MA CLUBHOUSE COALITION

FIRST NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT CELEBRATION ON CAPITOL HILL: A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

The Employment Expansion Project held the first National Employment Celebration event in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 22,2007. The event focused attention on the accomplishments of people who have mental illness that have gained employment with support from Clubhouses certified by the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD). Forty-one employers were honored by their Congressional representatives for playing a leadership role in encouraging their colleagues to hire Clubhouse members. Each employer honoree wrote a reference letter to support the work of developing additional jobs. The Project, organized by the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition, is dedicated to expanding employment opportunities and dispelling the stigma of mental illness that often serves as a barrier to employment.

Over 300 people from 63 Clubhouses and other organizations from 19 states across the U.S. participated in the Celebration held in our nation’s Capitol. Approaching the podium to a standing ovation,Congressman Barney Frank thanked the employers for the work they do in expanding jobs for people with psychiatric disabilities. “We are much too wealthy a country to begrudge our fellow brothers and sisters the chance to be hired into a job,” Frank stated at the Celebration. Twenty-one US Representatives and Senators as well as the staff of eight legislative offices were on hand to present awards to employer constituents. Each thanked the companies for their national leadership in helping to dispel the stigma of mental illness and for focusing on the talents and abilities of their employees rather than on their disabilities.

Those awarded for their role in the National Project included Nancy McCullar, Chief Executive Officer for the Girl Scouts, Great Valley Council in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Paul LePage, General Manager of Marden’s Surplus and Salvage, who is also the Mayor of Waterville, Maine; Richard Burriesci, Director of Engineering for the Stamford Marriott in Connecticut, and Steven Schwartz, Senior VicePresident of Publicis Groupe, New York City. In all, sixtyfive employers nationwide have joined the effort to expand jobs for people with mental illness while crediting the supports that Clubhouses provide as making the employment experience work for both the employees and the companies that hired them.

Ms. McCullar received her award from Congressman Charles Dent of Pennsylvania who thanked her and the Girl Scouts Great Valley Council for “embracing the Clubhouse model of recovery by providing meaningful community-based employment opportunities for members of the Clubhouse of Lehigh County. By encouraging other Girl Scouts Councils to hire Clubhouse members you have become a leader in expanding employment for people who have mental illness. I want to commend the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition for your role in organizing the Employment Expansion Project and the Pennsylvania Clubhouse Coalition for your partnership in this important Project.”

Speaking to a roomful of employers, legislators, Board members, Clubhouse members, staff, and family members, Ms. McCullar stated, “Oftentimes it is employment discrimination that discourages people who have mental health issues to seek employment. I am compelled to say the famous words of ‘I have a dream’. My dream is that we can all promote and develop a culture where employees can be open about their mental health disability… and be treated fairly at the workplace.” The National Employment Expansion Project was formed with significant funding from the Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation. “I am thrilled with the tremendous success the Employment Expansion Project has been able to accomplish in our first two years,” said Reva Stein, Executive Director of the MCC. “The companies that have joined us are amongst the best employers in our communities. I am proud to work alongside them in this effort to help all of our citizens reach their full potential as employees, neighbors, and friends.”