Perspectives on the Standards

This Standard means that clubhouse staff must encourage every member to work while we are here. No group of colleagues—neither member nor staff—can do the work of the clubhouse alone. A clubhouse that hires enough staff to do all the work for members is not a clubhouse at all. The community makes the work as desirable and interesting as is possible; but no staff member will ever ask a member to do any job that they would not do themselves. Some tasks at the clubhouse are dirty or boring, but staff members do them too, right alongside members. And tasks that are challenging are not automatically reserved for staff—members can do them too, and we are invited to try them. This Standard implies that staff must have an openness to members and a belief in the inherent capacities of each member. Members and staff don’t all do the same things. The challenge is to find enough variety in the work to satisfy many people.

We appreciate this Standard because it gives us a chance to overcome the stigma of incompetence that society places on the mentally ill. Clubhouses give us a chance to prove ourselves. This Standard also gives us a lot of motivation to come to the clubhouse, because we are truly needed here.

This Standard allows members to change their view of their own capabilities. Being needed by someone or something outside yourself is the first step toward feeling good about yourself. For many members this is the first time that they have felt useful in a long time.