ABOUT THE MAssachusetts CLUBHOUSE COALITION
The Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition (MCC) is a non-profit organization with a membership that includes more than 15,000 Massachusetts residents. We have been in service of the Clubhouse community in Massachusetts since 1991, and are dedicated to assisting adults with major mental illness live full, productive, and meaningful lives in the community. Membership of the coalition is awarded to Clubhouses which achieve quality accreditation from Clubhouse International, ensuring the standard of service provided by these programs.
The MCC helps its member Clubhouses expand access to employment, housing, education, health care, and peer support. We are the Massachusetts base of a global movement that started in 1948 and we work diligently to meet the current needs of our community. Operating as a clearing house of information, a provider of technical assistance, a vehicle for organizing, and a coordinator of resources, the goals of the MCC are:
Increase employment opportunities
Strengthen passages to education
Extend affordable housing options
Promote access to health care and substance misuse services
Plan events, education, and trainings
Provide virtual and technology resources
Offer community leadership development
Influence public policy
Advocate for the needs of the community
Clubhouses are founded on the belief that mental health rehabilitation is greatly facilitated by meaningful work, including paid employment. The Clubhouse model, as structured by Clubhouse International, is evidenced based and has been notably researched (McKay et al., 2016). Our member Clubhouses are organized around a “work-ordered day” and offer their members vocational and social rehabilitation. It is our belief, that the cornerstone of strong Clubhouse programming is a three-tiered approach to helping people with mental illness find and secure employment:
Transitional Employment (TE)
Supported Employment (SE)
Independent Employment (IE)
Each type of employment offers Clubhouse members varied levels of independence and support at a pace befitting each individual. Within this system, Clubhouses develop positive relationships with local employers and they extend the security of these relationships to their membership. For over thirty years, the MCC has collaborated with Massachusetts-based Clubhouses to develop jobs at companies such as: the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP), the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH), Trader Joe’s, the TJX Companies, Inc. (such as HomeGoods and Marshalls), CVS, and more. We are proud to share that our member Clubhouses have TE and SE jobs with over 440 companies in the Commonwealth and we celebrate these employers each year at our annual Employment Celebration. For more information on the Clubhouse approach to employment click here.
Through the support of our legislatures, the MCC strives to remove employment obstacles for adults living with chronic mental health challenges and uphold a critical method of community integration. As a coalition, we work together to fight the stigma and misconceptions surrounding mental illness and uplift our members. The MCC is one of the largest and most successful Clubhouse coalitions in the world. With 20+ quality accredited Clubhouses in our membership, we represent a community dedicated to maintaining the highest level of standards. With the strength of our membership, the MCC demonstrates to local policy-makers the enormous value of spending tax resources on this worldwide effort.
For more information about the MCC, check out our Newsletter below!
