Summit County Clubhouse staff member Phyllis Sharples and a member, who identified himself only as Scott K., went to St. George for the annual three-day conference at the end of June.
There they learned from other clubhouses and how the nonprofits operate.
They say one of the highlights was hearing from the former director of the Summit County Clubhouse Amber McKay Weber who now serves as the employee program officer for Clubhouse International.
Clubhouse International supports clubhouses around the world where people living with mental illness can thrive.
Scott K. says temporary employment is important for people experiencing mental health issues to help get them back into the workforce.
“It's so nice to have staff members to be able to hand hold them to get a part-time position somewhere because, you know, that builds their confidence, and it builds their self-esteem to make them feel like they're contributing to society in some way,” Scott K. said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour.”
Sharples says the Summit County Clubhouse has partnered with the Habitat for Humanity ReStore which helps employ local members.
“We partner with businesses in the community where we provide, they're actually hired by the business, but we provide the employee, and we train them, and we support them, even where we would do the job if they were sick. It's a win-win,” Sharples said.
According to Sharples, 66% of Summit County Clubhouse’s members are employed. Comparatively, worldwide 10% to 20% of people with a serious and persistent mental illness have jobs.
Scott K. says he suffered a relapse in 2023 and “lost everything.” He credits the clubhouse for getting him to where he is today.
“I won't get into it too much, but it brought me to my knees, and I had to find some help,” Scott K. said. “And that's when I became a clubhouse member. And from that point, I was looking to recover mental health wise, and saw therapists, and started to get back on my feet again. And from that point, about a year later, that I got help with the clubhouse to get hired part-time at Vail. So that was definitely rewarding, and it definitely helped me with my self-esteem and moving forward with, you know, building myself up.”
The Summit County Clubhouse’s membership has grown from a handful of members when it opened in 2019 to more than 60 today. On any given day, Sharples says the organization sees between 10 and 15 members at the local clubhouse.
Learn more about the Summit County Clubhouse online at kpcw.org.
