Member Spotlight: Jeffery Crook

 Jeffrey with Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison

 

In this feature, we celebrate our member, Jeffery Crook, who just began full-time time employment at Midtown Baltimore! We interviewed Jeffery to learn more about him.

Where are you from and where did you grow up?
Clifton, MD, South of DC

How long have you been a member at the clubhouse? What do you think of it?
I have been a member for one year. It’s a great location site. It believes in the work-ordered day, its  members, and the community.

Tell us about your new job! How long have you been there?
I just started working at Midtown Baltimore on 10-19-2022. It’s a full-time job, which is my first in a long, long time, so I’m excited about that! I work 7 AM-3:30p PM Monday through Friday.

What are you most looking forward to now that you’re employed?
For starters, I have health, vision, and dental insurance which is a huge upgrade from what I had before. I also can earn PTO (paid time off) and I make enough money that I could actually afford to take a weekend trip somewhere, like Philly or DC. I didn’t really have that kind of freedom before. Also, now I have a 401K!

How did the B’More Clubhouse help you in your employment journey?  
B’More Clubhouse helped me build my confidence. Also, I completed a Transitional Employment placement at American Psychiatric Group which was huge for me. It gave me the confidence I needed to believe that I can obtain a full-time job again.

What are you going to do with your first paycheck?
I’m going to pay my bills and use what’s leftover to buy a stock!

What are your hobbies? What do you like to do?
My favorite things to do are playing rugby, bicycling, artistry, traveling, and advocacy.

What is your favorite type of food?
Hotdogs and potato chips, and  Italian food.

What is your favorite experience, thing to do, or a place to go to in the area?
Artscape, the flower mart, the book fair, the Inner Harbor, and events in Baltimore.

October's Seminar Experiences

 

 

Last  month, B'More Clubhouse had the honor of co-hosting the Clubhouse International World Seminar here in Baltimore. Six hundred  Clubhouse colleagues and mental health advocates from 32 states and 14 countries gathered for an inspiring series of workshops and presentations on the Clubhouse model.  B'More Clubhouse members actively participated in the seminar. Members attended  sessions, helped to host tours at the Clubhouse, and staffed the registration booth at the seminar.  After the seminar, we asked members and staff to share their experiences at the seminar. We asked them three questions:

1. Who is the most interesting person you met at the seminar?
2. What is something new you learned?
3. What is your favorite seminar memory?

Jeff. C said he learned that "every clubhouse is uniquely different and has its own story of success. The most interesting person he met was the Norwegian delegation. His favorite seminar memory is "Jack Yatsko taking a selfie with the crowd."

Raymond's favorite seminar memory is "helping host tours at the clubhouse. It made me feel pretty good." He learned "how to be a better greeter," and the most interesting person he met was "the woman from Israel who spoke."


Morgan learned "lots of ways to get people hired and make progress toward job goals." Her favorite seminar memory is "giving a speech alongside my colleagues at the opening plenary. I was really nervous." The most interesting person she met was Robby Vorspan.

Ben learned "how to incorporate social media into the work-ordered day." His favorite memory is "the sunset boat cruise!" The most interesting person he met was Robby Vorspan.
 

Abraham said his favorite seminar memory is "when the people from Hawaii came back with gifts." The most interesting person he met were "spiritually motivating people," and he learned something new "spiritually. 

Doug learned "some bits of a new language. His favorite seminar memory is Joel Corcoran's speech, and the most interesting person he met was "a very friendly woman from Canada."