Independence Center is a community of kindness, a safe place where people with mental illness are helped on the road to independent living. The nonprofit was founded in 1981 and follows a ‘clubhouse model.’ This model adheres to the idea that all people need to feel connected and wanted, and need to lead productive lives.
“How a person spends his or her day is extremely important and helps define their relationship to the rest of the world,” says executive director Michael Keller, who has headed the community center on Forest Park Avenue for the past 12 years. A basic building block of the clubhouse philosophy is the work-ordered day, which means that the daily structure mirrors a workplace. Here, members help prepare meals, give tours and teach classes; they work together toward the common good.
“Independence Center is a place of participation and membership, where everyone helps out and feels needed,” Keller explains. Not only does this give members a sense of purpose, he says, but it prepares them for future employment. This is important for the folks at Independence Center.
A life with recurring mental illness can undermine a sense of self and isolate a person. “How do you hold down a job when you are hearing voices in your head?” Keller asks, adding that an essential component of Independent Center’s support is helping people manage their medication effectively and lead healthy lives. Physical well-being often is compromised in this population, Keller explains, citing particularly high rates of Type II diabetes and smoking.
“Because of certain psychiatric medications, it’s not uncommon for someone to gain 60 pounds in three months,” he says. And according to the CDC, Americans with mental illness have a 70 percent greater likelihood of smoking than the general population.
“When we talk about our wellness program, we’re talking about life and death,” he says. Wellness classes at the Forest Park Avenue site address smoking cessation, drug alternatives and weight loss. Exercise opportunities include yoga, weight training, dance, and walking and biking groups.
In collaboration with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the BJC HealthCare system, a satellite office on Laclede Avenue provides clinical and case management services. The nonprofit also offers employment and education programs, along with affordable housing in nearby efficiency units. It currently serves around 1,500 individuals each year and, on average, Keller says, 200 members pass through its doors daily. “They might come to work, to attend a class, to have a meal, or simply to see friends and feel like they belong,” he says. Independence Center serves three meals a day at a minimal charge.
To help make all these services possible, the center hosts its annual gala fundraiser, Dancing with the St. Louis Stars, Jan. 28, 2017, at The Ritz-Carlton. “It really is a star-studded event,” says development director Jamie Clark. “A lot of community leaders are dancing with all their heart and soul for the lives of our members.” This year, Brittny Adams, an Independence Center member, will participate as a dancer, representing the nearly 1,500 people living with mental illness who seek recovery there every year.
Pictured: Dance instructor Emily Wehrman teaches ballroom dance to members Lisa and Jake.
Photo courtesy of Independence Center
Independence Center hosts its ninth annual Dancing with the St. Louis Stars Jan. 28, 2017, at The Ritz-Carlton. The evening includes cocktails, dinner, a ballroom dance competition and dancing. Pictured on the cover: Marcela Manjarrez Hawn, Centene Corporation; Mike Keller, Independence Center; Sandra Van Trease, BJC HealthCare; Ron Daugherty, Daugherty Business Solutions; dance instructors Angie Brooks and Robert MCKenney; Jim Brennan, MCKelvey Homes; Brittny Adams, Independence Center; Bob Tomaso, Husch Blackwell. not pictured: Maureen Borkowski. For tickets and information, call 314.880.5404 or visit dancingwiththestlouisstars.org.