By Margaret L. Frick
Member Number 5
Through the years our N.E.W. Clubhouse has developed into a helpful place for mentally ill people who have no safe place to go while adjusting to life again after some episode -- usually hospitalization, or tying new medicine, or bored with staying at home and fearful of public stigma. N.E.W. Clubhouse members discover others are struggling, too, with the debilitating effects of serious mental illness; they are not alone. We don’t all have the same illness but each of us have to go through days of adjusting. Here, we feel free to comment about feeling horrible from the illness or sleepy from medication or whatever is bothering us, and no one will treat us as if we aren’t worth the trouble to function again or improve our individual choices for more quality living.

I was one of the early members who had the challenge, along with three staff persons, of deciding if our clubhouse would be like those in other states. We decided to have a community thrift store after visiting the town’s then existing stores. We started three basic units of work to help our sick brains to function in various ways. Besides the donor-sparked store, we began the kitchen unit to provide a noon meal and clerical unit for keeping necessary paperwork. We had a few more N.E.W. members when our logo was discussed and developed to picture the clubhouse’s purpose. The N.E.W. name stands for "Needed. Expected. and Wanted." So our logo for the original store sign and our stationery showed a dark green mountain over which you see a rising sun with its healing rays stretching out on each side of the mountain. It reminds us of the difficult uphill climb we are making to feel the healing rays from the approaching sun as we become our old selves again.

Outsiders rarely have a chance to appreciate the value of the clubhouse’s staff monitoring us even while equally sharing in the jobs needed to be done daily in each unit. I recall one member had a problem talking. As he did kitchen work -- mostly making desserts -- he became his old self, enjoying telling us about his model plane-making hobby! Over and over we see these remarkable results. Many become employable, functioning well in their jobs at restaurants or in a store or offices. What helps is the need to use that brain in unit jobs; we re-learn skills and gain self-confidence and self-esteem with each successful day at the clubhouse.

N.E.W. Center 3109 S. 70th Fort Smith, AR (479)452-9490