Joining This Club Changed Their Lives

Enter Club Nova, an organization in Carrboro that seeks to provide its members with the opportunity to live on their own terms. Founded in 1987, Club Nova follows the clubhouse approach to psychiatric rehabilitation pioneered by New York City's Fountain House.

Located on West Main Street in Carrboro, Club Nova houses offices, a kitchen and a dining/meeting room, as well as 11 apartments for members and a thrift shop.

One of more than 300 clubhouses worldwide, Club Nova provides members with access to transitional employment, educational support, affordable meals and housing, and a social setting in which they can gain self-confidence.

"I definitely don't think that I would be where I am today if it were not for Club Nova," club member Matthew Cox said. "It's improved just about every aspect of my life."

Diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder in the mid-1980s, Cox was in and out of hospitals for several years before finding Club Nova. "A place to return is very important for people with serious mental illness," said Director Karen Kincaid Dunn. "A lot of places you go, and then you get better, and then you're out -- with a clubhouse your membership is lifetime."

Dunn said "a place to return" is one of the four rights guaranteed for clubhouse members, along with "a place to come" six days a week, "meaningful work" and "meaningful relationships."

"I would say what's at the core of all clubhouses is a community, which can be really hard to find these days," Dunn said.

Members said they are glad to have an environment that provides these rights.

"The guaranteed rights are things that are really important to anybody whether they have an illness or not," said member Rick Williston. "It's meant a lot to me."

The success of the program so far has led members and staff to plan for expansion, Dunn said. "Right now, we probably have about 1,500 square feet," she said. "To serve the number of people we have now, about 80 to 90 active members, we really need about 3,500 square feet."

She said goals for the next five years include expanding the clubhouse, improving the amount and quality of housing, and opening the thrift shop, now members-only, to the public. The existing facilities make economical use of the available space, combining the dining room and a meeting room and offering storage space in a break room.

Dunn said she is pleased the clubhouse has been successful enough to necessitate expansion. She attributed the success to the unique approach of the clubhouse model. "Over the years, this huge movement has developed from a few people in New York City 50 years ago," she said. "(Club Nova) was started in July 1987 to fill the need for that kind of community in Orange County."

She said members and staff were in contact with the international community of clubhouses from the start, but that the International Center of Clubhouse Development, of which Club Nova is now a member, was not founded until a few years later. The ICCD grants one- or three-year certification to clubhouses depending on how well they meet a set of 35 standards. Club Nova was granted the three-year certification at its last review and is up for recertification this summer.

ICCD Executive Director Joel Corcoran said the clubhouse model offers a unique approach to rehabilitation, which can work in conjunction with the medical approach. "The focus is on what people can do, not on their disability. They can pursue any dreams or aspirations that they have."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.