Learn more about how life-changing a Clubhouse can be.
- Katie Hanley, LMSW – Jewish Family Services
- Jill Epstein Jones, LCSW
- Jeffrey Landau, MD – Board Certified Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist
- Dr. Constance L. Mindell, Licensed Clinical Social Work
- John Santopietro, MD, DFAPA – Senior Vice President, Hartford HealthCare, Physician-in-Chief, Behavioral Health Network
- Brad M., a person who experienced the benefits of a Clubhouse firsthand
- Collette, a person who would have benefited from Infinite Horizons Clubhouse being open when she needed help
July 27, 2023
Infinite Horizons Clubhouse, Inc.
Dear Connecticut State Representatives,
Jewish Family Services of Greater Hartford (JFS) is happy to share our enthusiastic support of the Infinite Horizons Clubhouse. JFS is an accredited health and human services organization that provides culturally-responsive basic needs assistance, mental health counseling, financial coaching, and much more for individuals and families of all races, religions, and abilities.
As a mental health provider in the community, we have seen firsthand that access to resources and having a physical space for people facing issues to gather could be a game-changer. For individuals who experience mental health challenges, the road to improvement can be long and winding. Building relationships and community are essential elements of a full life for all people, but this need takes on new meaning for those who experience severe mental illness, who are already marginalized and struggle.to access key resources to improve their lives.
The Infinite Horizons Clubhouse will be a safe haven and a place to establish friendships, collaborate, grow, and ultimately heal. With access to support through work, housing, and a safe environment, the Clubhouse will quickly become an essential tool in supporting the recovery of individuals with severe mental health challenges in ways not currently possible in Greater Hartford. In our community, there are few physical spaces that allow these needs to be met, and JFS believes that opening an Infinite Horizons Clubhouse would have an extraordinary impact.
Thank you so much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Katie Hanley, LMSW
April 22, 2024
RE: Infinite Horizons Clubhouse, Inc.
Dear Connecticut State Representatives,
I am a Psychiatric Social Worker who has been in practice for the last 33 years. I have been a psychotherapist at Trinity Health of New England in their Behavioral Health Group, outpatient, for the past 17 years. I have also worked in New Haven at the CT Mental Health Center in their Substance and Dual Diagnoses Unit, and at Rushford Mental Health Services in Meridan. I am writing in support of the Infinite Horizons Clubhouse and would like to emphasize the importance of this program to people with mental health challenges.
In my practice, I have seen that people with mental health problems become isolated from friends and their community. Education, employment and housing are difficult resources for them to access. The staff at Infinite Horizons Clubhouse would be invaluable in helping people connect to these resources, thereby helping them reconnect to the community. The Clubhouse would not only help provide resources and community, but would help to promote a sense of pride in oneself.
The Infinite Horizons Clubhouse is a needed model for Recovery Care. It would provide support, guidance, and resources to help people reintegrate into the community. For all these reasons, I respectfully request that you support funding for Infinite Horizons Clubhouse.
Sincerely,
Jill Epstein Jones, LCSW
11/26/23
Jeffrey Landau, MD
Board Certified Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist
16 Brace Road
West Hartford, CT 06107
Dear Connecticut State Representatives,
I am a private practitioner, state employee at Whiting Forensic Hospital and a covering inpatient psychiatrist at Yale New Haven Hospital. I have been in practice for 24 years and have seen the ebbs and flows of various resources for the clients I work with. I am writing in the hopes that there is strong support for the establishment of Infinite Horizons Clubhouse.
Those clients with Serious Mental Illness have always struggled to have resources which meet their needs and allow them to achieve social and communal .functioning at their highest level. Resources such as theClubhouse model are essential to help provide a place where clients can go to socialize, feel connected, feel a sense of belonging and to allow for the exploration of employment and doing for others. On all levels, this is the essence of the human experience and this is what the Clubhouse model provides with great success across the country. It is hoped that the expansion of a Clubhouse in this area will provide needed support and comfort for those struggling with mental illness. This has never been more true as we all emerge from the impact of COVID and the sense of isolation, loss and despair that it brought to many.
The presence of the Infinite Horizons Clubhouse in-the greater Hartford community is an essential element of the recovery model and will quickly become a central element of many clients’ ongoing recovery and reintegration into the community. Your help and support in this very needed and important endeavor is appreciated in advance.
Respectfully,
Jeffrey Landau
(860) 305-0678
December 12, 2023
Dr. Constance L. Mindell
Licensed Clinical Social Work
The following letter, from a young woman who was a client of mine, captures the importance for establishing Infinite Horizons Clubhouse in the Greater Hartford community. She eloquently writes why such a facility is needed, expresses the need from a “patient’s” point of view, and in so doing, educates us all.
The Clubhouse International organization seems like such a positive force where we (the diagnosed) are lacking so greatly in people who believe in us, stand up WITH us and support the cause. The causing being that we are able in many ways, not all the time, but that we shouldn’t be disregarded. Nor should it be so hard to find and receive assistance when we need it to survive. And the social aspect is so important to those of us who are isolated, lonely, ashamed of who we “are” or how we will be perceived.”
Too many individuals who have been “diagnosed” are isolated from their community, do not receive the training and the education needed to reenter the community as contributing members and thus do not add to the tax base. The times in which we live are filled with reports of individuals with mental illness shooting and killing. I wonder how isolated and lonely these individuals were. We now have the opportunity to develop a Clubhouse where staff works with individuals to provide support, assistance, encouragement, and education. Infinite Horizons Clubhouse would offer such a place, a community, and a chance for individuals to feel positive about themselves. We need to appreciate that the “mentally diagnosed” are not less because of the diagnoses, but we need to provide the opportunity, through Infinite Horizon Clubhouse, to prove that to the larger communities.
Thank you for considering this important project
Cordially,
Constance L. Mindell, DSW, LCSW
December 6, 2023
Re: Infinite Horizons Clubhouse, In c.
Dear Connecticut State Representatives,
As a psychiatrist practicing for over 25 years and a leader in field, I am happy to share my enthusiastic support of the Infinite Horizons Clubhouse.
We have seen firsthand that access to resources and having a physical space for people facing issues to gather could be a game-changer. For individuals who experience mental health challenges, the road to improvement can be long and winding. Building relationships and community are essential elements of a full life for all people, but this need takes on new meaning for those who experience severe mental illness, who are already marginalized and struggle to access key resources to improve their lives.
The Infinite Horizons Clubhouse will be a safe haven and a place to establish friendships, collaborate, grow, and ultimately heal. With access to support through work, housing, and a safe environment, the Clubhouse will quickly become an essential tool in supporting the recovery of individuals with severe mental health challenges rn ways not currently possible in Greater Hartford. In our community, there are few physical spaces that allow these needs to be met, and Hartford HealthCare’s Behavioral Health Network believes that opening an Infinite Horizons Clubhouse would have an extraordinary Impact.
Thank you so much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
John Santopietro, MD, DFAPA
Senior Vice President, Hartford HealthCare
Physician-in-Chief, Behavioral Health Network
I have had a fantastic experience through my Clubhouse, Potter Place. Work is such an important part of my life and mental health. It’s not just feeling proud about making money. It’s about feeling like I’ve done something useful, feeling appreciated, and getting through the day, distracting me from my troubles and obsessive / intrusive thoughts.
It started with volunteering at the Clubhouse in the kitchen. It’s a great way to pass the time and feel like you’re part of a team, making something people value and are thankful for, AND making friends as well (with both members and staff). Volunteering at Potter Place Clubhouse is also a kind of audition for the next step: transitional employment or ‘TE’. I have had an extremely positive TE experience.
TE’s are secured through a Clubhouse (connected to local businesses or government agencies such as universities, libraries, etc.) to serve as a temporary or “transitional” job for an individual member to work for 6 to 9 months. The job then opens for another Clubhouse member and repeats. The Clubhouse provides a great deal of support (transportation if necessary, fill-in by a staff person if the worker is ill, etc.,) to support and encourage members on their path to more independent and permanent employment.
A few months later, I was approached to see if I’d want to do a Transitional Employment opportunity at a local Public Library, I almost turned it down. Not because I did not want to work. I desperately wanted to find a work situation that was sustainable. I strongly believed that the TE program was the way to start that path. I just didn’t think I would be good enough for the job in question.
Even though I had always done well in school and graduated from college, my work experience never lasted or ended well. My self-esteem was at an all-time low and I honestly doubted whether I would be able to keep and hold any paid job. The Potter Place staff, though, knew I could handle the library TE because they’d seen me do volunteer work at the house. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.
The library TE went extremely well. So well, in fact, that they offered me the job on a permanent basis. It gave me confidence that I never thought I would find. I almost always felt significantly happier and with more peace of mind by the end of the work day than at the beginning. My co-workers appreciated me and liked me and vice versa. I became more confident in my prospects for future employment. I got strong references for whatever would come next. And I have tremendous gratitude for the TE program which made this all possible.
After this experience, I struggled for a while to find permanent employment… until Potter Place came through with my current job: Office Support Specialist for the Edinburgh Center Children’s Department. Potter Place set me up with an interview, provided support through the interview process and helped me secure the position.
This job situation is called supported employment, or ‘SE’, because it is permanent. I get support from Potter Place. My employer knows about my illness. I have been working at this very job for over 8 years whereas the longest I’d ever been at a job before this was 10 months. I feel so valued. I get such self confidence and satisfaction, it helps me manage my illness and get through the day. AND they like me enough that I was given a few promotions. My hours and pay were increased to the point that I did not qualify for SSDI anymore, but I am actually taking in more money now than when I was both working and receiving SSDI. This has been extremely gratifying and life-affirming.
In both cases, Potter Place believed in me when I didn’t exactly believe in myself and saw me doing things I would never have thought of doing. For all this I am endlessly grateful and indebted to the Clubhouse Model, Potter Place and the Edinburgh Center.
— Brad M., a person who experienced the benefits of a Clubhouse firsthand“In conclusion: I think every person struggling with mental health challenges deserves a chance to live their best life. I believe that the Clubhouse model is one valuable path offered to help people live that best life of work, school, housing, mental health resources and lasting friendships. Greater Hartford would really benefit from an accredited Clubhouse such as Infinite Horizons.”
— Collette, a person who would have benefited from Infinite Horizons Clubhouse being open when she needed help“The Clubhouse International organization seems like such a positive force where we (the diagnosed) are lacking so greatly in people who believe in us, stand up WITH us and support the cause. The cause being that we are able, in many ways, not all the time, but that we shouldn’t be disregarded. Nor should it be so hard to find and receive assistance when we need it to survive. And the social aspect is so important to those of us who are isolated, lonely, ashamed of who we “are” or how we will be perceived.”
