Lighthouse helps members
|
| |
Lighthouse helps its members get back to work
By Sarah M. Corigliano, Assistant Managing Editor
In a quiet spot next to the MassMutual complex on State Street in Springfield is a small building with a sign that says "Lighthouse."
Inside that building, staff members of Human Resources Unlimited (HRU) and members of the community who live with mental illnesses work on getting themselves back to work.
Established in 1985, Lighthouse Director Chris Zabik explained that the organization is a program of HRU, a not-for-profit human service organization which was founded in 1970 to serve those who have mental retardation. In 1985, Zabik explained, the organization expanded to reach out to those with mental illnesses.
In the mental health and human services fields, Lighthouse is described as "Psycho-Social Vocational Rehabilitation."
For the rest of us, Zabik explained, that means adults who have severe, chronic and persistent mental illnesses who have undergone hospitalization and/or an interruption in work history can go to Lighthouse to refresh themselves in coping and life skills and receive training to re-enter the workforce.
He said the Lighthouse program is based on the "Fountain House" model in New York City.
"In the 1940s, when patients were discharged from the hospital, they would meet on the steps of the New York City Library [to give each other] support," Zabik explained.
He said that eventually grew into a program named for the house where the support and re-training took place: Fountain House. There, members learned job skills, helped each other through hard times and made their way back into the workforce.
"The great thing is that this is an intentionally created community," Zabik said. "The ironic thing is that, because it is voluntary, there is no guarantee people come in every day."
But they do. Each day, he said, 50 to 60 Lighthouse members arrive to work on a General Education Diploma (G.E.D.), take Spanish or English lessons, work on their job skills, search for jobs, reach out to other members who need support, help with club operations, and gather in the cafeteria to enjoy a meal together. Some members work in the snack bar area and refresh their skills with the cash register and customer service.
Lighthouse members are made to feel "needed, wanted and expected," Zabik said. And this creates an urgency to get back to work.
In fact, Lighthouse is intentionally understaffed, he said.
"If I'm feeling overwhelmed, I'm not doing my job," he explained.
All members help with the daily operations of the club including administrative tasks, cleaning, reaching out to other members, and more. In addition, there are opportunities to socialize and take day trips as a group.
Zabik said 300 people are members of Lighthouse each year, with 1,200 lifetime members. And over 90 percent of Lighthouse members have significant work history.
The program has business partners who make available temporary positions for six to nine months to allow Lighthouse members to transition back to the workforce by working part-time before seeking more permanent or full-time employment. It's a form of "job sampling," Zabik explained.
"The employers trust us to do the hiring, the on-site training, support and follow-up," he said. He added that, when Lighthouse members apply for one of these jobs, they are selected by a hiring committee of staff and members, guided by the principal that "employment is a right for all members."
There is no set standard of success in Lighthouse, Zabik said.
"If [members] are meeting their individual goals in recovery," Zabik said, then they are successful. "It's different for each person."
He pointed out that, in addition to members getting back to work and supporting themselves, some have even opened their own businesses.
Zabik has lead Lighthouse for the last 18 years, he said, and there are other staff members who have been there for 10 years or more.
"The rest of the staff have three years of under," he said. "There is a lot of turnover in human services."
Through Human Resources Unlimited, there are several programs just like Lighthouse throughout western Massachusetts, including Westfield and Northampton.
When they join, new Lighthouse members receive a full orientation, and a handbook with a list of clubhouse rights and guarantees, which include: a guaranteed right to a place to come; a guaranteed right to meaningful work; a guaranteed right to meaningful relationships; and a guaranteed right to a place to return.
For more information about Lighthouse or Human Resources Unlimited, go to www.thereminder.com and click on "Featured Story Links." Lighthouse can be reached by phone at 736-8974, or by e-mail at lighthouse@hru.org.
|
|
|
|
