Do We Need a Clubhouse?
This is a very important question. While many people are captivated by their first
Clubhouse visit, the program may or may not be the best fit for people in your community.
Clubhouses are one of many different support services that people who experience
disability following brain injury may benefit from. It is essential that people
in your community conduct a needs assessment to evaluate the specific needs of individuals
with disability in your region and existing services. You may find that a Clubhouse
the right for you, or you may find that a different approach is more suitable. Don’t
get stuck on one program or approach. Be open minded and listen to the needs of
all people in your area.
Can Our Region Support a Clubhouse?
A population base big enough to support a Clubhouse and a strong awareness of the
ongoing need for community support of people living with disabilities following
brain injury are crucial. Although there are no exact numbers, communities / regions
with a total population of 150,000 seem to do best. In addition to overall population
size, these communities usually have a variety of transportation, social service
and other services that work well with a Clubhouse. Support for a Clubhouse can
come from groups of people who have brain injuries, those who assist them, well
as government agencies, private donors or foundations, service providers, business
leaders and others.
How Large Does a Clubhouse Have to Be?
It generally takes at least 7 members on a given day to reach a critical mass of
community to get the work of the day done in the Clubhouse. As membership grows
the Clubhouse becomes even more engaging and dynamic. It often takes a few months
to reach this critical programming mass. Some Clubhouses start up on a part-time
basis as membership and resources grow. However, all Clubhouses are expected to
grow rapidly into full time – five days a week programs.
Getting Started
Assemble a working group of a variety of stakeholders who have time, passion and
knowledge to develop an ABI Clubhouse. Having at least three different types of
stakeholders in the working group is important to hold each other accountable for
garnering community support and keeping the process moving forward. Choose a facilitator
and schedule regular meetings even if you feel stuck. This is going to be hard but
rewarding work and it is important for the group to stay focused. Remember that
you are starting a business and a program that other people will come to depend
on. Too many early Clubhouse attempts have failed because people did not do the
diligent work required to adhere to the program model. One of the first steps in
your due diligence can be to …
Visit an ICCD or CARF accredited Clubhouse
ICCD Certified Clubhouses serve people with mental illness (except Cornerstone Clubhouse
in Canada which serves ABI) and are a wealth of information about the unique culture
of this partnership model. There are seven ABI Clubhouses in the U.S. that are accredited
by the Commission for the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Take
3 or more stakeholders and spend at least a whole day in a strong Clubhouse to get
a feel for the model and to determine whether it will meet the needs of your community.
The Clubhouse community is a generous group with a passion and commitment to helping
all people living with ABI gain access to a Clubhouse if they want it. As you can
imagine, Clubhouses are very busy places. We welcome your questions and a visit,
but due to other ongoing commitments, we may not have time to train each group individually
within a specific Clubhouse. However, the IBICA community will work with groups
who have completed their diligence and have demonstrated the necessary commitment
and resources to open a Clubhouse program.
Develop a Business Model
A Clubhouse must also be sustainable in order to meet the needs of its members.
It is critical for the Clubhouse to have its own separate space in an area that
is accessible for people with physical and cognitive disabilities, accessibility
to transportation, employment opportunities, retail stores like a grocery store
and other community venues that are important in daily life.
It is important to determine whether the Clubhouse will be an independent organization
or part of another agency. If you will be an independent agency it is important
to begin the steps required to establish a formal organization and board. The business
plan needs to consider how the program will be seeded financially (money for the
start up) and how it will sustain itself over time. It will be important to raise
$100,000-$300,000 for start-up funding for the first 2 years and to have also developed
a funding method to keep the Clubhouse going after that. Some of the funding stream
work can occur after the program starts, but you have to have a good idea and a
good plan for how these funds will be secured before you begin. Otherwise you may
face closure after start-up funds have been used up.
A diverse funding stream to keep the Clubhouse is ideal and will vary with each
area of the country. For example, some areas have local government funding to seed
a Clubhouse (but often not funding to sustain it!) while others have a strong system
to fund long term support services through Medicaid Waivers, Vocational Rehabilitation,
Injured Worker Rehabilitation, or even private donations. Most have a mixture of
several funding streams.
Next Steps
IBICA is considering offering a New Clubhouse Development Workshop for interested
working groups to be held once or twice a year. If your group is interested, please
contact
Cindi Johnson:
cindi@sidebysideclubhouse.org for more information about
schedules, costs, etc. We will help you assess your readiness for attending such
a workshop and help you identify any preliminary steps you might want to take to
make the best use of your working groups’ time and resources. After the workshop
your group will be connected with a mentor who will likely be a current ABI Clubhouse
Director to coach you through your action plan to open an ABI Clubhouse in your
area.