A Class ACT

Cindy Grant, Ashley Juno, and Jenny Shin of the future ACTS Clubhouse of Tampa joined us at the Academy at Bradenton to observe our work-ordered day and meet our members and staff.

Last week, our Multimedia Team was on location at the site of our newest endeavor, the Academy at Bradenton. Members Ian Churchill, Curia Murray, Michael Silverman, and Jose Campos joined Academy staff Dariel Paredes and A.J. Ramirez to document the progress as our new building is being constructed. 

Meanwhile in Tampa, another up-and-coming mental health Clubhouse under the auspices of Agency for Community Treatment Services (ACTS) is, like the Academy at Bradenton, in early development. They too are working out of a temporary space while their building is being constructed. They came to see how we structure our work-ordered day, especially now, without having all of our systems in place. Michael gave them a tour and spent time answering their questions. Our guests noted the easy rapport our members and staff have with each other and took away strategies and tips for building those strong relationships. 

As the mental health Clubhouse movement gains even more momentum and the Florida Clubhouse Coalition grows larger, we relish these opportunities to share what we’ve learned along the way. We believe that everyone benefits when we contribute what we know. The Clubhouse movement, originally called WANA (“We Are Not Alone”), is rooted in a philosophy of collaboration and the sharing of ideas. Here at the Academies, we take that to heart.