Mission

The mission of Grand Avenue Club is to provide adults who have experienced mental illness with pre-vocational training, paid employment opportunities, supported education and enriching evenings/weekend/holiday programming.

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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.

Sources:  American Journal of Psychiatry, Scientific American; Institution of Health and Productivity Management; Vancouver Board of Trade’s report and Harvard University Medical School research.

Everyone Knows Someone with Mental Illness

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

Membership is voluntary and available to all Milwaukee County adults with mental illness.

Members & Staff work side-by-side to manage all the operations of Grand Avenue Club.

Open 365 days a year (non pandemic hours), including all major US holidays.

We are [NOT] our mental illness

We

are

MEMBERS

And GAC is [OUR] community

Grand Avenue Club’s Impact on Milwaukee County

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

We’d like to thank our funding partners