OKEECHOBEE — You may have seen the name on Facebook or on a sign somewhere in town, but do you know what Chobee Clubhouse is and who they serve?
“Chobee Clubhouse is a non-clinical supportive community for adults living with serious mental illness. It provides a place where people can build friendships, learn new skills, gain work experience, pursue education, and find purpose and belonging. Through participation in the daily operations of the clubhouse, members grow in confidence and work toward personal, educational, and employment goals,” states their brochure.
Stephanie Busbin is the manager/director of the Okeechobee organization, which comes under the umbrella of Clubhouse International. However, she explained that in clubhouses, the members are the ones in control. Her job is to lead and to serve. She said that Chobee Clubhouse is a gathering place for adults with a mental health diagnosis. They do not have patients or clients. They have members.
Potential members are referred to the clubhouse by organizations such as New Horizons, Health Haven, Legacy Place, physicians, or other similar organizations. When Busbin uses the term mental health diagnosis, she does not refer to things like Alzheimer’s or dementia.
“There are other places in town such as Senior Services that help with those types of diagnoses. The Chobee Clubhouse serves people with serious, persistent mental illness, like anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, OCD, bipolar, those kinds of things that interrupt your life,” explained Busbin. “These things are not usually from birth but are things that come over time.”
She added that the clubhouse is not really for the developmentally delayed but is also not just for something seniors deal with.
Chobee Clubhouse members must be at least 18 years old and have a referral based on a mental health diagnosis.
The organization is non-clinical. Instead, they form a community for the members to be a part of, a place where they can build skills needed to succeed in life.
“So, if they want to get back out into the community and working, we would, you know, help them with that. We can help them with their resume, help them, you know, apply for jobs,” she went on to say.
Clubhouses offer help with venturing out into or getting back into the workforce. The help comes in the form of transitional employment, supported employment, and independent employment.
“Independent is just us supporting a member who got a job on their own and just being here as a support for them. Whereas transitional employment is we get a job in the community, and we learn the position. We train our members in the position. We'll go with them to their orientation process, whatever it is. We'll go with them for however long until they feel comfortable doing it on their own. And it's a part-time position and a six-to-nine-month thing for the clubhouse. So, a rotating position for our members. But it will just say like at the hospital cleaning tables or working for somebody digitizing information or, you know, something like that, something repetitive that they can do,” At this time, they do not have transitional employment to offer, but they are actively seeking businesses, employers in the community who might be willing to help in this area. She explained the transitional employment is very hands-on. “If the member cannot make his shift, we will go in his place.”
Supported employment is similar to transitional, but rather than go to work with the member, they might talk to the employer on the member's behalf to find out if there are things the member should work on.
Each morning, the members can go into the clubhouse, where there is a daily meeting they are welcome to attend. They can even attend virtually if they prefer. However, no one is required to attend. During this meeting, they discuss plans for the day. They talk about the day’s menu and volunteer for the jobs they want to do. This includes things like cooking, cleaning, gardening, making newsletters, etc.
There are no secrets in the clubhouse. The members even write their own records. Nothing in the clubhouse is off-limits to the members.
Selena Rivera works for the organization as a generalist, which means she does a little bit of everything. However, her main job is to head up the business end of things.
Stacy Richards is in charge of culinary, but if Rivera is out, she takes care of business as well, and if Richards is out, Rivera does not hesitate to jump in to take care of the culinary side of the organization. Richards said the members plan the menus each week, and they help with the cooking and cleanup as well. “We try to do healthy stuff but delicious stuff as well,” said Richards.
Currently, the clubhouse has 13 active members, but normally only two to three come in each day. Some of the members are working in the community and are not able to attend as often. “But this is a good thing,” said Busbin. “The goal is to help them get out into the community.”
In one room, the members have access to many computers and are able to learn to use one if they do not know how or to help with things like the newsletter or the weekly Powwow flyer. They can work on their resumes, look for employment, or just practice.
Out behind the clubhouse, they have a small garden, but Busbin said they are hoping someone with a green thumb will join them. They even have a compost bin,
The clubhouse is open Monday through Friday from 8-4 and is even open for some hours on holidays, because Busbin explained, sometimes this is when their members need them the most.
Becoming a member of the clubhouse is completely free and only requires a referral. If you or someone you know could benefit from an organization like this, call to schedule a tour. The number is 863-623-4640. You can also email stephanieb@mhairc.org. The clubhouse is located at 1105 N. Parrott Avenue.
