The Clubhouse movement began in New York in 1944. A small group of outpatients were being discharged from a state mental hospital and they decided that they would like to stay in touch once they were in the community.
Their initial idea was simply to meet together for social activities and for mutual support; they then began to actively reach out to other patients on discharge. They soon realised that the increasing numbers made it difficult to meet in public places such as libraries and cafes.
The group initially called itself W.A.N.A. - We Are Not Alone -and in 1948 they secured funding for a building and one member of staff, which enabled them to formalise their casual meetings.
W.A.N.A continued to be a social support group until 1958 when they hired John Beard as their Executive Director.
This innovative young social worker had been pioneering new approaches to inpatient care in mental hospitals and had a passionate belief that sufferers from long-term mental illness were entitled to meaningful work, meaningful activity, respect and dignity. He believed that they could return to mainstream society and, more importantly, full time employment with the aid of suitable support. And so John Beard canvassed the members and designed the Clubhouse as we know it today.
For further information on the history of the Clubhouse you can visit the International Centre for Clubhouse Development website|.