independent employment.
22. Members working full time continue to have available all clubhouse supports and opportunities including advocacy for entitlement,and assistance with housing, clinical, legal, financial and personal issues as well as participation in the evening and weekend programs.
23. The clubhouse is located in an area where access to local transportation can be assured, both in terms of getting to and from the program and accessing TE opportunities. The clubhouse provides or arranges for effective alteratives whenever access to the public transportation is limited.
24. Community support services are provided by members and staff of the clubhouse. Community support activities are centered in the work unit structure of the clubhouse and include helping with entitalments,housing, and advocacy, as well as assistance in finding quality medical, psychological, pharmacological and substance abuse services in the community.
25.The Clubhouse is committed to securing a range of choices of safe, desent and affordable housing for all members. The clubhouse has access to housing opportunities that meet these criteria. or if unavailable. the clubhouse develops it's own housing program. In clubhouse housing:
a. members and staff manage the program together;
b. members who live there do so by choice;
c. members choose the location of there housing and their roommates;
d. policies and procedures are developed in a manner congruent with the rest of the clubhouse culture;
e. the level of support increases or decreases in response to the changing needs of the member;
f. members and staff actively reach out to help members keep their housing, especially during periods of hospitalization.
26. The clubhouse provides members education, which focuses both on basic tools such as literacy and computer skill as well as more advanced educational opportunities. As a significant dimension of the work-ordered day members serve as major resorces for tutoring and teaching in the member education programme.
27. The clubhouse assists members to take advantage of the adult education system in community in support of their vocational and personal aspirations.
28. The clubhouse has a method and takes responsibility for objectively evaluating it's own effectiveness.
29. The clubhouse director, staff and other appropriate persons participate in a three week training program in the clubhouse model at a certified training base. Consultations by the faculty for Clubhouse Development are provided all programs seeking to implement the clubhouse model.
30.The clubhouse has recreational and social programs during evenings and weekends. Holidays are celebrated on the actual day they are observed.
31. The clubhouse provides an effective reach out system to members who are not attending, becoming isolated in the community, or rehospitalised.
32. The clubhouse has an independant board of directors, or if it is affiliated with a sponsoring agency, has a seperate Advisory Board comprised of individuals uniquely positioned to provide fiscal, legal, legislative, consumer and community support and advocacy for the clubhouse.
33. The clubhouse develops and maintains its own budget, approved by the board or advisory board prior to the beginning of the fiscal year and monitored routinely during the fiscal year.
34. Staff salaries are competitive with comparable positions in the mental health field.
35. The clubhouse has the support of appropriate mental health authorities and has required licenses and certifications. The clubhouse seeks and maintains effective relationships with family, consumer and professional organisations.
36. The clubhouse holds open forums and has procedures which enable members and staff to actively participate in decision-making regarding governance, policy making, and the future direction and development of the clubhouse.
Revised 1995
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR CLUBHOUSE DEVELOPMENT
located at
Fountain House, inc.
