About Shore House
A Place to BelongShore House is not a treatment program or mental health service, but rather a place where members can learn new skills, develop new relationships, and explore new opportunities.
The Shore House Story
As a parent of a daughter diagnosed with bipolar disorder and mental health advocate, founder Susan Sandlass never strayed from her goal of bringing a Clubhouse to Monmouth County, New Jersey. She began her quest by holding community information gatherings in July 2008, to engender support. In only one month, she had formed a working group that began to lay the foundation necessary to move this project forward.
The organization became a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit in July 2010. Shore House opened with one member, one day a week, in borrowed space in Red Bank. Today we are located in Long Branch, open Monday through Friday, and serve over 200 members.
OUR MISSION is to empower and restore hope, independence and self-worth for people living with a mental illness by providing access to social, education and employment opportunities.
It is OUR VISION that recovery from mental illness is a reality for people worldwide and they are recognized for their strengths and talents.
New Jerseys' Only Accredited Facility
Shore House is one of only 320 Accredited Clubhouses world-wide and is the first and only accredited Clubhouse in NJ
There are 11 Clubhouses in New York and 21 in Pennsylvania and yet, just one in New Jersey. Clubhouse International Accreditation™ is a symbol of quality – a clear demonstration of a Clubhouse’s commitment to excellence and are universally recognized as operating with a high level of compliance with the International Standards for Clubhouse Programs.
What is A Clubhouse?
The personal stories of members and their families and an increasing body of research provide evidence that Clubhouses provide a holistic, inspiring and cost-effective solution for people living with mental illness.
- A place where people with persistent mental illness (members) participate in their own recovery process by working and socializing together in a safe, welcoming environment.
- An organization that operates on proven standards developed over 5 decades by Clubhouse International and effective in over 320 Clubhouses worldwide.
- A community-based approach that complements available psychiatric and medical treatments.
A Clubhouse is a Community
Clubhouses Are Participative
Clubhouses Help End Isolation
The Clubhouse experience has been proven to result in positive outcomes for many members, including:
- Better employment rates, 42% at Accredited Clubhouses annually – double the average rate for people in the public mental health system, plus longer on-the-job tenure for members engaging in Clubhouse Transitional Employment.1
- Cost effectiveness, one year of holistic recovery services are delivered to Clubhouse members for the same cost as a 2-week stay at a psychiatric hospital. The cost of Clubhouses estimated to be one-third of the cost of the IPS model; about half the annual costs of Community Mental Health Centers; and substantially less than the ACT model.2
- A significant decrease in hospitalizations as a result of membership in a Clubhouse program.3
- Improved Well-Being compared with individuals receiving psychiatric services without Clubhouse membership. Clubhouse members were significantly more likely to report that they had close friendships and someone they could rely on when they needed help.5
- Reduced incarcerations, with criminal justice system involvement substantially diminished during and after Clubhouse psycho-social program membership.4
- Better physical and mental health: a recent study suggests that service systems like Clubhouses that offer ongoing social supports enhance mental and physical health by reducing disconnectedness.6
Sources: 1 Macias, Kinney and Rodican (1995). 2 McKay, Yates, and Johnsen (2005); IPS model reported by Clark et al (1998); ACT model reported by Macias et al (2001). 3 De Masso, Avi-Itzak and Obler (2001). 4 Johnson and Hickey (1999). 5 Warner, Huxley and Berg (1999). 6 Leff and colleagues (2004).