The Working Group is comprised of volunteers and supporters of the vision for a clubhouse in Elkhart County. These energetic people who care about mental illness began working more than a year ago to develop a recovery-focused clubhouse for people living with mental illness in Elkhart County. Monthly meetings are open to the public. See the home page for meeting details or contact us.

Now that a Board of Directors has assumed leadership for the project, the Working Group will continue to meet for coordinating volunteer efforts and sharing the clubhouse vision with newer attenders.

James Nelson Gingerich, Maple City Health Care Center       
Jonathan Gingerich*               
Stephanie Johnson*
Rachel Koontz, NAACP
Gregg Nussbaum*, Oaklawn
Hilda Peters, Indiana Healthy Marriage Initiative
Lily Rath, National Alliance on Mental Illness
Lora Rusel, Maple City Health Care Center
Sandy Sandusky*, Oaklawn
Nathan Shenk
Jeannie Stuckey*, National Alliance on Mental Illness

The working group meets at Central Christian Church on first Tuesdays.
(L to R: Lora, Jonathan, Barb)

Special thanks to these folks for their efforts in 2009:

Read articles written by working group members.

Working group meetings begin with supper and are open to visitors. Here we are posing for a group portrait after the April 6 meeting. Click on the photo for names and a larger view.

• Is it the same group each month?   No, some persons are always present, but new people attend and are welcomed each time.  The group is constantly evolving.  Some old faces come and go irregularly, and are always welcomed back!   
  
• Do the meetings drag on for hours?   No----they end promptly at 8 pm.   
  
• Will I be pressured to "work" if I attend?   No---we are just happy for your presence.  The more persons who attend, the more connections we have within this community, and the more persons who simply understand who and why we ARE and what we are becoming together.   
  
• Will I be pressured to donate money?   No.
  
• Will I be pressured  to talk and tell my story?  No.   
  
• Must I or my family have a history of mental illness to attend?   No----anyone who wants to make Elkhart county a better place is welcomed. We won't ask your history.   
• What is the steering committee? The Steering Committee is the decision-making group for the Clubhouse Project until the Board of Directors has been named. It is composed of six people who attended the New Clubhouse Development Training at Carriage House, Fort Wayne, May 7-8, 2009, to develop an action plan for the Elkhart County Clubhouse project. The training was led by staff from the International Center for Clubhouse Development and from Carriage House. Steering Committee and Working Group meetings are open to anyone interested.