The ballroom at the Troy Marriott Hotel was overwhelmed by the large number of people participating in the first plenary session of the Mid-States Clubhouse Conference which got underway on Aug 31st. Hotel staff continued to wheel racks of chairs to add seating to the audience, only to have more people flow into the room and need more. Nearly 300 people attended the first day's activities. Most of the break-out workshops both in the morning and afternoon were similarly filled to overflowing.
Following a warm greeting from Dana Barber, Michigan Clubhouse Training Coordinator, and Jeff Brown, Oakland County Community Mental Health Director, the audience was treated to a motivational speech by Eric Hipple, who shared his personal struggles with mental health as an individual and family member. The former Detroit Lions quarterback, speaker and author, talked about missing the warning signs of his son's eventual suicide and his subsequent campaign to raise community awareness of mental illness and the need for resources to address mental health needs. Hipple commended professional sports teams for their growing commitment to the mental health needs of their players and communities. He concluded his presentation with a tribute to the clubhouse movement and its role in promoting recovery throughout the country, and especially in Michigan where we have 45 clubhouses, far exceeding any other state.
The conference was attended by 36 Michigan clubhouses and eleven clubhouses from across the Midwest and Massachusetts.
View a
picture from the conference.