A Clubhouse is a community of people working together to support the recovery of people living with serious mental illness. More than a program or social service, Clubhouse communities are built on the belief that meaningful work, a sense of purpose, and genuine friendships are restorative and that the sense of purpose people gain through work is not simply a nice idea, but is essential to their recovery.

The first ‘clubhouse’ was founded in New York City in 1948 by six former patients of a Manhattan psychiatric hospital.  After their discharge, they continued to meet on the steps of the New York City Library to offer each other the support and respectful relationships they formed while in the hospital. They hoped that their successful recovery would change the way society understood people living with mental illness. The group they formed, “We Are Not Alone” speaks to what remains a central problem for people with serious mental illness today – social isolation. The group went on to found Fountain House, which continues to be a leader in the international clubhouse movement. 

Today there are over 300 Clubhouses worldwide and the Clubhouse model is recognized by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA) as an effective, evidence-based practice.

What makes Clubhouses different?
“ The clubhouse model is a radically different way of working in the field of community mental health. Most program models still focus on assessing a person’s level of disability and limiting the expectations based on that assessment. In a clubhouse, the expectations are high and mutual work, mutual relationships, and meaningful opportunities in the community are vehicles of choice.” (Clubhouse International’s Clubhouses: Communities Creating Opportunities for People with Mental Illness, 2014).

For more information on how Clubhouses work, visit www.clubhouse-intl.org

Membership
A Clubhouse is a membership organization. People who participate in a Clubhouse are members, not clients. Membership is open to anyone who has a history of mental illness. Membership is fundamental to the Clubhouse concept, because membership implies that an individual has both shared ownership and shared responsibility for the success of the organization.  Being a member means you  belong, you fit in, and you have a place where you are always welcome. In a Clubhouse, each member is welcome, wanted, needed and expected each day. 

Clubhouse Values
Clubhouses are built upon the belief that every member has the potential to sufficiently recover from the effects of mental illness to lead a personally satisfying life as an integrated member of society. Clubhouses are communities of people who are dedicated to one another’s success, no matter how long it takes or how difficult it is. Clubhouses are organized around a belief that work, and work-mediated relationships, are restorative and provide a firm foundation for growth and important individual achievement (Beard, Propst, Malamud, 1982), and the belief that normalized social and recreational opportunities are an important part of a person’s path to recovery.

Meaningful Relationships
Relationships between members and staff develop naturally as they work together side by side to carry out the daily duties of the Clubhouse. All of the staff have generalist roles in the Clubhouse; they are involved in all of the Clubhouse activities including the daily work duties, the evening social and recreational programs, the employment programs, outreach, supported education and community support responsibilities.  Members and staff share the responsibility for the successful operation of the Clubhouse. 

The Work-Ordered Day 
The daily activity of a Clubhouse is organized around a structured system known as the work-ordered day, an eight-hour period, typically Monday through Friday, which parallels typical business hours in the community. Members and staff work side by side, as colleagues, to perform the work that is important to their community. 

Work Units – Where Member and Staff Partnerships Grow
A key part of Genesis Club is Member / Staff Partnerships. Members and staff work together in all aspects of the club. At Genesis Club there are 6 work departments (called units). Members choose which unit they would like to join after completing an orientation.

Meetings open to all Members and Staff
Policy Meeting, Program Meeting, Wellness Committee, Young Adult Outreach, Job Seekers Workshop, Seeking Housing Meeting, Grants Meeting, and more.

In 1987, a committed and passionate group of Worcester community members visited Fountain House in New York City where the clubhouse model of recovery originated.  This original board of Directors included individuals from the Central Mass Alliance on Mental Illness, local businesses, law offices, the University of Massachusetts Medical School and consumers of mental health services. Fueled by their passion and some funding from a new state mental health initiative under Governor Dukakis, the Board recruited Kevin L. Bradley from the Westwood’s Clubhouse in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to serve as the Club’s first full-time Executive Director. Genesis Club House  opened its doors on September 15,1988 with 25 members.

From a modest beginning, Genesis Club has developed into a leader in the global clubhouse community. Genesis Club House is an Accredited Clubhouse, and recognized as an evidenced-based practice with the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Genesis Clubhouse offers vocational training, education, employment, housing, wellness and social support to over 500 members each year.  Still, the Clubhouse remains first and foremost a community, based on genuine relationships of mutual respect;  a place where hope and resilience are fostered; and recovery is possible. 

In 2003, Genesis Club completed construction on an 8,000 sq. ft. addition that included a full service industrial kitchen, dining room, elevator, café, conference room and new work space to accommodate the growing number of members who join each year. This expansion and renovation would not have been possible without the generous support from community members, many of whom helped to founded the organization.

In 1991 Genesis Club became certified by Clubhouse International as an international training center. We are 1 of twelve in the world and a large part of our work continues to be  training and developing high-quality, accredited clubhouses in Massachusetts and around the world. We have trained over 250 Clubhouses, 1500 colleagues from 30 states and 15 countries over the years.

Genesis Club is evidence–based, it is cost effective, it results in people’s healing and recovery from serious psychiatric symptoms, it improves the quality of the lives of member’s families, it promotes a safe, well-informed community, and it contributes to the economic vitality of the Worcester area. 

Research shows that when people participate regularly in an accredited clubhouse like Genesis Club, they:

1. Get employed at double the rate of non-participants, have longer on-the-job- tenure, earn more in wages and rely less on government support, than those who do not;
2. Experience reduced incarcerations;
3. Experience a significant decrease in the frequency and number of hospitalizations;
4. Experience improved well-being, and sense of belonging and purpose compared with individuals without Clubhouse membership;
5. Have better health outcomes because as a recent study showed, they have stronger connections to their primary health care providers.

View or download our 2020 Impact Report here.

We can’t do this work alone. Here is a list of friends and supporters who help make this work possible.

​Thank you for your support.

Fiscal Year 2023
The Hillis Family Foundation Inc
Walmart
Berkshire Bank Foundation, Inc
Schwartz Charitable Foundation
The M&T Charitable Foundation, Inc
The Ludcke Foundation
George I. Alden Trust
Reliant Foundation, Inc
The TJX Foundation
Hanover Insurance Group Foundation
Stoddard Charitable Trust
Albert W. Rice Charitable Foundation
The Fletcher Foundation
Cornerstone Charitable Foundation
Fred Harris Daniels Foundation
Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Inc
Agnes M. Lindsay Trust
Melvin S. Cutler Charitable Foundation
Sidney R. Baer Jr. Foundation
Webster Five Foundation

Officers

Officers at Large

Directors

To view Genesis Club’s most recent financial audited statement, click here.

To view Genesis Club’s 990, click here.

Clubhouse International helps start and grow highly effective Clubhouses around the world. For more information about the global Clubhouse network, accreditation, and training, please visit clubhouse-intl.org.