Our trip to Missourri

On May 3, 2009, Shawna Dennett, and I flew to St. Louis, Missouri for colleague training and made sure to get a good nights’ sleep before hand as we both knew we would have very busy and exciting days to look forward too. We were joined by five other guests for colleague training: Maya and Amber are from North Carolina, and Linka, June, and Beverly from London.

Monday was the first day of training, and I remember how amazing it was to walk in the doors of a Clubhouse quite like nothing I had ever seen before. I was breathless as I looked around and saw how open the space was so that members could not isolate from each other. They ask that everyone work in twos instead of alone, which I think is a great idea.

The club has three units: upper, street, and lower. We pick a level we wanted to work in for the first week and then choose another for the following week. I chose the street level and work in the bank where the members can make a deposit or withdraw. They could also have a check written and signed for them and then cash it at the register. Everyone worked as a team.

While I was doing that on the first few days, Shawna Dennett was cooking in the kitchen, snack bar, and cleaning the dining room and bathrooms. One of the things Shawna and I noticed is that we were coming into this training in the same way a new member would try to find where they belonged in the work-ordered day. In the beginning, it was hard to try to find something to do in order to feel like part of the team. That was when Shawna and I understood what it must feel like to be a new member or staff; we both have been part of Breakthrough for many years and have forgotten how it felt to be new. We must remember to open our eyes and see that there are new people who feel left out, and it is our job to help them by being friendly and remembering what it was like being the new person.


In training, we talk a lot about members and staff roles and work ordered day in the club house. Members are the foundation on which the club house is based, regarding their needs and even though it is voluntary, members are needed to run the club house, because without members the clubhouse would not exist. We, members, must work together and not expect staff to hold everything together; the staff must also do the same and keep an active interest in helping members to be involved in the work-order day. We should all work together each day, side by side, as we are colleagues and equals. As we talked about the work ordered day during a meeting, it dawned on me how important it is and how lucky we are to have it. It allows us as members to feel important, that our views matter, and are able to learned new skills; whether, that was going back to school, getting a job, or doing something like typing for the first time, you know the staff are there to help you to keep believing in yourself. If you come back to the reason you became a member you realize it’s not work; it’s about being stable and pushing yourself to the next level—not giving up but surviving and becoming better through recovery.


Another standard is Education and this is now becoming one of the most important parts of the club house model. It has become more of a foundation of the club house now that it is part of the standards. As we work together, we learn something new each time. It is not only members working on high school or college classes, but also teaches skills that are needed in the community. As members develop these skills, they teach others and the cycle keeps going. We are growing and becoming independent and this is proof of the power of education. Education is far more than getting a degree as we are learning everyday.

Employment is also another important part of the club house and is part of our standards. Here at Breakthrough, we have TEs to help members start their first jobs and our staff is here for support. Staff is also here to help with independent employment if needed. Here we never need to feel alone as we are a family. Employment gives us hope of recovering and becoming a better citizen. As members work we feel we are achieving our dreams. Without the employment program, our club house would not be able to exist as it is another foundation needed to have a strong club house.




Another thing we talked about was wellness. It does not have its own standard, but it is also a part of the work ordered day. That is about change though and will be part of the standards soon as it has had a great positive impact on members in a variety of ways. At Independence Center, they have a big wellness area where they do aerobics, weight lifting, stress relief, stretch classes, yoga, karate, and one on one time with the staff if needed. They have a studio that is about the size of our wellness center to have classes of 15 people at a time and also keep the weight room open all day except during meetings. They also have men’s and women’s lockers room with showers and bath rooms.

Independence Center’s young adult program is a lot smaller than ours and the ages are from 18-30 years old. They do not have a social program like here at Breakthrough, but do have a ‘get together’ twice a week but is mainly geared towards adults. Most of their members are mainly 24 and older. They are working on growing their young adult program through word of mouth and their website. I did have the opportunity to tell them what we do here at Breakthrough; they are looking into doing other activities during the evening, because they want to increase their young adult members.

They also have a tech area where they have a news corner about the clubhouse and also what is going on in the world around us. They also make videos for companies in their areas for less cost than their competitors. They made a video for all of the visiting colleagues and I thought it was awesome. Here at Breakthrough we have a ways to go before we could have our own news station, but we do have the technology. There could be some big changes coming soon!



Their social program is mainly eating dinner and then sending members home. They do have social evening once a week and sometimes on weekends, but do not do as many different things like we do here at Breakthrough. But because their wellness is open till 7pm that gives them time to work out during social hours. The Independence Center social coordinator said he would like to have a program more like Breakthrough’s and would like to come here and see what we do as far as socials and how members are involved in the planning each month. We may be a smaller clubhouse, but we have a lot going on for us! We are still on the top 10 list of the biggest clubhouses in the world and that should make all the members and staff proud of what we have here at our club house.

If you watch you will see members working together with each other and staff. This make a difference for everyone involved here at Breakthrough. We to remember what it was that brought us here and to let our hope shine through. Then you will see a place where you are home. Being wanted and loved for who you are no matter what is one of the greatest feelings in the world.


Shauna B.