TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction .. 3
Preface . .4
Our Accomplishments From 1998 1999 .. 4
Our Accomplishments From 1999 2000 .. 5
Our Accomplishments From 2000 2001 .. 6
Membership . 7
Relationships ... 8
Space 10
Work Ordered Day .. 10
Employment . 13
Functions of the House ..15
Funding and Governance .. 17
Appendices
INTRODUCTION
This application for accreditation is the first attempt by Potential Place. We felt our best chance to come up with a suitable self-study was to research and document the route we took.
In September 2002 we began to prepare for the January 2003 certification visit. We utilized our weekly clubhouse development meeting time to hold "accreditation" meetings with all clubhouse members in attendance. We did this instead of having self-study teams as all members felt that they wished to be included in the process. We researched what other clubhouses developed for their process, consulted the TEACH manual and used the Guide for Standards Review as a reference.
The membership agreed that this would be the process followed at accreditation meetings over the next few months. This enabled us to go through each of the standards and concepts. We arrived at three questions that needed to be answered.
We documented the results of these discussion meetings and made them available for any members who had missed the accreditation meeting.
In creating our draft we reviewed self-studies done by other clubhouses as well as our own meeting notes. We then sent this draft to each of the three units to be discussed, reviewed and acknowledged. This served as an additional open forum for further discussion. Different members added comments to our initial draft.
We then developed an editorial team with experience in writing, typing and desktop publishing to review and prepare the final draft. After four months of preparation the self-study document was completed to present to the certification team.
Looking at how our clubhouse community has evolved during this time, we learned that we now have a new common direction. Clubhouse members realized the importance and value of all standards and the ongoing dedication needed to achieve accreditation. Our new concept of the standards has taught us that completing the self-study process as a team is in many ways more important than achieving accreditation.
PREFACE
The Clubhouse Society of Calgary incorporated as a registered non-profit organization in 1995. Board members put $20.00 each on the table and one put in $1,000.00. Gord Young, the Executive Director came on board in 1997. He and some 15 now well seasoned members started in a basement at Knox United Church and from there they moved in 1998 to some rented space at the Rehabilitation Society building and eventually from there we moved to our new home in May of 2000. Early on we didnt have much money until our Provincial Government stepped forward to sponsor a 3-year Clubhouse Demonstration Project in 1998. They helped us with salaries for a number of staff as well as money for our rent. We decided to go to the community for the rest of the money and thank God they responded by providing us with the needed monies for our programs to be put in place. The Alberta Mental Health Board has since extended our sponsorship well beyond its original agreement because they feel we have proved that we could remain a viable cost effective program providing many needed service for our members. We are so fortunate to now have our "Potential Place" of hope in a community that cares. Here are some of the individual accomplishments that we have achieved in our young history.
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 1998
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 1999 + 2000
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2001 + 2002
MEMBERSHIP
Potential Place has touched more than 500 different members since we first opened in 1998. Last year approximately 250 of our registered members attended here. This past year our average daily attendance has grown from 27 members to 33 members. Our 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. Our referrals come from a variety of sources. Many consumers hear about clubhouse through their psychiatrist or nurse, or through one of the three psychiatric facilities within the city. Others hear about our program from other members. The Clubhouse membership has control over its acceptance of new members. When consumers arrive to inquire into the possibility of becoming members, they are first given a short tour of the Clubhouse. They are then given an intake package to take home with them, which they can either complete on their own or with our assistance. When these forms are filled out they may book an intake meeting. If, during the meeting, there is any question as to whether this individual is appropriate for membership (i.e. they are a potential danger to the clubhouse members) then this information is brought back to the Membership Services Unit where a group decision is made as to whether this is the most appropriate setting for that person at this time. Should membership be refused, every attempt is made to redirect individuals to appropriate services within the community. A formal orientation meeting is then held every few weeks as needed to further discuss clubhouse philosophy and other opportunities that new members may wish to participate in.
Membership is voluntary and without time limits and members may return to the Clubhouse after any length of absence. There are no agreements, contracts, schedules, or rules intended to enforce member participation. Members choose the way they use the Clubhouse, and the staff with whom they work. All members have equal access to every Clubhouse opportunity with no differentiation based on diagnosis or level of functioning. Members are supported and encouraged to become involved in areas that they are either interested in or have special talents in. Further, members have complete access to their own file only. All files are kept locked up. We at Potential Place only keep basic information on a members file, and members can choose to place any further material there as well.
We feel that outreach to members is an important aspect in developing a healthy Clubhouse community. Each unit is responsible for contacting the members within their own unit. Outreach has taken on many different forms over the past three years. We visit members in their homes and in the hospital when it is possible to do so. We also try to regularly call members who have not come to the Clubhouse recently.
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 o9r members. We have recently sent out a letter to all members who have not participated in the Clubhouse for at least four months. We are reminding them that they are still a member and encouraging them to return if and when they are ready.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
RELATIONSHIPS
During discussions, both members and staff felt that the Clubhouse is a very unique, non-hierarchical workplace. A member stated, "If there were no members, there would be no jobs for the staff." In order to have a functioning clubhouse, you need members and staff working together. In our Clubhouse, cleaning washrooms, planning social activities, brainstorming during planning days, developing budgets, writing self-studies, and even interviewing new employees are joint staff-member jobs. Everyone felt this clearly portrays the kind of respect and unilateral trust that is shared between members and staff we now call colleagues. We have also developed a process and committees through which differences among Clubhouse members and staff are resolved. When a staff member has to be out of the Clubhouse to work or TE or for other responsibilities, member leaders feel comfortable in taking on leadership and responsibility. Staff members are careful to share the responsibilities of working evenings, statutory holidays, and weekends among themselves. Members also said that it is a comfort to know that they can approach either staff or a member to talk or ask questions of. This creates a closer community environment where everyones voice is heard. In turn everyone said they feel safe, important, wanted, needed and appreciated.
Together, the staff and members give direction to the Clubhouse. Both members and staff are chosen by a selection committee of members to go on training. We developed this process at the recommendations of several members who had attended training. They suggested that we should make it possible for as many staff and members to attend training as possible. Because we place such value on training, we have, through consensus, decided to participate in fund raising events. Activities that we can raise funds from are coffee houses, bottle drives, and bake sales. We do car washes, annually sell programs at the "Legends of Hockey" game. These group efforts have helped boost morale and help supported our training initiatives.
Although Potential Place is not open on Christmas, some members and staff open their homes to other members. This concentrated effort helps to include everyone in their holiday celebrations.
We initially had difficulties in developing our education unit. This was due to attempting to satisfy the expectations of our funder. According to the Clubhouse philosophy, and at the request of our members, education was needed to meet these identified needs of the membership. They advocated creating workshops and public forums that would be based on getting their educational and vocational needs and desires met. This generated excitement as members generating input into the process. It seemed to create a sense of membership ownership and pride. It also strengthened the relationships that were developed within the unit
Members and staff work together in making and recording group program decisions regarding our Clubhouse, giving members a feeling of empowerment over their lives and in the clubhouse environment. Our members have been involved in every aspect of Clubhouse, from strategic planning, budget development, program planning, and developing recreational, vocational and educational goal setting.
RECOMMENDATIONS
SPACE
The layout of Potential Place is much like a typical office in Calgary. The Clubhouse is divided into three units, each which have their own wall divided space. The rooms are large, bright, and open. We have a multi-purpose room that is used for Board meetings, workshops, job interviews, small meetings and for recreation activities such as watching movies, practicing yoga, focus groups, and work shops. Our director has an office to complete administrative tasks; however, it is also used for extra computer space, storage and small meetings.
The quiet room was made at the insistence of the membership. Our quiet room has seen extensive upgrades, such as an aquarium, new paint and a stereo system. This has made it more attractive and has increased its ambience. Members respect the use of the quiet room and use it only when there is a need for a moment of sanctuary or a private conversation.
We also have new areas developed for storage space. We have a laundry room, a tool shed, a dry pantry area and washrooms with handicapped capabilities in the rear area of the Clubhouse.
We have a large commercial kitchen with ample working space and a large eating are with seating capacity for 70 people. Members have painted a mural on the wall and we love to decorate this area for special occasions like dances, employment dinners and large gatherings like meetings and our annual interagency Chili Cook off Contests. We also have a member run tuck shop where drinks, candy and extra meals can be purchased. Members are free to get coffee on an honour system and we also have a donation container for spare change to pay for lunches ($2.00) for members not able to pay at that time.
To sum up, the Clubhouse is basically like living with a family where everybody shares the same space, learning everybodys quirks and communication styles.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
WORK ORDERED DAY
The Clubhouse is open form Monday to Friday. The hours of operation are from 8:30a.m. until 4:30p.m. This attempts to parallel normal working hours. It also allows for a scheduled coffee break in the morning. Work Ordered days begin at 8:30 a.m. when we prepare breakfast and make coffee in the tuck shop. Members and Staff also prepare the kitchen for usage that day. One of the units, Member Services, puts together a daily news flash that is read at the group morning meeting at 9:15 a.m. The purpose of the news flash is to update the Clubhouse with regards to upcoming events of the day including, menu for the day, the staff whereabouts, TE openings, opportunities and updates, along with any other pertinent announcements. This morning meeting is attended by the entire Clubhouse and is a place where we can get connected personally, laugh at the joke of the day and get motivated for the operations of the day.
We then move on to our unit meetings at 9:30 a.m. There are three units: Member Services, Food Services and Vocational Services. Each unit has a job board where colleagues in the unit take turns recording who would like to volunteer to do the specified tasks for the day. There are two staff members per unit except for Vocational Services, which has three.
Member Services duties are comprised of managing intakes, record keeping, developing Potential Places "Challenger" Newsletter, maintaining statistics, doing mail outs, and administrative duties like bills to be paid. Food Services is responsible for preparing breakfast, lunch, birthday and special event deserts, food purchasing, menu planning, budgeting, most maintenance and managing the tuck shop revenues. Vocational Services takes the imitative surrounding education and employment, including: planning and putting on personal skills development workshops, running public forums, developing the "Connector" (Consumer Voice) Newsletter, TE opportunities to be developed and Employment Dinner planning and implementation. Vocational Services also develops creative multicultural themes for Employment Dinners such as Korean, Mexican, Ethiopian, Turkish, Canadian, Jewish and others.
The standard of the day is briefly discussed in the units at the morning meeting. Members mentioned how different our Clubhouse is from day clinics and sheltered workshops that they have experienced. Members have said that Potential Places work ordered day programming helps them live up to their dreams, by using their strengths, talents and abilities. Through the work ordered day members have the opportunity for the creation of new relationships, and the learning of new skill sets. When our members and staff partake in decision making under the Clubhouse model, it allows them to develop in many different ways. The skills members gain, even though they are not job specific, is a great asset for feeling confident enough to one day re-enter the workforce and re establish themselves into their own communities once again.
The work done in the Clubhouse is exclusively the work generated by the Clubhouse in the operation and enhancement of the Clubhouse community. Examples of work generated in the Clubhouse for the Clubhouse are: typing letters for fundraising, creating newsletter articles, creating signs and posters for clubhouse events like coffee houses, event and strategic planning, feeding the fish etc. No work for outside individuals or agencies, whether for pay or not, is acceptable work in the Clubhouse. Members have brought up concerns about some members using Clubhouse resources for their own monetary gain, which does not fit the work ordered day. These activites have been stopped and are monitored by all members.
Members are not paid for any Clubhouse work, nor are there any artificial reward systems. Members are not paid because if they were, they would not move forward. We find that It helps build someones self esteem when they are working in small, medium and large group projects together toward a common goal of enhancing the Clubhouse community. Also, members feel that favoritism would become an issue if members would be paid for work.
We have an afternoon unit meeting at 1:00 p.m. that has a similar function to the morning unit meeting. The afternoon tends to be more projects-focused rather than task-focused. We hold house meetings on Mondays, which include unit goals for the week, a review of what units achieved last week, colleague recognition and announcements. We have found that house meetings are great for building team spirit by encouraging one another and by enthusiastically crossing off last weeks goals when we accomplish them.
However, like many businesses in Calgary, the Clubhouse has a much freer schedule on Friday afternoons. Some people continue to work up until 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoons and others enjoy recreation and socializing. Friday evenings are designated for recreation although members still may have many work ordered day tasks. For example, preparing supper and cleaning up, working the tuck shop, cashing out and answering the phones must be done.
Everyone decides on what is to be done in the Clubhouse. The work we decide to do creates and answers needs to be filled by the Clubhouse. Members work on posters, do dishes, and support others in Transitional Employment positions. These are all tasks that help to bring us together. Members have expressed a feeling of self worth and confidence because they feel needed, appreciated, and part of a community that has a set of common goals.
Is it okay for members to do things that do not seem to fit into the work ordered day? Some members find it most difficult just to get to the Clubhouse, let alone be engaged in some of our activities. Often, members have motivated other members by saying things like, "Somehow being busy can help us get through the day faster and not focus on negative things." A major priority for our Clubhouse is to continue to foster relationships and yet also have fun encouraging one another within the context of the work.
Members are engaged in all areas of the Clubhouse - from working on the Board to scrubbing the toilets. They are involved in intakes, development of research projects, orientation meetings and tours, doing outreach calls and visits. They help with the hiring, training and evaluation of the staff, promoting public relations, participating in public forums, and evaluating Clubhouse effectiveness, such as working on this self-study.
RECOMMENDATIONS
EMPLOYMENT
Our employment program at Potential Place started with two TEs in the fall of 1999. Since then we have been assisting members with all different types of employment.
Potential Place enables its members to return to paid work through Transitional Employment (TE) and Independent Employment (IE); therefore, we do not provide employment to members through in-house businesses, segregated Clubhouse enterprises or sheltered workshops.
Potential Place currently has six TE placements in four firms. Two are dishwashing positions at Santa Fe Grill, one is cart cleaning with Smokin Joes, one is warehouse labor at Orlicks Transportation, and one is office cleaning at Heatherbrae Construction. Fourteen members have worked at these TEs for a total of 1891.5 hours and an earned total of $13,395.50.
Our Group Employment (GE) has been very successful this year with three different businesses:
Members had the opportunity to work at either transitional employment or group employment.
In 2002, 30 members worked at GEs, for a total of 687 hours, earning between them $4485.00. Note: In 2001, 45 members worked GEs for a total of 997.5 hrs, earning $7001.50 between them.
In the past twelve months, we have had an increasing number of members independently employed in positions such as: catering, janitorial, dishwashing, street vendor, counseling, teaching, and security guard. These positions are all listed on the job board in Food Services. There are at least 20-30 members working independently.
When staff are at or securing a TE, members have the opportunity to step in and fill the role of the staff. This opportunity encourages members to take responsibility and leadership. This has served to strengthen relationships within the Clubhouse, as we have learned to rely on each other.
As a defining characteristic of a Clubhouse Transitional Employment program, Potential Place guarantees coverage on all placements during member absences. All Clubhouse staff are expected to participate in our TE and GE programs. The membership at Potential Place is successful at supporting its members working for outside employers. Each unit has at least two staff in it, so that there is usually coverage to facilitate the unit work while staff are in the community supporting the TE program and training members to do the work. The Clubhouse will also assist members with doing the appropriate paper work for benefits such as Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) Or Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
While the minimum wage is only $5.90 per hour in Alberta, which is the lowest in the country, our TE Program will only accept jobs that pay at least $7.00 / hour. Members always get paid directly from the employer, and not from the Clubhouse.
In an attempt to acquire a wide variety of TE positions, our members have met on several occasions to decide where and how we can access TE. This process insures that we are always trying to respond to the needs of our members.
Every TE is part-time and time-limited. They range from 4 hours every two weeks to 24 hours per week. Most are for a 6-month to 9-month period. Our GE program allows members to try working for an employer for just a few hours at a time with staff and other members. This supportive environment is often the stepping-stone to a TE position.
The Calgary job market is an interesting one. Our economy has been booming for years. There are an abundance of entry-level positions with not enough people to fill them. Unfortunately, often these jobs are in high stress areas and/or not accessible with adequate transportation. However, most of our members have worked at least once in the past year because work is so available. While waiting for TE and GE positions to become available, members will often go out into the community and acquire employment. However, usually symptoms of mental illness will affect their ability to keep their job. The Clubhouse will assist members with everything from making a resume to issues around surviving or losing a job.Some members, however, are ready for and wanting independent employment. Some do part time work, others do casual work and a few work full-time. The Clubhouse provides support to these members in a variety of ways. We assist members with preparing for work by pre-job planning and resume development. We also assist in job search techniques, how to handle an interview and how to keep your job. In the past we have attempted to provide ongoing workshops in these areas, however, we have discovered that most of this is much more effective when done on an individual basis. Often other members will assist with these areas.
Our Employment Dinners are on the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. By making them later in the day, members who are working can often get here for the dinner. We try to make the dinners a very special event - with dim lighting, flowers on the tables, and a very special menu. Each Employment Dinner has a different ethnic theme. We use flags, menus from the countries and other decorations. All members are welcome to attend these dinners. There is always an agenda. Sometimes we just report on who is working in what positions and congratulate those working. Other times we have guest speakers. Each member can also bring a guest. This has been very useful, as it has allowed family members to see the positive, supportive environment within the Clubhouse that helps members to get and keep employment. The inspirational stories of members at Employment Dinners have helped members engage in, and get excited about work. It gives members a feeling of hope because they see others who are successful in the community; members who sometimes have never worked, or have not worked in many years.
RECOMMENDATIONS
FUNCTIONS OF THE HOUSE
Potential Place is located in the downtown area of Calgary and is accessible via Calgary Transit. Two of our transitional employment positions are located downtown. The other positions are on transit routes; however, we also provide transportation when needed. We also provide transportation to and from the group employment. We also give out bus tickets when members need them. Our Clubhouse sees our location as a highly important aspect of attendance. Otherwise our members would face unnecessary barriers to opportunities that should be easily accessible. For instance, Calgary had a transit strike last year and all affordable transportation was lost for eight weeks. Our attendance was down and so we picked members up and brought them here.
Members and staff offer community support services. This is one to one support that is unique and tends to bring out everyones talents and abilities. Calgary is becoming a very rich city with few low-income units available. The housing that is available to people on social assistance or disability is far from adequate, safe housing. We really see our members struggling with a lot of issues and decided to put forth a housing proposal to the Calgary Homeless Foundation. This proposal was just recently presented for funds to purchase apartments, condos and townhouses. We would then develop a "scattered site" housing program utilizing a housing council of members who would live in these units. This model allows members to have a choice of whether they prefer an independent housing situation or to live with a roommate. They have the opportunity to live in the area of choice in the city. Although, this housing proposal is presently in the development stage, we think the research is sound and the mental health sector in Calgary ranked it as a high need priority. We have a housing committee that is charged to investigate this process and oversee its development.
In the area of Advocacy, some of our staff and members are part of a "low-income coalition" that meets regularly and advocates on behalf of people in the low-income bracket. We have just recently put on a workshop about an effective way to write a letter to your MLA. about the plight of consumers on low income support and its hardships. This workshop was very empowering and members felt like they had a voice and could contribute and advocate for themselves and others better.
We have recently started a smoking cessation group that is conducted by the Substance Abuse Clinic at the Foothills Hospital. This was funded by the Alberta Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission (ADAAC). Our Clubhouse identified smoking as a major problem that affects members both physically and financially (i.e.; a pack of cigarettes costs $15.00 in 2003). The first group was four weeks in duration and the next group in January will be an eight-week program. The group is voluntary and is tailored specifically for people with mental illness.
Advocacy is important to both members and staff. There are many areas of advocacy and many levels of involvement. Usually a member will approach a staff or member regarding a personal issue. This may entail legal, confidential, personal matters, and how to proceed with the matter.We have several public presentations and displays around mental health issues during our fiscal year. This aids in networking with community agencies and professionals and allows us to make appropriate referrals. Some examples are: displays during Mental Health week, at Calgary Community Network, and at the Organization for Bi-Polar and Affective Disorders conference. We have done one public forum on the Clubhouse model, and have a second one planned for January 2003.
The Clubhouse continually takes responsibility for objectively evaluating its effectiveness. Conducting this self study over the past while was an example of this. We spent our weekly Clubhouse Development meeting times reviewing the clubhouse standards calling them accreditation meetings. Four questions that we discussed were the basis of the meeting format: 1. What does this standard or group of standards mean? 2. Why is/are these important? 3. Are we following it/them and 4. What could we possibly do to improve this? The meetings were held over the duration of several months and allowed ourselves to have a sense of direction, a reflection of our accomplishments and a scheduled time to sit together and discuss areas for improvement.
Planning days are held in spring and fall each year. Over a two-day period, members have the opportunity to express their opinions and to steer the Clubhouse using the guiding principles as they desire. These two days are much like a business conference, where there is an agenda of items to review and both members and staff are involved in developing and facilitating the sessions. The meals are provided during the planning days free of charge for those participating. The results of these days give us direction and an action plan for the next six months.
Six of eight staff has been to Clubhouse training at certified training bases. Of the two new staff, one has gone to Western Regional Conference and the other has visited an accredited clubhouse (Pathways Clubhouse in Richmond, British Columbia) to learn about their employment program.We have a committee developing a questionnaire to investigate opening on Saturdays for a variety of fun activities. We are always open during civic, provincial and federal holidays except this past Christmas and Boxing Days as members and staff decided this would be OK. Alternatives places to get together were available for some members with no close family to celebrate with during the holidays. In addition, some members volunteered to have other members over during the two days that Clubhouse is closed.
RECOMMENDATIONS
FUNDING AND GOVERNANCE
Potential Places Board of Directors is comprised of ten people including: an accountant, a lawyer, several business people, parents, clubhouse members and other interested parties. The term of service for a Board member is two years, serving for a maximum 3 terms. The current President of the Board is serving his second term, with other Board members having served for as long as 6 years. Potential Place has two member representatives on its Board, who serve the same term as a member of the public and are appointed by the membership as set out in the Societys By Laws. The longest term served by a member representative is 4 years: a full term, and a portion of the second term. This is in accordance with the previous by-laws, which stated that a term was three years in length with a maximum of two terms. Another change that was made in the Societys by-laws was that, at one point, half of the twelve-member Board must consist of 6 members. This policy was changed to the current one, in which only 20% of the Board can be member representatives, three years ago.
The purpose of a member representative on the Societys Board is to take concerns of the members to the Board, and report back to the members. In addition, member representatives will be chosen to represent the Board to other organizations or Clubhouse gatherings. They are also responsible for reporting to the membership at consensus meetings, morning meetings, and Clubhouse development meetings.
Each unit within the organization has an annual planning meeting, which usually follows the Planning days held by the Clubhouse. At this meeting, planning for the upcoming year occurs, including the development of the budget for each unit. Adjustments have been made over the years, but currently each unit develops their budget, then passes it to the Executive Director to review, make changes to, and present to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors then makes their own changes, and presents the units with a final budget. Each unit is accountable for their own funds. Members and staff are responsible for accounting for petty cash.
For several years there was a difference in procedures between the Food Services unit and the other two units. For example, the Food Services unit was the only unit that needed to account for income due to the in-flow of cash to its tuck shop. Currently, however, all the units use the same accounting procedure, which was developed by our treasurer. After each unit completes their monthly accounting, this information is passed on to the treasurer, who then reports to the Board.
Equality of staff salaries was an issue until recently, when a member representative to the Board pushed for an increase in wages, and the staff, including the executive director, were all given raises. This increase brings their pay closer to the pay received by other mental health professionals.
Potential Place has the support of the Alberta Mental Health Board, although only a portion of our funding comes from them.
We remain connected with families, consumers, and professional organizations through hosting open houses. Usually on or around holidays, we welcome professionals, the business community and families to drop in and take an impromptu tour of the facility. We also give formal tours and interviews with prospective members. We attend community-networking meetings with other organizations, but members feel that we need to develop further relationships with these other organizations in order for these gatherings to be effective and useful to the Clubhouse. Families are more than welcome to take place in any Clubhouse activity or fundraiser, and are kept apprised of upcoming and past events through a monthly newsletter.
The Clubhouse holds open forums and has procedures which enable members and staff to actively participate in decision making, generally by consensus, regarding governance, policy making, and the future direction and development of the clubhouse.
Although accreditation meetings temporarily replaced clubhouse development meetings we usually alternate weekly consensus meetings with them. At consensus meetings we discuss issues that arise at the Clubhouse that need addressing as a group for proper governance. At these meetings, decisions are made regarding the operation of the Clubhouse. We discuss topics ranging from the use of fundraising dollars to ethics/grievance committee issues. These are documented and saved in a book for further review one year later to see if we all still agree on the procedures. Our strategic planning occurs during clubhouse planning days which are held every six months for a two-day period. Along with working together toward planning our future, these meetings including working groups help to establish a clear understanding of the Clubhouse model and the importance of the members owning their decisions.
RECOMMENDATIONS