The Clubhouse Difference

Putnam Clubhouse is a welcoming community where adults recovering from mental illness come to rebuild their lives. Participants—called members, not patients or clients or consumers—share ownership and responsibility for the success of the organization. The underlying premise is that each member can sufficiently recover from the effects of mental illness to lead a personally satisfying and productive life. Recovery is achieved at the Clubhouse through work and work-mediated relationships, which are proven to be restorative and provide a firm foundation for growth, self-respect, and individual achievement.

Members work in a unique partnership with their peers and a small trained staff, building on personal strengths instead of focusing on illness. The Clubhouse provides an accepting place to spend the day, valuable work to perform within the organization, opportunities to socialize, health and wellness activities, expressive arts programming, and access to education and paid employment within the wider community.

Putnam Clubhouse was the first program in Northern California to be accredited by Clubhouse International. The Clubhouse International Model is included in the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Registry of Evidence Based Practices and Programs. Extensive research indicates Clubhouse members and the communities in which they live benefit from higher employment, reduced hospitalization and incarceration, improved well-being, and reduced cost of services compared to other programs.

Participation is voluntary, at no cost to members, and available for ongoing support to adult residents of Contra Costa County who meet the membership criteria.