Everyone Knows Someone With Mental Illness

Grand Avenue Club successfully helps people experiencing mental illness achieve recovery through work, education, and community life.

Members & Staff work side-by-side to manage all the operations of Grand Avenue Club.
Membership is voluntary and available to all Milwaukee County adults with mental illness.
Open 365 days a year
Serves 450 members annually

The Impact of Mental Illness

85% of people with a serious mental illness are unemployed

The #1 health-related reason for lost productivity at work is mental health issues

The #2 reason for absenteeism is mental health issues

Untreated mental illness costs the US $105 Billion in lost productivity

For an average company of 500 employees, untreated depression alone costs $1.4 Million in lost work and lost productivity per year.

Grand Avenue Club helps members re-enter the workforce and become healthier:

Members earned $1.4 Million in taxable earnings in 2017, exceeding our annual operating budget. Training with short-term employment oversight by Clubhouse staff leads members to gain competitive jobs and stay on them longer.
Grand Avenue Club’s services cost one-third the amount of similar community psychiatry interventions.
Reduces the need for inpatient psychiatric services
Clubhouse membership is sited as having an 80% reduction in total days hospitalized and 48% reduction in the number of hospitalizations
Cost to Medicare over one year: our members = $5,697; non-member = $14,765
Membership has proven to reduce incarcerations and help those with a criminal record get a second chance
Evidence-based intervention
Community vs. Isolation; Support vs. Separation