Gateshead Clubhouse

General information

Hello and Welcome to Gateshead Clubhouse

A User-led Community Hub

Essentially the term community hub we believe is quite apt – often service users will call in to meet up with friends and go elsewhere as well as attending some activities or eating at the cafe. Our aim has always been to provide the positive side of having a building-based service while recognising that if left in isolation these kind of services can be institutionalised and stagnant, the input of external people, activities and new members is akin to having freshwater run into a stream.

The vision sees the Clubhouse as being a venue where people are always welcome on their own terms. The belief is that people need a safe harbour where members have the assurance that they are in control about what level of activity and participation they wish to engage in, without the fear they will have to move on before they choose to, or are ready to leave. In this way the Clubhouse could then be in a position to truly support people to build up their own resilience and, in a suitable time-frame, be able to move on with their lives.

The Clubhouse, in a truly personalised way, will mean different things to different people. For some it will be about becoming part of running something unique, a very empowering experience in itself, and a place to meet for friendship, where people will always be welcomed with a smile. For others it will be part of their recovery as they undertake peer led courses, join in social activities and, when ready, move their lives in new directions– knowing that they always have a place of support if needed.

The Culture of the Clubhouse

The culture of The Clubhouse will be determined by its membership. Peer Support will be the key focus, with an emphasis upon:

• People making an individual choice about attendance and participation in activities – they would no longer be time limited in terms of their involvement in the Clubhouse

• A greater membership participation in terms of the running of the club. This would include:- financial management, maintaining the health, safety and cleanliness of the building, strategic and operational management

• A determined effort being made to use Peer Support approaches that would help to develop activities both in terms of community based opportunities and in- house courses

Working in Partnership

Other organisations and services are encouraged to engage with The Clubhouse which provides a welcome, friendly and open environment. A warm welcome and assistance will always be given to those professionals offering training, those who wish to engage in consultation, those seeking a greater understanding of people with mental health issues and those supporting people to move on with their lives.

The Clubhouse members also recognise that partnership means seeking support, advice and guidance from partner organisations around areas such as risk assessment, ensuring excellent safeguarding policies and supporting robust financial procedures. These partnerships are integral to The Clubhouse success.

The Journey Continues

The final destination of the journey is a truly user-led service which is highly innovative, flexible in what it offers, empathetic and life changing. We know that with the skills, confidence and experience that our members have achieved over the last few years that we are in an excellent position to bring our vision to life.

On a more practical level

We are open five days a week 11 AM to 4:30 PM, the community cafe will run in these hours and all members will be able to attend when they wish. They Will Also Be Able to Use the Internet Free of Charge. We Will Have Two ‘Team Leaders’ on at All Times Who Will Ensure Clubhouse Tasks and Duties Are Allocated Fairly As Well As Answering Phones and Administration.

The following activities are running now – Hearing Voices Group, Anxiety Group, General Cooking Group, Photography Group, Walking Group, Art Group, crafts Group, Men’s group. As well as these peer led activities there are frequent nights out, day trips (using public transport) and occasionally a few days away (using mainstream coach companies etc).

On top of the above activities we are planning to invite carers to use the community cafe alongside our members. We also have extremely good relationships with local museums and art galleries, Gateshead health trainers, harp art, user voice and others, where those organisations book our rooms and open their services to our members both in the clubhouse and out in the community. We also book out rooms to virtually any organisation, but organisations that run activities such as art and invite our members to attend will pay a reduced amount or nothing.