If you build it, they will come

April 30, 2009 by Lynn Huelsmann
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Creating a new clubhouse was an inclusive process

West End Place had more than 1,000 nonmember visitors in the first months it was open, including such notables as Nada Stotland, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association; Terry Cline, PhD, then SAMHSA administrator; David L. Shern, PhD, president/CEO of Mental Health America; Joel Corcoran, executive director of the International Center for Clubhouse Development; and Keith Schafer, EdD, director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Professional colleagues repeatedly comment on how the facility is a “stigma buster.”
West end place has a rooftop deck for outdoor dining as well as a greenhouse/horticulture center (visible in the background)

West End Place has a rooftop deck for outdoor dining as well as a greenhouse/horticulture center (visible in the background).

But no approval means more than that of the members who use it daily. No one is required to attend a clubhouse program, so members “vote with their feet.” Thus, it's affirming to know that Independence Center has developed a place of dreams and proved that with a new building “they will come.”

Lynn Huelsmann is Director of Development at the Independence Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

For more information, visit http://www.independencecenter.org.

Behavioral Healthcare 2009 May;29(5):27-29

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