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A Huge Thanks
to our Generous Sponsors:
What is a brain injury clubhouse?
A clubhouse is a place where people who have a
brain injury come to rebuild their lives. The participants are
called members, not patients and the focus is on their strengths
not their limitations. Work in the clubhouse, whether it is
clerical, data input, meal preparation or reaching out to their
fellow members, provides the core healing process. Every
opportunity provided is the result of the efforts of the members
and staff, who work side by side, in a unique partnership.
For more information on the clubhouse model and
please visit
http://www.iccd.org
How is the Central Indiana Brain Injury
Clubhouse getting started?
With origins through the Brain Injury Association
of Indiana, we have established a task force to begin the
process of creating a TBI clubhouse for Indiana. This task force
is comprised of professionals from the community, brain injury
survivors, and family members of brain injury survivors. The
goals of the task force are to conduct a needs assessment,
secure funding and location, establish the clubhouse program,
and hire a clubhouse director.
Mission Statement
The Central
Indiana Brain Injury Clubhouse is a non-profit organization
dedicated to developing and providing services to empower
individuals affected by brain injury through addressing their
social and vocational needs.
External
Vision Statement
We envision
individuals affected by brain injury with enhanced self esteem,
self advocacy, personal growth, independence, community
involvement, and fellowship.
Internal
Vision Statement
We envision
the Central Indiana Brain Injury Clubhouse being an effective,
accessible, and fiscally responsible organization that will
develop premiere programs and services for individuals affected
by brain injury.
Purpose
The Central
Indiana Brain Injury Clubhouse develops and provides cognitive
support and enhancement programs and services for individuals
with brain injury who are unable to return to competitive or
full-time employment following the completion of rehabilitation
services.
How can I help or find out more
information?
We are currently establishing committees and need
your help. You do not need to be a member of the task force to
assist on a committee. We are also looking for donations and
funding assistance. If you can help or desire more information
please contact:
Kendra Pierson at
KPierson@ecommunity.com
Central Indiana Brain Injury Clubhouse Task
Force Members
Dan Chamberlain
Amy Horter
Joe Jacoby
Ed Lay
Karen May
Stacy Payne
Kendra Pierson, President
Michelle McClelland
Elizabeth Samuelson, Vice President
Bonnie Weaver, Secretary
Central Indiana Brain Injury Clubhouse
Conceptual Plan
Clubhouse Model Overview
The Clubhouse is a cognitive rehabilitation
service of two hours or more in duration, provided for
individuals with acquired brain injury who cannot return to
competitive employment or full time employment following the
completion of their inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation
services. The Clubhouse offers a variety of rehabilitation
opportunities that assist individuals with acquired brain injury
to achieve maximum reduction of their disability and restoration
to the best functioning level possible. Clubhouse assists
individuals in obtaining the supports necessary to function in
their living, learning, and working environments. The focus is
on helping individuals reach their highest potential
individually and within the community. Clubhouse helps to
provide monitoring and improvement of deficits, functioning, and
performance as it would occur in normalized community settings
by simulating a “like community setting.”
The work-ordered day is the heart of the
Clubhouse community. Work in and of itself is considered
therapeutic. The Clubhouse consists of a series of work units
(business, kitchen, and outreach) wherein Clubhouse consumers
(called members) and staff work as partners to complete the
duties of the unit. Work has profound meaning in the lives of
all humans. It gives people a sense of who they are, and it
pushes people to identify their own gifts. This is especially
important for individuals with acquired brain injury as they
often find themselves dealing with cognitive, behavioral, and
physical deficits as a result of their injury that prevent them
from returning to employment and other activities they
previously enjoyed. Clubhouse activities are work-ordered in
nature but not work dominated. Work is a means to an end, not an
end itself (the end being the goals of treatment, i.e.
increasing cognitive skills for community living and work,
improved social behaviors for work and home environments, etc).
The rehabilitation process is a team effort of members and peer
supports, rather than dependence on staff. By working together
with staff, members increase independence by learning to make
decisions and solve problems.
Membership is an important component of the
Clubhouse program. Membership helps to promote a sense of
belonging and empowerment. Member ownership, planning, and
governance are key program concepts. Members realize that they
are depended upon to run the Clubhouse program. The single most
significant way to provide rehabilitation for a member is for
him/her to experience being needed.
The Clubhouse model focuses on member strengths,
talents, and abilities rather than their deficits. This focus,
within the context of the work-ordered day, helps members regain
self-confidence, self-esteem and responsibility. The Clubhouse
is a “no fail” environment where members are allowed to progress
at a rate based on their individual level of functioning, while
building on each previous success. The Clubhouse is an
intentional community, designed to create a restorative
environment. The program believes in the potential and
productivity of all persons, regardless of disability, and in
their right to the pursuit of full citizenship. The Clubhouse
provides an environment of support and hope for the enhancement
of social, cognitive, and physical skills to help members break
the cycle of social isolation and lack of productivity that is
so common among adults with severe acquired brain injury.
Clubhouse is also about establishing evolving
interpersonal relationships. Everyone forms relationships for
the same basic reason: to make the work load a little lighter by
working together, and by helping each other to become more
tomorrow than we are today. This is ultimately what a Clubhouse
is all about. It is true both for members and staff. The
mutuality of the relationship is what makes a Clubhouse work.
The Clubhouse model paves the road for employment
pursuits, and decreases social isolation. The Clubhouse model is
designed to respond directly to the high risks that individuals
with acquired brain injury experience including: legal/substance
abuse problems, unemployment, depression, and isolation.
Outcomes for the Clubhouse model include higher levels of
members’ life satisfaction, higher rates of employment than
before involvement in the program, and higher levels of
functioning at home and within the community. Individuals in the
Clubhouse program are typically more severe in terms of level of
disability (moderate to severe level of impairment in
interpersonal functioning, daily living skills, cognitive
abilities, and ability to live, learn, and work in the
community), and duration (often require extensive intervention
over 1-3 years).
Conceptual Plan at Full Development
Structure of the Work Day
The Clubhouse will be open five days per week
from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. Members will begin arriving at the
Clubhouse at 8:30 am for coffee and socialization time. A daily
community meeting will be held from 9:30 am to 10:00 am where
decisions concerning rules for the clubhouse will be made,
community outings will be planned, and any other member issues
will be discussed. This meeting will be run by a Clubhouse
member with all staff and members attending and participating.
After this the members and staff, will divide into work units
meetings and organize and plan work tasks for the day. Clubhouse
members will then complete work within their units until noon.
Lunch will be served at 12:00 pm for Clubhouse staff and members
for a nominal fee. Work unit tasks will resume at 1:00 pm and
commence at 3:00 pm. The Clubhouse will close for the day at
4:00 pm.
Work Units
Work units include business, kitchen, and
outreach. Job tasks in the business unit will include
photocopying, faxing, typing, orienting new members, contacting
members who have been absent, answering phones, creating and
distributing a newsletter, computer work, correspondence, and
managing the member database. Kitchen unit tasks will include
menu planning, grocery shopping, stocking and clerking a snack
bar, cleaning, inventory/purchasing, stocking supplies, and food
safety and handling. The outreach unit will consist of
environmental maintenance, education, transitional employment,
fundraising events, community outings, wellness programs, and
parties.
The work done in the Clubhouse is exclusively the work generated
by the Clubhouse in the operation and enhancement of the
community. No work for outside individuals or agencies, whether
paid or not, is acceptable in the Clubhouse. Members are not
paid for any Clubhouse work, nor are there any artificial reward
systems. All work within the Clubhouse is designed to increase
cognition, social skills, generic job skills (arriving on time,
thoroughness of job tasks, etc), and to regain self confidence
not as training for specific job skills.
Community Growth Opportunities
Additional opportunities for growth and learning
will be provided as the Clubhouse community deems appropriate.
These may include community reintegration outings, job club,
living skills club (eg. money management, time management, and
medication management), exercise class, social communication
club, arts and crafts, and computer skills. Other possibilities
include an advocacy club providing education about brain injury
throughout the community and educational opportunities such as a
study group for the GED. As funding and staffing allows, the
Clubhouse will provide social and recreational programs during
weekends and evenings.
Employment
The clubhouse will offer its own Transitional
Employment program, which will provide members the opportunity
to work on job placements in business and industry. As a
defining component of the program, the Clubhouse guarantees
coverage on all placements during member absences. Placement
opportunities will continue to be available to members
regardless of their performance. Members will work at the
employer’s place of business and are paid the prevailing wage
rate, but at least minimum wage, directly by the employer.
Placements are part-time and time-limited, generally 15 to 20
hours per week and from six to nine months in duration. The
Clubhouse staff trains members for the placement and provides
reports concerning the member’s performance. The Clubhouse will
also assist and support members to secure and sustain
independent and supported employment through the services of a
vocational counselor.
Clubhouse Staff
The Clubhouse will be run by an executive
director who will lead the Clubhouse community, manage day to
day operations, supervise all staff, and assist with securing
funding. The executive director will report to the board of
directors and must have a solid commitment to carry out the
Clubhouse values and principles. In addition, the director needs
to have experience in working with the complex needs of the
brain injury population and attend a three-week training program
on the Clubhouse model. Additional staff will include work unit
coordinators with social service backgrounds. Work unit
coordinators will be trained by the executive director on
Clubhouse principles and the needs of the brain injury
population. Vocational counselors and a transitional employment
job coach will also be employed for members to explore community
job opportunities as they desire.
The Clubhouse will be staffed to sufficiently
engage the members, yet few enough to make carrying out their
responsibilities impossible without member contribution.
Although Clubhouse staff will be assigned to specific areas,
they will all have a generalist role to complete whatever tasks
are needed. The Clubhouse community will have one staff person
for every seven clubhouse members. It is anticipated that 20
Clubhouse members will be the maximum on a given day that
receive services.
Clubhouse Membership Requirements
To be eligible for membership, an individual must
have history of an acquired brain injury, be able to participate
within the Clubhouse community, handle their own medications,
manage personal needs independently, get along with others
within the Clubhouse, and be able to stay within the Clubhouse.
Behavior contracts will be used as needed. Members cannot be a
threat to themselves, others, or the Clubhouse community or they
will be asked to leave until their behavior is appropriate.
Potential members must have insurance benefits or private pay
for services. A sliding pay scale based on the Federal Poverty
Guidelines will be used for individuals at or below the poverty
level. As funding allows, a scholarship program may be available
for members.
Clubhouse Building and Location
The Clubhouse building will have 100 feet per
member (anticipated 2,000 feet needed), available parking,
handicapped accessibility, separate male and female bathrooms, a
reception area, a dining room and kitchen area, and locked
office spaces to protect private member information. The
Clubhouse will have its’ own physical space and own identity,
including name, mailing address, and phone number. A top
priority in selecting a location for the clubhouse will be
accessibility to public transportation.
Membership
Members of the Clubhouse have the choice of how
many days to attend the program each week and the activities
they chose to participate in. All members have equal access to
every clubhouse opportunity regardless of ability. Members are
involved in all written records concerning their clubhouse
participation and will sign these documents along with staff
members. Immediate re-entry into the clubhouse will be granted
after any length of absence unless the member poses a threat to
the clubhouse community. All meetings and space within the
clubhouse will be accessible to all members and staff. Members
have the opportunity to participate in all the work of the
Clubhouse, including administration, research, intake and
orientation, outreach, hiring, training and evaluation of staff,
public relations, advocacy and evaluation of Clubhouse
effectiveness.
Family involvement
Family members are not allowed in the Clubhouse.
Opportunities for family members to participate may include
family member support groups, fundraising, and community
outings. If an individual needs a care attendant, the preference
is for them to be a non-family member and this person will wait
in the reception area until the member requires assistance.
Phase One
Prior to opening the clubhouse to members, the
executive director will need three to six months to attend the
three week training, set up the physical space, purchase and
obtain needed supplies, write policies, create all needed forms
for documentation and running the Clubhouse, and develop the
specific programs for the Clubhouse. After this start up period,
the Clubhouse will open 3 days per week with the additional
staff of a part time unit coordinator. The two days the
clubhouse is closed the executive director will be recruiting
members, evaluating program effectiveness, billing for clubhouse
services, obtaining insurance approval, enhancing existing
programs, creating new programs, and securing funding. At this
time, the clubhouse will be limited to 10-14 members per day.
Services offered will be the work ordered day with 1-2 work
units (tasks may be combined across units). Members will have
the opportunity during this time to participate in the
development and help prioritize the growth of clubhouse
services.
Phase Two
As the clubhouse grows, the next phase will
include opening the clubhouse five days per week and employing
three full time work unit coordinators. At this time the
clubhouse will be able to provide services to 20 members per day
and will have all three above mentioned work units. Employment
programs and community growth opportunities discussed above will
be added as the community decides and as funding allows. Program
development will always be driven by member’s needs and their
desires for how they want the clubhouse to expand and grow. As
additional services are added employment of a part time
vocational counselor and transitional employment job coach will
be required.
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clubhouse
Brain Injury Association of
Indiana
9531 Valparaiso Court, Suite A
Indianapolis, Indiana 46268
P: (317) 356-7722 F: (317) 808-7770
Email: info@biai.org
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For Sharing, Rebuilding and Healing
