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A Brief History of Laurel House
1984-2008
July 1984: The Connecticut Department
of Mental Health (DMHAS) decides to create a “clubhouse” model
of community support and approves an initial grant to form Laurel
House in Stamford. The Clubhouse is first operated from the community
room of St. Andrew’s Church in Stamford.
February 1987: Purchase of the Clubhouse
and apartment building at 6 Washington Court in Stamford; initiation
of Supportive Housing Program for eighteen members at that address.
February 1988: Expansion of the Supportive
Housing Program, to include three new apartments, increasing the
total program capacity to twenty-nine members.
May 1988: The Olin Corporation provides
two new job placements for the Transitional Employment Program
and becomes the first major corporation to provide ongoing job
opportunities to Laurel House members.
October 1988: The Transitional Employment
Program expands to sixteen job placements, resulting in collective
member earnings of over $50,000 annually.
May 1989: Laurel House becomes one
of only two programs in the state to be awarded a special grant
to develop a program for college-level Supported Education. This
program will become one of the first efforts of its kind to create
opportunities in higher education for people with psychiatric disabilities.
June 1989: Laurel House’s first capital
campaign raises nearly one million dollars to remodel the Clubhouse
space and apartments located on the upper floors of 6 Washington
Court.
December 1987: Membership grows to
50 members a day, an increase of nearly 100% in the last two years.
The Social Program expands to include Monday evening and Saturday
afternoons.
January 1990: DMHAS nominates Laurel
House as an exemplary program and it receives special recognition
by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
July 1990: The Laurel House Transitional
Employment Program is cited on the editorial page of the Wall Street
Journal. The program adds a group job placement that enables seven
members to work each day with additional on-site support and supervision.
St. John’s Lutheran Church donates a van to help members with transportation to the jobsite.
September 1990: The National Alliance
for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) ranks Connecticut fourth nationally
in quality of services and their report gives Laurel House special
mention three times for its supportive housing, employment programs
and for having “one of the best clubhouse programs.”
October 1990: The
Laurel House Food Cooperative is opened and becomes the first clubhouse-operated
food store in the country; annual sales approach ten thousand dollars
and cost savings to members average seventy-five percent below
retail.
June 1991: Laurel House is invited by Boston University
to present on the Supported Education Program at the annual conference of the
International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation in Baltimore. In August,
Laurel House is invited again to present on the program at
the Sixth International Seminar on the Clubhouse Model.
September 1991: Renovations
begin on eight apartments located at 6 Washington Court.
October 1991: GE Capital participates as an employer
in the Transitional Employment Program, which has grown to nineteen job placements.
June 1992: Laurel House holds its first Employers
Dinner at St. Andrew’s Church.
November 1992: Renovations to the Laurel House
apartments are completed. The City of Stamford proclaims November 13, 1992 as
Laurel House Founding Day.
December 1992: Membership continues to climb and
attendance at the Clubhouse now reaches over 60 people a day, with an additional
25 members attending in the evening—an increase of 125% since December 1987.
June 1993: The Laurel House Thrift Store opens
with funding from DMHAS and Friends of Laurel House. The store supplies needed
furniture, clothing and household goods for the Supportive Housing Program and
the rest of the mental health community. Within one year, the shop
will expand into an adjacent storefront.
May 1994: Laurel
House member Laurie Appell receives the Victory
Award (entering the company of such luminaries as Kirk Douglas, Ray Charles,
Gloria Estefan, Sammy Davis, Jr., Senator Bob Dole, Johnny Cash and Stevie Wonder),
the first time this national award is given to someone overcoming a psychiatric
disability.
June 1995: Laurel House completes renovations at
6 Washington Court, doubling the size of its Clubhouse space with funding from
Stamford Community Development, the Bingham Trust and DMHAS. Average daily attendance
increases to 75 members a day.
September 1995: Laurel House is selected as one
of three programs to participate in a research study with the University of Arizona
on the relationship between Supported Education and employment outcomes for people
with psychiatric disabilities.
July 1996: Laurel House is awarded a DMHAS grant
to provide Supported Employment Services to help more than 25 members year obtain
sustained, competitive employment.
December 1996: With financial support from the
Bingham Trust and the Melville Family Trust, Laurel House purchases a 10,000-square-foot
building at 1616 Washington Boulevard, to be used for a new and expanded clubhouse.
The building is purchased and renovated entirely from private funding.
June 1997: Governor John Rowland is the keynote
speaker at the annual Employers Luncheon. The Employment Program now supports
over fifty Laurel House members for the first time, with annual collective wages
approaching $400,000.
January 1998: The Supported Education Program expands,
assisting more than 25 members a year to enroll in post-secondary college-level
classes and programs.
July 1998: Friends of Laurel House launches its
second capital campaign, which in three years will raise $2-million in private
funding to pay for the purchase and renovation of the new Clubhouse building
at 1616 Washington Boulevard.
July 1999: After two years of planning and preparation,
the Clubhouse program is relocated in its new space on Washington Boulevard.
Active membership exceeds 300 members a year and average daily attendance will
soon climb
to 85 members a day.
June 2000: Laurel House completes renovations at
6 Washington court and expands its Supportive Housing Program by an additional
fifteen members (44 total).
April 2001: Laurel
House launches its own Web site at laurelhouse.net. The site features member
artwork, poetry, and descriptions of the clubhouse and a library of winning grant
proposals called “Grant
Share.”
May 2002: Laurel
House enters into a fee-for-services contract with the Bureau of Rehabilitation
Services (BRS)
to provide vocational assessments, find jobs and provide on-the-job support for
working members.
October 2002: Laurel House wins a national award
from the Eli Lilly Corporation, the Community
Reintegration Award, for its seminal
work in supported education.
November 2002: Laurel House hosts the Eastern Regional
Clubhouse Conference in Stamford.
January 2004: Laurel House and the Mutual
Housing Association join forces to create the Partners Program, which provides housing
and supportive services to 13 formerly homeless individuals.
November 2005: Laurel House announces the formation
of a scholarship fund to provide Laurel House members and staff with the opportunity
to attend college and graduate programs. The William
R. Battey Education Fund,
named for one of Laurel House’s founding board members, provides for tuition
and other academic expenses directly related to post-secondary education.
January 2006: Laurel House initiates the Next Step
Program, to provide housing and supportive services for 11 members with a history
of chronic homelessness.
March 2007: Laurel
House and the Mutual
Housing Association renew their partnership with funding from DMHAS to develop
sixteen new supported housing units for the homeless. Construction is expected
to be completed in the Fall of 2008.
April 2007: Laurel House successfully partners
with Optimus Health Care to start a smoking-cessation program at Laurel House
and eleven members quit smoking during the first six months.
October 2007: HUD approves expansion of the Partners
II Supportive Housing Program and additional funding for up to 13 members through
the Partners leasing subsidy program. This brings the total number of people
supported in Laurel House residential programs up to 69.
January 2008: Laurel House co-hosts a silent auction
and screening of the movie Canvas with anti-stigma non-profit No
Kidding, Me Too. Canvas co-stars Marcia Gay Harden and Joe Pantoliano participate in a panel
discussion after the movie, along with writer-director Joe Greco.
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