Members and staff from the four clubhouses met and discussed

Discussion of Employment Data Base
Discussion on How to Approach Employers for TEPs
Role Play of How to Approach Employers

news of the happenings at our clubhouses.


Review of the Original Activities Set Forth for the WCC (see brochure)
...WCC Provides . . .
...WCC Educates . . .
...WCC Advocates . . .
...WCC Guarantees . . .

Discussion of incorporating health / wellness issues and cultural diversity into our mission
Form committees to work on spring retreat
Discussion of agenda and place for the next WCC meeting

2003 WCC Spring Retreat

When a Clubhouse is referred to as a family, it is judging itself on how well it works. When Wisconsin pulls it’s Clubhouses together for a family reunion we are bonding with one another in creating a home for people in a time and place that is beyond judgment. As profoundly warm as it was fun, the Clubhouse Coalition camp out let Yahara House work with Community Corner Clubhouse, Grand Avenue Club, Spring City Clubhouse in an unforgettable gathering to the benefit of each and every participant.

Many conferences require spending thousands on Hilton Hotels rooms that only a few can share and meals of rubber chicken that are equally as expensive and again restrict the number of people who can attend. From the first we drove up to the rustic cabins we would eat and sleep in, with multiple cars and a van load, we knew we were in for a different experience.

The woodlands of Wisconsin were familiar to many , as were campfires and sleeping under the stars. There were here so many stars we wondered where they were hiding in Madison skies. We reflected about TE’s, with many people from each of our Clubhouses, but we also felt the grass between our toes and viewed a total eclipse of the moon. Camp Helen Brachman was the site of a moving and well thought out experience.

The opportunity to hear quiet people speak their minds at presentations and regular folk of a clubhouse take a starring role in clubhouse tasks were an important part of the Camp Helen Brachman world. We cooked, we ate, we spoke, we listened, we played attention, we gave applause, we thought, we played, we did indeed kick butt.

There was a healing atmosphere to the gathering, partly I believe to the natural splendor of the local and partly to the Clubhouse ethic that descended upon it. People who had been removed from the path of the American Dream felt the courage and power of a family united to help them re-engage themselves in a larger community.

Yahara House as a whole made a delicious meal on time under budget and appreciated by the entire assembly (we even had little water squirting toys for the group to play with when they finished our supper). It was clubhouse in country so beautiful it made one think of religion, it was flawless.

So what did we do as a Coalition? WE wished we had more time and people. Being together in our clubhouse is a great way to see we are not without community. Celebration of spirit , of harmony, of some rough spots as well, all define us as one Wisconsin family. Let’s all look forward to next year when we see each other one more year mature and one more year closer to one another.

Ed Erwin
Yahara House