Hi! My name is Peter Czolowski and I started as the Star Reach Clubhouse Supervisor on February 13. I am very excited to be a part of this community and strongly feel the warmth and hospitality, and unlimited potential that is a clubhouse. Just a bit about myself to let everyone know who I am...

I started working in community mental health 20 years ago in New York state and worked in case management and housing programs until 1992 when I had the opportunity to work at the Fifth Avenue Clubhouse. At the Fifth Avenue Clubhouse, I quickly learned this was to be like no other job I had worked. Support, compassion and celebration of success were the norm in this community that, in fact, was an extended family. Not only were there all these amazing facets at the clubhouse, but we had fun! Everyday! After relocating to Colorado in 2002, I was delighted to connect with Chinook Clubhouse in Boulder where I worked for the past three years in the administrative unit and employment program finding the same kind of dynamic, caring community I had left in New York. I also work part time as a ski instructor at Copper Mt. And love to fish, mountain bike, play golf, and I am a semi-retired professional musician. But enough about who I am...

Even though I have only been at Star Reach for a short time, I am already hearing from members and staff, wonderful ideas to help the clubhouse grow. From ICCD trainings and conferences, to painting, and planning how to deliver more comprehensive services to members. Did I say I am excited. I am really excited, and very happy to be working with this terrific membership and talented staff. In closing, Star Reach is very grateful to the wonderful contributions made by Jason Kioko and Janel Souders and we wish them luck in their future endeavors. They will always be a part a the clubhouse's extended family.

 

 

ADMHN's S.T.A.R. Reach Clubhouse - which provides a wide range of employment, housing, educational and recreational programs that facilitate recovery and rehabilitation for individuals living with severe and persistent mental illness - has received a three-year certification from the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD), placing it among the world's most elite clubhouses.

According to Jason Kioko, Clubhouse supervisor, only about 40 of the nearly 400 clubhouses worldwide have been awarded three-year certifications. "We are proud of this international recognition, which is a stamp that we're providing quality services to our members," he says. "The real credit goes to our members and staff for all their dedication and hard work in making this certification a reality."

The certification, awarded in August, validates that ADMHN's S.T.A.R. Reach Clubhouse is solidly conforming to the seven categories of the ICCD's International Standards for Clubhouse Programs - Membership, Relationships, Space, Work-Ordered Day, Employment, Functions of the House and Funding Governance and Administration. These international standards, which are the basis for assessing clubhouse quality, also serve as a "bill of rights" for members and a code of ethics for staff, board and administrators.

During its on-site review, the ICCD noted that, "S.T.A.R. Reach Clubhouse is a strong clubhouse with an active membership that has a sense of ownership of the clubhouse, meaningful relationships and a productive work-ordered day."

ICCD clubhouses are founded on the realization that recovery from serious mental illness must involve the whole person in a vital and culturally sensitive community which offers respect, hope, and unlimited opportunity to access the same worlds of friendship, housing, education and employment as the rest of society.

Since opening its doors in 1994, S.T.A.R. (Strength, Training, Advocacy, Rehabilitation) Reach Clubhouse has served nearly 1,000 Arapahoe and Douglas County individuals challenged by mental illness, helping them realize their potential for achieving self-fulfillment and independence.