BOSTON – The YMCA of Greater Westfield was honored at the Statehouse in Boston on Wednesday, April 15, for the organization’s longstanding commitment to employing individuals from a clubhouse program who have mental illness and receive support from the Forum House, a program working with adults diagnosed with a major mental illness.
The recognition event was in the Great Hall where clubhouses, funded by the Department of Mental Health, met to honor 28 employers from across the Commonwealth.
State Sen. Donald Humason and State Rep. John Velis were on hand to recognize the YMCA of Greater Westfield for its excellence as an employer and community partner, recognizing the Y’s commitment to all the members of the greater Westfield community. “Countering the myths about people with psychiatric conditions, there are hundreds of companies in Massachusetts who are choosing to look past disability and see ability and opportunity as they employ members of Clubhouses” said Reva Stein, executive director of the event organizer, the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition.
The Forum House clubhouse, a program of Human Resources Unlimited, is providing support to more than 300 members annually. These individuals are working to enter or reenter the work force, to work on their education and to live successfully in the community.
Companies honored at this event have built welcoming and inclusive workplaces and several business leaders, including Jeff Lander of Westfield, received special recognition for their work on the MCC organized Employment Expansion Project Employer Advisory Board.
Lander is the owner of Appilistic, a Westfield based programming and internet development company, and received recognition as an Employment Expansion Committee member. This special recognition is for leaders who are helping to reach out to other companies, and more deeply within their own companies, to increase employment opportunities for Clubhouse members.
Alex Katchedorea and Bruce Loubert of the Westfield YMCA were at the event to accept the award for the Y.
Two Forum House members are currently working at the YMCA, performing housekeeping in the women’s locker rooms and other areas of the Y. One member will be completing her 29th year of employment at the YMCA this fall and was lauded by Andrea Allard, executive director of the YMCA .
“She is truly a part of the everyday fabric of the YMCA and everyone loves Alice. She spoke at our last All Staff Day and did a wonderful job”, Allard said. Rita Manning, who also works in the housekeeping crew at the Y, attended the event and talked about how much she loves the members and staff of the Westfield YMCA. “They treat me like part of the family” she said.
Clubhouses like Forum House provide daily support to members who are working to recover from psychiatric illness and move on with their lives.
Michael Forest, program manager at the Forum House, said that Clubhouse programs provide a great resource to local communities, providing prescreened individuals who are ready and eager to work. He said the programs also provide job training or support to these workers, both on and off the job, at the request of either the individual or the employer.
He said that the Forum House welcomes the chance to partner with any other interested employers in the community.
