21 Oct Vail Place and Clubhouse Model Featured in MinnPost
At Vail Place, our members work alongside our staff to make a real impact. Having a sense of community has been proven to support long term recovery for those with serious mental illness.
Recently writer Andy Steiner profiled Vail Place and the Clubhouse model on MinnPost. We’re excited about the story which featured clubhouse members including Julie Tate as well as Vail Place Executive Director Vicky Couillard. The following is an excerpt with a link to the full article for your convenience.
We’re all in this together: Vail Place’s clubhouse model focuses on collective work for mental health
By Andy Steiner
Work is important to Julie Tate. Even though she has multiple diagnoses of serious mental health issues, she likes to center her life on meaningful activities that give her a sense of purpose. So, 13 years ago, when she was in the market for a supportive place to spend her days, Tate toured Vail Place, a clubhouse program for people with serious and persistent mental illness. It felt like a perfect match.
At Vail Place, members run the program side by side with paid staff members. They all take on the tasks required to make the program operate smoothly.
“It’s not fake work,” Tate said. “Our work here is meaningful. In the past, I went to drop-in centers and I felt like I was being babysat. I’m college educated: I don’t need to sit around and knit all day. I needed something more. When I came to Vail Place for a tour, I saw what was happening here and I liked it. So I came back.” Read the full article on MinnPost.com.