Alliance Note: The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has continued to award new contracts to Clubhouses, with two current Clubhouse operators receiving a combined $57 million to expand their operations in line with the new system DOHMH announced last year. Clubhouses serve as an integral part of the mental health service continuum, supporting people with employment needs, education, housing, nutrition, and socialization.
We are also happy to see the City Council included an extra $2 million to fund some of the smaller Clubhouses which did not meet the new large model standard of at least 300 members. While this funding is much needed for smaller Clubhouses, more must be done to ensure that members at these locations continue to get the services they rely on and maintain the connections and relationships which reduce isolation.
New York State must also do its part by creating a funding stream for Clubhouse programs to expand this model outside of New York City and ensure successful Clubhouses of all sizes are available to any New Yorker who could benefit from their voluntary services. The Alliance continues to push for the return of upstate Clubhouse funds to support the needed growth of this program to all areas of the state. See below for more information.
City Health Department Awards $57M for Additional Mental Health Clubhouses
By Amanda D’Ambrosio | Crain’s Health Pulse | July 19, 2024
The city health department has awarded $57 million to two nonprofits to operate mental health clubhouses as Mayor Eric Adams’ administration continues to revamp how the city funds the social support centers.
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene awarded $30 million to the Midtown-based nonprofit Services for the Underserved and $27 million to the Downtown Brooklyn-based organization Brooklyn Community Services on Thursday to operate clubhouses, centers that provide social services such as employment training and case management to adults with serious mental illnesses. The contracts authorize the nonprofits – both of which have operated clubhouses previously – to run facilities for the next 10 years.
The Adams administration has pledged to double its investments in mental health clubhouses as a part of the mayor’s mental health plan to address concerns about support for people with serious mental health problems. The city is set to funnel $30 million a year in clubhouses and ramp up their capacity to serve up to 15,000 people in the next two fiscal years.
But as a part of its efforts to boost capacity, the city has decided to stop funding smaller clubhouses that serve less than 300 members. The updated eligibility requirements have prohibited some organizations that previously operated small clubhouses from getting new contracts, sparking backlash from clubhouse operators and elected officials who do not want to see the city shutter mental health services.
The city has publicly posted five new clubhouse contracts and has awarded seven contracts in total, said Rachel Vick, a spokeswoman for the city health department. It’s unclear how many clubhouses each provider will run and when the new facilities will open.
Services for the Underserved has long operated a clubhouse in Bed-Stuy, which offers a GED program and basic computer training as well as skills sessions for food service and hospitality jobs. The nonprofit earned roughly $250 million in revenue in 2022, according to its latest tax documents, and provides various mental health services across the five boroughs. Services for the Underserved has $185 million in active contracts with the city, and runs mobile mental health treatment teams, substance use clinics and supportive housing units.
Brooklyn Community Services, which has operated the Greater Heights Clubhouse in Bushwick since 1995 along with an array of mental health programs, has $80 million in active contracts with the city.
The new contracts follow $75 million in awards granted by the health department last week. The city has issued at least five contracts to clubhouse operators in recent weeks to overhaul how it pays for the facilities and how they are run.
The City Council allocated $2 million to smaller clubhouse operators in its recent budget to keep facilities open, but it is not clear which facilities it will fund or how long the providers will be able to remain open.