Vaccinations in Maryland

 -Christine, Nikita, Theresa, Matt, Ben, Maurice, Morgan, Kat

The discovery of vaccination against COVID-19 has given us a lot of hope. In the United States, vaccinations are distributed by two pharmaceutical companies: Moderna and Pfizer. Both require two doses. The only difference is that you have to wait 28 days between two shots for Moderna and 21 days for Pfizer. Maryland is distributing vaccinations from both companies. About 10 percent of Marylanders have received at least the first dose of vaccine.

The vaccine is being distributed in phases. Right now, we are in Phase 1C which includes adults between the ages of 65-74, front line workers, lab employees, essential workers, healthcare employees, people living in assisted living, nurses, government workers, etc. You can schedule your appointment by calling 410-396-4454, Monday - Friday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, or you can also visit https://www.marylandvax.org/. If you live in Baltimore County, you can go to https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/c268c6f40463480baae69154b7845ffd and put yourself on the Baltimore County COVID-19 Vaccine Registry so you can get vaccinated when COVID-19 vaccines are available to you. Vaccinations are being distributed in hospitals, pharmacies, local government offices and mass vaccination sites such as BCCC and Baltimore Convention Center. An additional mass vaccination site will open in mid-February at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Other locations in Western Maryland, Southern Maryland and on the Eastern Shore are being finalized.

Accessing these vaccinations has been challenging for our members at the clubhouse. Access to reliable transportation is one of the barriers. For Christine, she has barriers with transportation and it has been hard to schedule an appointment of choice. In addition to that, it has been hard to schedule an appointment. Theresa shares, “Donna and I were on the phone for 30 minutes only to find out that the pharmacy did not even have a wait list”.

Common side effects include fevers, chills, tiredness, headaches, and soreness in the arms as per the CDC website.  It is very important to take care of yourself on the day you get vaccinated. Having plenty of fluid and rest, helped Nikita feel better.
 

Navigating COVID-19 vaccinations is a tricky process especially as things have been changing rapidly. The best way for the clubhouse to remain effective would be by sharing new information as we find them.  Researching resources in the community for our members to schedule appointments and navigate transportation is another way to help our members. For example, ride services such as Uber and Lyft provide free rides.

With all of this information, we are hopeful that we can slowly start to have a more vibrant clubhouse community and ensure health and safety for everyone.

 

Hybrid B'More

Writers: Matt, John M, Theresa, Nikita, Robert H, Greg T

Editors: Morgan, Maurice, Kat, Dee, Sharon, Stephanie, Matt, Joe, Mary, Ben

B’More Clubhouse has been operating in a different way since March 2020 and we all know the reason why. Until July, we followed our work-ordered day tasks virtually most of the time and transitioned into a hybrid work-ordered day after that. We have three ways in which we have been trying to stay connected and have a meaningful work-ordered day while helping members reach their goals.

At the present moment, the building is partially open. Members sign up for different shifts; morning, afternoon or the entire day. The goal is to not have more than eight people in the building at a time. In the building, we focus on tasks such as preparing lunch and packages for reach out, cleaning and sanitizing, and also helping members with any community resource or job needs. Greg Tucker, a member of B’More Clubhouse has been attending the clubhouse at least twice a week since our partial reopening in July. He shares, “I struggle when I stay at home all the time because of my mental illness.  Coming to the clubhouse helps me manage my symptoms and I also get to work on my goals. I like coming here to be around people and have positive interactions with everybody. I try to talk to everyone I meet during the day.”  Robert also shares a similar experience but recalls days before the pandemic when we had a lot more members, “Things were different when we had more members inside the building. I am glad we are being safe and having limited attendance though.”

Another way in which we try to stay connected is by participating in reach out car visits. Staff members take turns to visit members on different days, catch up and provide social and emotional support. Theresa shares, “ I saw another clubhouse take this approach and I thought it was a great idea. Even on days when I am not feeling my best, when I go on a reach out car visit and see the light in our members’ eyes, everything feels good after that.” It is indeed amazing to see how we remain creative in finding different ways to connect despite the challenges we are facing.

In addition to the building and reach out car visits, we also have a thriving virtual work ordered day. The clubhouse community meets on weekdays at 9:15am and 1pm on UberConference for our daily meeting. We follow a meeting agenda to check in and get updates on plans for the day.  John Miles, a member, enjoys the individual check ins. It gives him an opportunity to share what he is going through. We also have different meetings and social events virtually such as Job Hour, Menu Planning, Wellness Hour, Gratitude Call, Community Meeting, Houseparty games, Blog updates etc. We are in the process of starting virtual in-house training as well. All of these scheduled meetings and events is an opportunity for our members to participate in whatever sparks their interest and be a part of the meaningful work that we do. Matt has been working with Theresa on organizing virtual tours and orientations and also making group reach out calls. “It’s a different experience to do things virtually but we have adapted fairly well and have everything down”, he shares.

In spite of the challenges brought in by the pandemic, we have been able to make the best of what we have and accomplish many great things. Our board members worked really hard with fundraising and we were able to purchase our own building.  Our lovely members Raven and Mike have been an integral part of food distribution for our members with the help of staff. We have also been able to do a couple virtual pizza parties to celebrate holidays and accomplishments and also distribute 68 meals during Thanksgiving, which is the largest number of meals we served till date.

Navigating a different way to work is challenging. However, the power of a supportive, resilient community is always powerful and we think B’More Clubhouse is a good example of that.

In 2021, our intention is to keep up with our safety procedures so that there isn’t a lot of community transfer and help our members get vaccinated. We also want to make sure that our members are engaged and involved in the clubhouse community and that will come from more engagement and reach out. Some of the ideas that have been share include scheduling individual walks with members, having more reach out family calls virtually and encouraging member to member connection.

With these plans, we hope to carry the clubhouse spirit with us, wherever we go. 

 

 

Staying Safe and Connected During the Pandemic

Writers/Contributors: Theresa Bell, Joe Weiss, Matt Berry, Marian Klemm, Nikita Sharma, Windy Knight

Editors/Designers: Jennifer Ward, Laura Byrne, Matt Berry, Ben Arrowood

The coronavirus infection rate has been increasing rapidly. The number of cases being reported per day in the USA is getting higher. It is important to be careful about opening the economy, schools, and other public places.  Unless things are safer for our lives to resume to a “normal pace”, we need to follow the safety guidelines and take care of our mental and physical well being.

 

The holiday season is also upon us, which is usually a time for people to get together and share the joy. Things probably need to be done differently this year whether you are with your family or out and about. The government of Maryland has put in restrictions to not have gatherings of more than 10 people at a time. It is also recommended that you do not gather with anyone else outside of your nuclear family, whatever that looks like.  In addition to that, it is also important to follow safety guidelines such as proper mask wearing, keeping your distance, and washing hands regularly.

 

Communication between people you love is very important at the moment. We are all going through the same thing, so it’s important that we support each other, friends, relatives, and/or clubhouse colleagues. Members and staff all shared different ways to do that. Joe shared that it is important to keep the spirit of friendship alive, by making an effort to reach out and stay connected the best we can. He shared, “During the pandemic, it has been harder to stay connected with my therapist. Friends and family have sometimes played that role.” Windy and Theresa shared different ways to stay connected virtually. There are a lot of online platforms we can use such as Facebook, Facetime, Google Duo to share pictures or voice chat. If you want to go the classic way, you can also make and send postcards, or cards that are handmade to your loved ones. “Having access to phone numbers of professional mental health crisis mental health organizations is also much needed”, added Theresa.

 

The best advice that we can give ourselves at the moment to stay in, as much as we can. However, we all have practical, social and health needs, and it is not possible to do that all the time. “Coming to B’More Clubhouse with an intention to do something productive to help the community is a good way to interact with colleagues in a safe environment,” shares Joe. We have been doing our best to enforce a strict mask policy, practice social distancing, and keep our work area clean and sanitized. We welcome you to sign up, make your reservation and help us have a meaningful work ordered day.

 

With that, we wish you a safe and joyful holiday season.

 

 

Bringing in the Greens at B’More Clubhouse

Contributors: Kenna Royster, Raymond Nichols, Theresa Bell, Matt Berry

Editors: Matt Berry, Sharon Ford

About a month ago, Theresa Bell from B’More Clubhouse applied for a grant with Royal Neighbors of America. She applied for a grant that was focused on bringing a positive impact to your chosen community. Theresa shared, “ B’More Clubhouse is my community so I chose to apply for a $200 grant to get produce and we received it.” We were able to create 20 baskets of produce that we distributed to our members. The baskets were full of fresh nutritious vegetables and fruits such as potatoes, acorn squash, oranges, apples, broccoli, greens etc. 

The pandemic has made it harder for some of our members to have access to fresh produce. “We can’t go around as much and have been relying on canned goods. Receiving that basket brought me a lot of joy,” shared Kenna.  She made some delicious stew, salad and stir fry with what she received. The benefits of adding such healthy elements to our diet comes with a lot of benefits to our physical and mental health. Raymond loves adding oranges to his diet because they are rich in Vitamin C and that is very essential for our immunity , especially now. Matt also shared how eating healthier helps him feel better and energetic, “we should eat like a rainbow,” he shared. 

Receiving the grant money, shopping for fresh produce, assembling the baskets,  and distributing them to our members was such a good experience for everyone. We hope to receive support from other organizations in the future as well. We also learned that Royal Neighbors of America is the largest women-led life insurance company in America. Developing contacts and working with other wonderful organizations in the community is a good reminder that “we are doing it together,” to make our community better in every way we can, one step at a time.

B’More Clubhouse: Who we are?

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read this. For our first post, we wanted to write a little about B’More Clubhouse. If you are a member, supporter or part of the clubhouse family in some ways, you may already know about us. If this is your first time hearing about the Clubhouse, we are so happy you are here!
 

B’More Clubhouse is a nonprofit mental health organization designed to help and improve the lives of adults living with mental illness. It is a membership based organization where anyone with a mental illness is welcome to join. As a member, you get the opportunity to take an active role in your recovery and lead a meaningful life. By voluntarily participating in team based unit work and working on  your employment,  education or personal development goals while being supported by fellow members and staff, you take part in your own growth and recovery.
 

We have been a part of the Baltimore City mental health community for the past ten years. We started off small at our Read Street Location. Since then , we have grown in terms of membership, the services we provide, our partnership with businesses and leaders in the city. We have been accredited since 2011 and last year we were also accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). We are so proud of how far we have come.
 

A typical day at the clubhouse involves working in one of the four units. Each unit has a set responsibility in smooth running of the clubhouse. Membership unit schedules tours and orientations, manages the greeter’s desk and keeps the database updated. Career Development helps our members achieve their career goals. Communications unit focuses on keeping everyone updated about the latest happening and the Culinary unit is responsible for cooking and serving healthy, wholesome meals.
In addition to that, we are very proud of our partnership with businesses for our employment program. We provide support to our members through various programs such as Transitional and Supported Employment. We will be highlighting some of them in the future.  What keeps our community connected is an effective reachout system. Whether we are in the building or not, we call, mail or visit our members, both new and old, to let everyone know that they always have our support, in here or out there.

Just like everyone else, we have also been affected by the pandemic which isn’t all that fun. With resilience, creativity and community strength, we have been making an effort  to help our members cope with the stress, uncertainty and lack of certain resources.  Some of the things we have been focusing our energy on are in- person and telephone reach out, organizing outdoor activities such as picnic and garden trips and a few virtual social events and meetings to keep us all connected. The building is open on a very limited basis. We take reservations for our members to come in and focus on safety and sanitation for all while doing meaningful work.
Well, that is it for today. Please comment below about topics you want to read about, any questions about this post or just some lovely words of encouragement.

Contributors: Sharon Ford, Jerry Goldman, Raymond Nichols, Tavone Lee, Chris Dennis and Nikita Sharma
Editors: Matt Berry, Ben Arrowood, Joe Weiss, Mary Do

Welcome!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to our blog. The past few months, we have not been able to work as much on printed media such as our B'More Gazette and Newsletter as most of our work is remote due to the pandemic. What better way to bring that back than with a blog?

We want to utilize this platform to share about what we do, what our members are passionate about, and our take on different issues. Our goal is to post about current events, health and wellness, and clubhouse specific news so we can reach our supporters, members, well wishers or anyone wanting to learn more about the clubhouse model, our approach to better mental health and the power of community.
 

Thank you for your support and we look forward to sharing, learning and growing.