For all adult citizens of Connecticut with mental illness to enjoy the opportunity and hope of recovery, including a safe place to live, a job, educational opportunity, companionship, self-esteem and a life worth living.

At Laurel House, we believe in the possibility of recovery for people with serious mental illness. By recovery, we mean getting back the things that were lost when one's life became disrupted by mental illness: a job, school, housing, social connections, self-respect and dignity. We believe that every person with mental illness has the capacity to achieve recovery, given the opportunity and appropriate support. It is Laurel House's vision to create that opportunity everywhere in the state of Connecticut where people with serious mental illness are struggling to overcome the lost opportunities and stigma associated with their disability.

A unique and important feature of Laurel House is the way in which a variety of vital resources and services are vertically integrated within one organizational structure. The "Clubhouse", as it is commonly called, acts as a general contractor for people needing a full range of psychiatric and mental health services. Those services which it does not provide directly, such as clinical care and medical monitoring of the wellness program, can be accessed through Laurel House's partner agencies. The result is "one-stop" shopping for members to access employment, education, housing, wellness and community support services, with quick and easy access to the other services and opportunities they require. In addition to the Supported Education Program, which has helped more than 130 members receive post-secondary school education, Laurel House operates: several levels of employment support, resulting in paid employment in the community for 110 people a year; safe and affordable housing for 70; and a clubhouse program where 375 members a year receive essential supportive services and, in return, participate in the running of these programs.

Laurel House runs as a partnership between its members, staff, board of directors, financial backers and other organizations in the community. Many of these roles are interchangeable. Members benefit from the opportunities created by the clubhouse, but also participate in the operation, administration and governance of the club. Our financial backers are people and organizations who believe in the mission of Laurel House and invest their money and other resources in making this vision a reality. The staff have a bottom-line responsibility for ensuring that Laurel House achieves its mission with efficiency and optimum results, while the board of directors provide expertise and responsible governance, as well as making a significant financial investment in the organization. Laurel House also partners with other “for impact” and governmental organizations in the community to share resources and expertise and provide complementary services.

The Executive and Associate Directors of Laurel House have a total of over 35 years with the organization and more than 50 years total experience with social impact organizations at home and abroad. The board of directors is composed of 10-15 skilled individuals from a variety of professional and career backgrounds, including finance, law, insurance, health, education, public relations, and sales, and includes representation by members and families.

Every five minutes another American is diagnosed with schizophrenia, a disabling mental illness that can cause disturbing hallucinations, bizarre delusions, and disorganized thinking. Diagnoses of other mental illnesses such as major depression and bipolar disorder are even more frequent. The prevalence of severe mental illness in the United States is estimated at 3.7 percent of all adults. Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability for Americans aged 14-44 and care for the mentally ill constitutes 7.3 percent of all health care funding, 63 percent of which is in the public sector. Adding up the additional costs of lost wages and tax revenues from unemployment, supplemental income supports, and co-occurring conditions such as substance abuse, homelessness and AIDS, the social cost of mental illness is immense.

Annual mental health spending in Connecticut alone is more than half a billion dollars a year for as many as 189,000 adult individuals with serious mental illness. In the catchment area served by Laurel House (Stamford, Norwalk, Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, Westport and Weston), there are an estimated 13,000 people with serious mental illness. Many of these individuals live in poverty and the most severely affected receive treatment and supportive services through the state-funded Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). There are 1,576 adults with mental illness on the current DMHAS roles living in Stamford—3,749 in the catchment area. Every one of these individuals is potentially eligible for membership at Laurel House and could benefit greatly from its services.

Virtually all of the mentally ill individuals in this state have access to clinical care and services when they need it. Access to housing, employment and educational opportunities, however, is nowhere near adequate. In the last three years Laurel House has increased the capacity of its supported housing programs from 29 to 69. Yet nearly 200 mentally ill individuals continue to be homeless, living in the shelters and streets of Stamford due to a severe lack of affordable housing and adequately funded supportive services. Fifteen percent of people with serious mental illness are homeless at any given time and 30-50 percent of the chronically homeless have a severe mental illness. The unemployment rate for people with serious mental illness is estimated at 85-90 percent.

Laurel House operates much like any voluntary association based in the community. Its members are its largest human resource. They answer the phones, cook the meals, write and produce the daily newsletter and participate in every aspect of the daily operation of the clubhouse, without which Laurel House would not exist. In return, they are entitled to use all of the resources, opportunities and services of the club.

Laurel House has an active membership of 375 individuals a year, all of whom have a serious mental illness. The most common diagnoses are schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (56%), major depressive disorder (15%), and bipolar disorder (12%). Nearly all members are poor and less than 1% carry private insurance. The majority now live in Stamford, but more than 25 percent have origins in other communities in Fairfield County.

Laurel House asks its constituents to not just give money to charity, but to invest in a program for social impact. A major feature of this business plan is the creation of a development office to market the Laurel House product—“recovery”—to investors in the private, corporate and public sectors. The message will consist of an appeal to concerned individuals, businesses, foundations and community organizations to choose Laurel House because it offers the most comprehensive, effective solution to the problem at the most efficient price. It will make this claim on the grounds that a) it is based on a model which has proven effective at helping people obtain or regain a higher level of functioning through employment, education and social relationships; b) it can provide its members with a vertically integrated array of services; and c) the cost of delivering these services is far less than the alternative of allowing these severely disabled individuals to consume expensive medical and legal resources, while languishing in hospitals, prisons, shelters and the street. The marketing strategy will also need to address the theme of recovery, explaining it in terms that are easily understood, and relate to issues of real concern in the community.

• To demonstrate that the clubhouse model as practiced at Laurel House is effective at helping people with serious mental illness achieve their goals for recovery.
• To increase the number of people served by 35%, from the current 375 a year to 500 by 2012.
• To fill the gaps and increase the quantity and range of services available to the current and future membership and improve the quality, impact and effectiveness of existing programs and services.
• To continue the established trends toward quality improvement and vertical integration of services to provide members with a seamless, comprehensive support experience.
• To establish a Center of Clubhouse Excellence to provide training, consultation and access to funding for other communities in Connecticut looking to launch successful clubhouse ventures.
• To obtain $1-million a year in additional private, corporate, church and foundation funding, while building a reserve fund equal to three months operating expenses.