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When I come in, I usually stay at least a few hours; there’s times when I have been here from 9 a.m. Fountain House does have a weekend and evening program. Once in a while, we’ll go to a park, a museum.
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When you go to a clubhouse, you know about other clubhouses. I had a friend who was going, and my therapist thought it was a good idea. Once they lost their funding, I called up Fountain House and got an application, and they welcomed me with open arms. “You get on the gurney, they give you a sedative and attach lobes to the side of the head,” she explained. You lose all recent memory.” Taylor was very depressed.
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Now with mental health on the subway, it really affected me when I saw a news report about how they wanted to just put them in hospitals or shelters. Speaking from experience, someone who was homeless, you cannot make somebody stay in the shelter. It doesn’t help, it makes your mental health worse. I’ve always thought that more affordable housing is better than more shelters.
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Mayor Adams' funding plan for mental health clubhouses might force some to close - Gothamist
Mayor Adams' funding plan for mental health clubhouses might force some to close.
Posted: Thu, 16 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
In addition to private grants and honors, clubhouses receive some government funding, but advocates say it’s not nearly enough. I went to Fountain House and they said, “It’s whatever you want to do.” Every individual gets to pick what they’re working on. Even if you get tired of something, you can change what you’re working on. I went from people patronizing me and talking down to me and just not seeing me as being able to do something higher than what they feel I’m capable of. When I first came to Fountain House, I was so tired of dealing with groups and being around too much “mental health.” I just wanted to move past all that and work and go to school and work on my goal. I worked at the (Recharge Station) kiosk in Times Square for six months.

It’s still a little hard to talk about, but I realize how easy it is to end up homeless, and how hard it is to crawl out of the hole again, into a place to live that you can call home. It’s a whole process in order to get out of being homeless — it usually doesn’t happen overnight. Fountain House’s vision is that people with serious mental illness will live and thrive in society. Throughout the building, striking paintings deck the walls and sculpture graces the halls, including a large Degas-like ballerina in reverence, the sweeping bow that dancers take at curtain call.
'Like a second home': Fountain House connects New Yorkers with mental health services
New York City to boost clubhouse services as better mental health treatment - ABC News
New York City to boost clubhouse services as better mental health treatment.
Posted: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
But I met Melanie (Foster) and then I met another member, and then I met Nancy (Young). They invited me to a whole bunch of places and they treated me like family. Murray-Williams is just one of millions of Americans dealing with loneliness and isolation. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans were facing an epidemic of loneliness, and that problem persists today. But this epidemic hits some populations harder than others, and for the more than 14 million people in the US — that’s about 1 in every 20 adults — like Murray-Williams, living with serious mental illness, loneliness is twice as high as in other populations.
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On top of that, traditional mental health programs don’t see our strengths, and it gets tiring to having to always play the role of the sick person. This article is part of Public Health in Action, a new series from Harvard Public Health and The Studio that examines mental health programs across the U.S. that produce results. Mental illness is rampant in America, especially in New York City. There needs to be more cheap housing, more social workers that are paid better, resources for people that are homeless, and ways to help the mentally ill. The gym helped with exercise — I love the treadmill.
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I feel very important, like I’m not invisible, not a ghost. They always ask me every time, “How you doing? In his announcement, the mayor called for investment in clubhouses as a way to connect New Yorkers to services and treatment.
Fountain House Gallery Cultivates Artistic Growth.
Fountain House addresses the issue of social isolation, eliminates barriers to care, and helps members overcome social stigma through an evidence-based model. “For too long, people living with serious mental illness have been relegated to the margins of society - primarily dealt with through the criminal-legal system or emergency and hospital services. With this funding, NYC is making an historic investment at a critical time that recognizes serious mental illness as a social justice issue deserving of comprehensive community-based services, supports and resources such as what Fountain House provides. During the pandemic, our community has made these resources available virtually, and continued to expand our membership of people living with serious mental illness. Fountain House Gallery and Studio supports the careers and creative visions of contemporary artists living with mental illness.
But I’m always working on school or working for my apartment. When I was 18 and homeless, I could have used mental health housing. But I, unfortunately, had to go through the shelter in Newark. I was just trying to find where to go, what to do.
Clubhouses in the U.S. currently serve about 60,000 members. That’s a drop in the bucket since there are about 15 million adults living with serious mental illness in the country. I’m committed to helping expand clubhouses because I have seen first-hand the ways they succeed where typical mental health treatment does not. Most of these programs don’t take a holistic view.
“I didn’t talk, and I crawled under tables,” she recalled. About 30%of the organization's members are over 60; the Fountain House Silver Project was established to serve their needs. Fountain House Gallery Director Ariel Willmott estimates that 50%of the artists were established before they came to Fountain House and the rest became artists during their membership. She says that Fountain House Gallery helps them navigate the complex world of art in New York City and assists the new artists to transition into professionals. “I didn't know that people was going to start treating me like I was different than everybody else and looking down on me and acting like I couldn't handle things,” Carmen said. I saw “free coffee, free (phone) charging.” That’s how everything started.
With more funding and support, Fountain House and New York’s 14 other clubhouses will be in a better position to scale and expand their services to reach more people in need. Just passed the doors is a bustling society of Fountain House members and staff, who work side-by-side days, nights, and weekends on all seven floors of the clubhouse. These days, the clubhouse is alive with 2,000 members and roughly 200 staff, who engage in daily goings-on revolving around the support of the members — all of whom are living with serious mental illness. In 2022, Fountain House accepted more than 1,000 new members.
Today, I’m on a bus minding my own business, talking on my phone. This woman started yelling at me for talking on my phone. You could tell she was not well, and she was saying racist things.
Fountain House members experience reduced hospitalizations and a 21% decrease in costs to Medicaid. Members also have access to primary and psychiatric care, care management, and community-based services. All Fountain House Gallery artists are members of Fountain House, founded in New York City in 1948 with the belief that people living with mental illness can be active participants in their own and each other’s recovery.
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