Aim

Norfolk Clubhouse connects "aspiration with opportunity" for adults 18 years to seniors with education, training and work experiences.

Who we are.

We are a new start-up charitable social enterprise based in Norfolk, founded in 2019 by June Webb a Coach-Therapist and former Social Worker to provide a sustainable model of holistic mental health support, creating positive opportunities for social connection, training, education and work. norfolk-clubhouse.org. https://clubhouse-intl.org/what-we-do/what-clubhouses-do/

What we do.

We are independent of but allied with, the International Clubhouse model of promoting positive mental health. This provides a Membership model for life for those working towards growing their confidence and skills to access education, training and employment opportunities. It also means living meaningful and productive lives based upon Members' understanding and vision of these aspirations. Some of our members want to make a difference to their own and the lives of others by using their skills and experience to set up creative projects to connect with others and give hope. Some projects our members are passionate about is growing organic produce, learning cooking skills and creating something new by up-cycling unwanted things. We are meeting online and via the telephone at present during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will meet face to face as it is safe to do so and expand our reach back into our communities, connecting our members via hubs throughout Norfolk.

Why we do it.

We do what we do to provide a holistic, sustainable and lifelong opportunity for anyone with mental health difficulties to be Members of a community, building a secure and creative base for Members to thrive, not merely survive. Membership is for life so Members can belong and return, playing an active part in the running of the community projects, which are decided upon by Members for Members.

We do what we do to bridge the many gaps in the lived experience of those who have chronic mental health difficulties, to address the systemic causes of their experiences and not just focus on the symptoms. Our focus is on strengths, what can be done rather than what cannot. Our vision is to develop the huge wealth we have in prospective Members' abilities, skills and talents. These are often ignored by focusing on apparent deficiencies and medical diagnoses. It’s about saying ‘Yes, you do have certain issues, but what are your strengths? How can we build you up?’ It’s about looking at what you can do, instead of what you can’t do.

Elizabeth Day Humphries, Journalist, Writer and Communications Specialist interviewed June Webb, Founder in March 2020 for her blog at afinepeople.co.uk

Our Vision - 1 of 320 Ways to Better Mental Health

Our vision is to create several online hubs in Norfolk to connect Members digitally to opportunities for social connection, learning and experiential opportunities to grow confidence and strengths, enabling our Members to lead the way for their own recovery and the recovery of fellow Members, whatever that means for them.

The money raised will support our work in administering our Membership and in furthering our work, specifically providing funds to open a Post Office box and register our address for another 12 months. Our project will include online meet-ups for Members to reduce social isolation and we are offering a free 8 week programme called "Growing Together" which explores Members' skills and abilities and follow this up with a 4 week programme of growing specific individual's skills and abilities, identified by the Member. It will also be used to keep us insured and to pay for essential expenditure to maintain our duty of care to our Members and stakeholders in the delivery of our activities. These will be delivered face to face when safe to do so as well as online for those unable to meet face to face for whatever reason. This includes cost of administration for DBS checks, room hire and money for training Members in Health & Safety Courses and essential Safeguarding Training for the next 12 months.

Based on the International Clubhouse Model of promoting positive mental health, our vision is to establish a Countywide network of Clubhouses to support those living with mental health issues to have a place to belong, to be an active Member and to connect with local organizations and businesses to enhance and grow community cohesion and generate resilience for individuals, families and whole communities. 

Norfolk Clubhouse is unique in Norfolk as it is the only one of its kind in the County to deliver a completely inclusive approach to mental health around age of members and mental health issues. Membership is for life, Members are any age from 18 years upwards and Membership does not require any particular diagnosis to be an active Member of the Community. Our work is genuinely co-created with our Members who are the experts in their lives.

Norfolk Clubhouse is needed now more than ever to support our diverse communities through the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. We are uniquely placed to do this as our only criteria for our open and inclusive support is that Members are able to engage with us safely. Being online, we can connect with Members anywhere in the County and as it becomes safe to do so, meet face to face in hubs in the county to serve that particular locality, develop local activities and positive life opportunities through employed Support Associates (subject to further funding). Longer term, we aim to provide goods and services produced by our Members to enable us to become more self sufficient in funding our project and less reliant on initial seed funding.

Typically Clubhouses deliver £14 of social return for every £1 invested, reduce spend on hospital and residential placements and reduce strain on other public services.

Please help us to turn our vision into a reality by investing in this project and the people we support.

This project successfully funded on 16th December 2020