Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Club for mentally ill offers welcome
Lebanon house opens Tuesday
BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — In a world that uses “crazy” as an insult, Corwin House offers safe refuge.
Stigmas generally associated with mental illness are shed like winter coats when clients walk in the door.
Corwin House is “a home for all of us,” said member Phyllis Warnock. “We're not discriminated against for having a mental illness. We're not considered ill. We're considered the same.”
A year ago, Recovery Services of Warren & Clinton Counties opened the clubhouse program at a temporary site on Oregonia Road. Next Tuesday, the clubhouse officially moves into its permanent location, a restored 19th century house that was the home of former Ohio Gov. Thomas Corwin.
Funded by private and public money, the $1.2 million facility is the Tristate's first clubhouse for people recovering from mental and emotional illnesses. About 20 people a day attend the clubhouse program, open to Warren and Clinton county residents. Most work alongside the five full-time staff members cooking meals, answering phones and landscaping. Members publish a monthly newsletter.
Corwin House offers job training, including computer classes, and an opportunity for people to socialize.
But more important, said clients, Corwin House creates a sense of community among people who have always felt as if they were on the outside looking in.
“A lot of places I go, I feel like I'm not wanted,” said Leatha Baker, 47, of Wilmington. “Corwin House just makes me feel good. Like I'm wanted.”
Ms. Warnock, 61, of Franklin, echoed her sentiments. “I never fit in anywhere else.”
At Corwin House, hugs are generous. Affirmation is constant. Clients need time to re-adapt to the world, said director Krista Magaw. Often they are coming off an extended hospital stay or adjusting to medication and need to build up their confidence and believe in themselves again, she said.
The members “are used to feeling like they can't contribute,” Ms. Magaw said. “We give them those opportunities.”
For Joey Allen, 28, of Lebanon, that means he helps with the landscaping.
“When I first started coming, I wasn't what you would call a very nice person,” said Mr. Allen, who calls his disorder explosive personality. He said he hasn't had any problems since he started coming to the clubhouse last winter.
“The way so-called normal people treat people with problems ... they just think people like us are crazy,” he said. “They judge a person before they even know them.”
Corwin House is modeled after Fountain House in New York City, founded in 1948. It started with a group of about 10 mentally ill people who, after being released from a psychiatric hospital, decided to keep meeting for support, said Margie Stake, Fountain House's program director. The clubhouse concept has spread across the world, with 232 clubs nationwide and 67 international facilities, Ms. Staker said.
Clubhouses “finally treat people with some dignity and respect and give them some hope in life,” she said.
For Christine Young, 39, of Lebanon, who has bipolar disorder, Corwin House has helped to open her eyes.
“It shows me I'm not the only one who's sick,” she said.
Tuesday's dedication of Corwin House, 210 W. Main St., runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Keynote speaker is Michael F. Hogan, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health.
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