New local 'clubhouse' provides support for those with mental illnesses

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A new resource in Cincinnati is creating a community for those with mental illnesses. Queen City Clubhouse is now open and accepting new members.

Queen City Clubhouse is a place for those with a lived experience of mental illness to find support, services in a work-ordered environment. The Clubhouse model is in 300 locations in 30 countries around the world, including Columbus, Dayton and Cleveland.

"We operate off of what is called a work order day so it's the idea that staff and members have to work together. There's no sense of hierarchy, just to take care of our clubhouse,” Natalie Centers, QCC Assistant Director, said. "Advice that we've gotten from other operating clubhouses is, you know you're running a good clubhouse when people walk in and they don't know whose members and who's staff."

Staff and members work together to maintain the clubhouse from cooking meals to cleaning, but they also make decisions together on what type of activities and services they would like to see. There will be stress management classes and taekwondo every Wednesday. In the first full week of operation, some Queen City Clubhouse members made their own charcuterie boards and joined an outside walking group.

“We all work together and it's this idea that when you work together, you build meaningful relationships, you build support and that is the basis of being happy and healthy, right? Having that good support and knowing that you have somewhere to calm where you're safe and appreciated,” Centers said.

The criteria for membership is pretty simple. Adults with a mental illness or struggling with their mental health are welcome to join for free. It’s currently open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in the basement level of Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services. You can find it at 1501 Madison Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45206. If you’d like to schedule a tour in advance, you can call 513-354-7526 or email info@qcclubhouse.org.

"A lot of times people with serious mental illness, they're told what medicines to take. They're told where to go, what to do, who their treatment team is and this is meant to be a place where they just get to come and make their own choices,” Centers said.

QCC is a program from the Recovery Center of Hamilton County. A state grant is funding the program. The cost of care from clubhouses is reportedly substantially less than a psychiatric hospital stay.