{"id":852,"date":"2018-11-26T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/github\/bayfrontmedia\/academysrq.org\/web\/?p=852"},"modified":"2024-01-31T11:36:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T16:36:09","slug":"we-are-not-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.academysrq.org\/en\/posts\/happenings\/we-are-not-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are Not Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Last October, after only five months of operation, we had the improbable fantasy that we could become accredited with Clubhouse International by the end of our first year. The odds were against us, but we have always strived to push the boundaries, and our mission has always been about creating opportunity for our members: opportunity for recovery, for friendship and community, for employment and financial independence. Accreditation is a significant endorsement from the governing body that oversees the Clubhouse model, and it serves to enhance these opportunities for Academy members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clubhouse itself has an equally improbable origin. On the steps of the New York City Public Library in the mid-1940s, several former patients of the Rockland State Hospital convened to form a support group for those affected by mental illness. Together they found fellowship and camaraderie in shared stories which echoed the challenges of overcoming isolation, marginalization, and stigma. They called their group We Are Not Alone (WANA), and in this humble and informal assembly, a movement was born. When they grew too many for the library steps, they bought a building and became Fountain House, the first program of its kind to offer rehabilitative services, and the precursor to the Clubhouse model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n