The Clubhouse
For the past five years, Heart Forward has planted seeds in hopes of spawning a clubhouse for Hollywood. The culture of a clubhouse is steeped in Radical Hospitality. In 2021, a small Steering Committee came together and imagined a potential mission statement for a future Hollywood clubhouse:
We create a community where those with mental health conditions pursue their potential to live with significant purpose in all aspects of their lives.
And now, over two years later, these seeds are sprouting and the prospect of a clubhouse opening its doors to the Hollywood community is assured!
In April, 2023, Heart Forward and Fountain House – the original clubhouse in America with a 75-year history based in New York City – signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate around opening a clubhouse in Hollywood. Fountain House has dedicated staff and a development consultant to assist with raising the funds to launch this initiative. Heart Forward is helping with the community connections as the “boots-on-the-ground” local guide to navigate Hollywood.
What Is a Clubhouse?
A clubhouse, according to Clubhouse International, “is a place that provides community for people with mental illness. A Clubhouse is a membership organization; no one is a patient or client, they are members, and with membership comes ownership and responsibility. Members operate their Clubhouse together with a small staff, through a concept called the work-ordered day. It’s based on meaningful relationships and the idea that work promotes recovery by helping end isolation and build self-esteem: there is dignity and purpose in work.”
Who Will Operate the Hollywood Clubhouse?
Fountain House is investing its time and talent to stand up the first accredited clubhouse in Southern California. Hollywood was chosen because of the commitment to innovative community-based mental health programs associated with the state funded Hollywood 2.0 Mental Health pilot, administered by the LA County Department of Mental Health.
Gennaro Simeone, Clubhouse Member
“It’s a joy for me to work with all the people from Heart Forward, and that I believe in them and they believe in me. We’re a team. I especially enjoy seeing that people that are homeless come and join our club, and be noted, and be counted for.”
When Will the Clubhouse Open?
Fountain House has made remarkable progress to secure initial funding and contractual support to launch the Hollywood Clubhouse in 2024. Heart Forward has worked alongside Fountain House to assist with the real estate search, inaugural member connections and community awareness.
A temporary “pop-up” location at 6565 Sunset Blvd. was secured in October 2023 and a one-day-a-week clubhouse was initiated with the support of Heart Forward volunteers while Fountain House worked to secure contracts and begin staff recruitment.
Significant progress has been made by Fountain House to identify the staff team that will allow for the formal opening of the clubhouse and recruitment of new members. This is anticipated in Spring 2024, and work continues toward identifying and equipping a site to serve as the permanent location in Hollywood, expected to be available in Q4 2024.
Heart Forward is grateful to philanthropic support from Kaiser Permanente and the Atlas Kardia Foundation which has supported efforts to recruit the inaugural members and secure a “pop-up” location for the interim clubhouse.
Who Is Eligible for Membership?
Clubhouse International provides a comprehensive look at the nature of membership and why this voluntary association with a clubhouse is so important to its culture. In their words, “Membership in a Clubhouse is open to anyone who has a history of mental illness. This idea of membership is fundamental to the Clubhouse concept: being a member of an organization means that an individual has both shared ownership and shared responsibility for the success of that organization.” The clubhouse is a welcoming place where people living in the community, who otherwise might feel isolated or marginalized, can experience a sense of purpose and pursue relationships.
When Fountain House commences its operation in the Spring of 2024, it will begin active recruitment in the Hollywood community and will provide guidance into the membership application process. We will link to their website when that information is available.
Erik Birky, Clubhouse Member
“I see us as a gateway to helping bring people into housing here in LA and helping mental health issues that are going on in this town. I want to give kudos to Evangeline, to Kerry and to Jon from Heart Forward—they work so hard to be with us, and I just appreciate all of it."
