“The main purpose of the clubhouse is for someone who might be struggling with their mental illness to come and find community and build relationships and have a place to belong,” said Kathy Trick, the coordinator of the Miracle Clubhouse.
The clubhouse is a national model based on the belief that people can recover from mental illness, Trick said. The center helps members gain employment, navigate housing, go back to school and with getting medical treatment.
It also offers unique training options in the hospitality and business industries and is a place people can go to get back into the work routine after battling the challenges presented by mental illness.
Trick said community support of the project has helped hundreds of people and the clubhouse has brought awareness to the struggles many face here.
“ A diagnosis of a mental illness isn’t the end-all-be-all,” Trick said. “It’s going to be a block in a road that somebody might need to get help and support, but with right medications and/or therapy and support group, and then also with participation in the clubhouse model and having those relationships, it can really lead somebody to live a fulfilling and satisfying life.”
More information about the clubhouse is available at GESMV.org
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