Psychosocial Clubhouse

Our Friendship Club meets on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM led by our group supervisor, Gloria Moore. Participants come to the club via the Montgomery Transit Authority (MTA) special bus or family members and friends. We provide a hot lunch each day and many fun and informative opportunities that would not be available to the participants without MHA Montgomery. Our staff uses your generous donations to purchase and prepare these lunches and activities for approximately 12 participants. 

Examples of Friendship Club activities include:

• Attending educational sessions on nutrition, physical activity, healthy living, budgeting, and other community living skills aimed toward recovery from mental illness.
• Preparing paintings for display at the annual Capitol Showcase held at the State Capitol in October of each year. 
• Painting small flower pots for planting herbs in the early spring. 
• Harvesting greens and other fall vegetables participants planted earlier, cooking some for lunch, and taking some home. 
• Planning and participating in the annual Halloween Party--making decorations, and bringing party treats.  
• Attending Mental Health Day at the Alabama National Fair where participants’ arts and crafts were on display. 
• Planning and performing the annual Thanksgiving program, which ends each year with sharing what we are most thankful for. 
• Unleashing amazing creativity to create decorative and useful ceramic items at Houston Hills. 
• Attending Art Therapy with various crafting, painting, and working together on many projects, many of which adorn office and classroom walls. 
• Attending Peer Discussion Group as an opportunity to “blow off steam” in a calm, appropriate manner. This group is carefully supervised by our Program Coordinator to ensure discussions remain on topic and rules of order are observed. 
• Dressing up and bringing food for a Labor Day party full of singing, dancing, and just having fun together. 

Our staff and members of the Friendship Club also get to attend the annual two-day Alabama Recovery Institute sponsored by the Alabama Department of Mental Health and held at Shocco Springs, AL every April. This program is educational yet filled with lots of fun, great food, “yard” sales (all free), a talent show, door prizes, a watermelon cutting party, and a big dance on the last evening when they get to dress up and really enjoy. There is also a candlelight vigil before the dance, honoring those who have passed on ever since the last conference. 

Otherwise, there are far too many success stories, events, and “happenings” to list them all here. Suffice it to say that the participants have a place to come where they are safe and enjoy fun and meaningful activities and learn recovery skills.