Whitehouse hears plea for clubhouses for mentally ill

“My family doesn’t understand me, neither do my friends.”

Those were the words of Cindy Miller as she spoke confidently to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

Until she became a member of Hillsgrove House, a clubhouse for the mentally ill, Miller probably won’t have been able to speak in front of a group nonetheless to a U.S. senator. She lacked self-confidence and retreated from social contacts. She was unable to hold a job.

But that has changed.

“They make me feel like, wow, I really count. I look forward to coming here,” she told Whitehouse. Miller works at Sovereign Bank, the first job she has held in 10 years.

Miller’s story was one of several Whitehouse heard as he met with staff and toured the facility run by the Kent Center on Minnesota Avenue. He described the purpose of his visit to “listen and learn,” but it was more than that.

In a brief interview following the tour, Whitehouse said the country’s health care system is in crisis and should be “in the emergency room itself.” His visit to Hillsgrove House and other facilities dealing with health care issues is providing him a first-hand view of the system.

It is also providing those who understand and work in the system to lobby for change.

Yesterday he not only heard from those served by Hillsgrove House how important the clubhouse is to the mentally ill, but how more clubhouses are needed in Rhode Island. There are 300 certified clubhouses worldwide; most of them are in United States. Massachusetts has 32 certified clubhouses.

Clubhouses through their transitional employment program provides members with guaranteed employment, a job coach and support from clubhouse staff and members. Hillsgrove House has 120 active members and about 450 members overall.

Membership is for life.

James and Elaine Alt, whose 28-year-old son, Adam, is a member of Hillsgrove House, told Whitehouse of their campaign to open a clubhouse in Providence. They related how Adam appeared to have everything going from him, yet his life came apart as he questioned his ability, lost self-confidence and couldn’t hold a job. They heard of how clubhouses where the mentally ill are accepted, support one another and empower people. They also learned that for reimbursement proposals the health care system is based on the county. As a resident of Providence, Adam could not be a member at Hillsgrove and have his costs covered. They chose to finance his membership while launching an effort to start a Providence clubhouse.

That will take money and the Alts have turned to the Rhode Island Foundation and others in their efforts. Mr. Alt pegged the annual operational budget of a clubhouse at $300,000 to $400,000 depending on the cost of housing.

There was no lack of testimony over the value of clubhouses.

Pamela Dahlberg, a member of the group working to establish a Providence clubhouse, said mental illness “is a silent issue in our society … there are so many people, almost every family has an issue. There’s no place the mentally ill feel totally accepted.”

Kent Center board member Larry Goldberg described the clubhouse as a place where people not only develop friendships and gain the support of peers and staff but also one empowering people to develop their full potential.

Hillsgrove House director Jan Lorensen said the clubhouse only remains open because of David Lauterbach’s, Kent Center president, commitment to the program. She said the clubhouse is running an annual $100,000 deficit and that for Kent Center to open a Providence clubhouse “would not be cost effective.”

After his visit Whitehouse said he was impressed by how outgoing and positive club members were. He said he would look to help find ways to financially support a Providence clubhouse and that he would work with Congressman Patrick Kennedy. Kennedy introduced the mental health parity bill in the House and Whitehouse said he would work on the Senate version of the legislation.

As for the larger issue of the health care system, Whitehouse, who as attorney general served on the board of the Rhode Island Quality Institute that studies health care, cited how medical procedures and equipment reflecting the latest in technology operate on an antiquated paper resulting in inefficiencies and mistakes.

When it comes to information technology, he called the system “backwards” and out of the 1950s. Whitehouse said he has taken a special interest in addressing the issue of information technology.

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