KEEPING THE CLUBHOUSE OPEN: TOWARD A ROAD MAP FOR CLUBHOUSE SUSTAINABILITY

Clubhouses are nonprofit human services organizations that provide a variety of programming including educational opportunities, housing, employment, and other supports to persons diagnosed with Serious Mental Illness (Glickman, 1992). Researchers conducted and analyzed interviews of key informants from U.S. clubhouses (N = 7) to create a basic conceptual framework for clubhouse sustainability. Retrospective multisite (N = 261) survey data were used to find the best predictors of sustainability using survival analyses. Key informants suggested immediate and long-term factors that influence clubhouse sustainability differed by circumstance. The Kaplan-Meier estimator showed that clubhouses with longer program sustainability had higher clubhouse accreditation levels (p < .001), clubhouse autonomy (p < .001), and multiple funding sources (p = .01). Cox regression analyses suggested clubhouses that were freestanding entities (p < .001) and were fully accredited (p = .025) were most likely to sustain programming over time. Future research could focus on aspects of model adherence and autonomy that increase the likelihood of program sustainability.