VERO BEACH — The members of Our House Network, a consumer run Drop-In Center operated by the Mental Health Association in Indian River County, celebrated the unveiling of its remodeled clubhouse thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Jim and Billie Ellis Foundation.
Karen Black, a board member of the Jim and Billie Ellis Foundation, attended the celebration and was the catalyst for recommending the grant to her family’s foundation.
Jim and Billie, now married for more than 60 years, experienced the devastation that mental illness can cause when their son, Greg, was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Greg worked for his father’s dealership in his younger years and struggled with his illness until he lost his life to the disease in 2000 at the age of 40.
“This is a place I wish would have been available to my brother. If he would have had the peer support and socialization provided at Our House Network, things might have been different. We miss him daily and deeply,” Ms. Black said.
Ms. Black decided to use her experience to help others. She recently met with Dr. Bob Brugnoli, Executive Director of the Mental Health Association, and Ken Felten, incoming Board Chair, to learn more about the organization’s programs and services.
Ms. Black was so impressed with the level of support she saw at Our House Network that she invited her parents, Jim and Billie Ellis, to return with her on a later visit.
“They, too, were amazed at what was being done at the Center with minimal means. Our House Network is keeping people struggling with mental illness from being isolated,” added Ms. Black.
“They all keep an eye out for one another, just like family. We enjoy doing it. We don’t do it for the recognition but for the satisfaction of seeing how some people respond to what you give them to fill a need,” Mr. Ellis explained.
The goals of the Drop-In Center are to help people with mental illness reintegrate successfully into the community, giving them the power to take charge of their own recovery and find value in helping others with similar challenges.
Carol Martin is the Director of Consumer Services for the Mental Health Association. She said the remodeling project at the Our House Network not only provided a nicer space, but it also brought the members closer together, aiding in their recovery.
“It was exciting to see changes taking place not only in the physical appearance of the center, but also in our members’ attitudes. They were actively involved in making decisions about the remodeling and even did some of the work.
This is a huge part of their recovery, and we couldn’t be more grateful to the Jim and Billie Ellis Foundation for giving our clients this opportunity to have such a meaningful life experience,” said Ms. Martin.
Our House Network uses a variety of programming to support the recovery of its 90 members. The center provides peer support in a social setting, help in obtaining services and benefits, support groups, advocacy training, vocational rehabilitation and socialization opportunities, as well as providing consumers with a place to relax and have fun, all of which result in consumer empowerment.
Classes and support groups are offered in areas such as computers, music, financial planning, and even an arts and crafts group whose members designed a special thank you card to present to the Ellis family for their generous grant.
“Our House Network is an important part of the mental health continuum of care. It provides people with chronic mental illness a supportive environment which can lessen or even prevent the need for more costly, complicated care such as hospitalization or outpatient clinical services,” Dr. Brugnoli added.
Like all Drop-In Centers, Our House Network is open 365 days per year, including weekends and holidays, when traditional mental health services may not be available, and for some, a time they find to be particularly difficult and lonely.
According to Dr. Brugnoli, socialization for people with chronic mental illness is one of the most important aspects of a Drop-In Center.
“Our members plan their own recovery in a warm, friendly, family atmosphere. They pick the programs and services they find most useful, giving them the power to take responsibility for their own recovery. They even establish their own rules for behavior, work commitments, and the schedule of events at the center,” explained Dr. Brugnoli.
Our House Network is one of three Drop-In Centers operated by the Mental Health Association. The other two centers are located in Martin County and Okeechobee County.
Founded in 1978, the Mental Health Association is a United Way Agency that serves an average of 1600 people each year through a variety of programs and services.
The organization is dedicated to providing immediate access, with no barriers, to mental health care for the citizens of Indian River County, and operates on a promise to the community to be a model agency for mental health care, maintaining an exemplary staff and facilities, and administering the agency with high standards of innovation and professionalism.
For more information, please call (772) 569-9788 or visit the website at www.MHAIRC.org.
