Gateshead Clubhouse Business Plan 2018-2023

Worcester Green

Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

NE8 1NH

REGISTERED CHARITY N UMBER: 1160853

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CONTENTS

1 Gateshead Clubhouse: Key Organisational Details .............................................................................................. 3

2 Introduction: by the chair of gateshead clubhouse ............................................................................................. 4

3 Gateshead Clubhouse: Background ..................................................................................................................... 6

4 Where we are now .............................................................................................................................................. 7

5 Clubhouse Milestones ......................................................................................................................................... 8

6 Mission, Values & Guiding Principles ................................................................................................................... 9

Our mission statement: ...................................................................................................................................... 9

6.1 The service we provide the community has two core principles: .................................................................. 10

Membership involvement: ............................................................................................................................... 10

Personal development: ..................................................................................................................................... 10

7 Premises & Location .......................................................................................................................................... 10

Opening Times: ................................................................................................................................................. 10

8 Gateshead Clubhouse: Outcomes ..................................................................................................................... 11

Qualitative outcomes: ...................................................................................................................................... 11

9 Products and Services ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Social & Learning Activities: .............................................................................................................................. 11

Room Hire: ........................................................................................................................................................ 12

Café and Outside Catering: ............................................................................................................................... 12

Promotion & Marketing .................................................................................................................................... 12

10 Market Research: SWOT Analysis. ................................................................................................................... 14

11 Stakeholders .................................................................................................................................................... 15

12 Developing a Funding Strategy ........................................................................................................................ 16

13 Key Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 16

14 Financial Forecasting & Budgets ...................................................................................................................... 18

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1 GATESHEAD CLUBHOUSE: KEY ORGANISATIONAL DETAILS

Name: Gateshead Clubhouse

Address: Gateshead Clubhouse

Worcester Green

Gateshead

Tyne & Wear

NE8 1NH

Telephone: 0191 440 9033

Website Address: www.gatesheadclubhouse.com

Email: gateshead.clubhouse@gmail.com

Legal Status: Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Charity Number: 1160853

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Trustees: Anthony Johnson (Chair)

Teresa Morley (Treasurer)

Alan Jeavons

David Walton (Secretary)

Paul Gwynn

Stephen Bell

Mark Richardson

Pauline Hawkins

Jeffrey Harris

Elaine Allen

2 INTRODUCTION: BY THE CHAIR OF GATESHEAD CLUBHOUSE

We believe that Gateshead Clubhouse can truly be described as a unique and

inspirational model of operation. It is an entirely peer-led project, with no paid

workers. Within a relatively short space of time we believe that Gateshead

Clubhouse has become an extremely valuable and well-managed resource and can

be broadly described as having three main strands to the way it operates:

(1) The daily management of the Clubhouse

(2) groups & activities

(3) external activities

Through our experience of successfully developing the clubhouse, we are proud to

say that we have created an organisational model that could be replicated elsewhere

and be of great benefit to other mental health communities. In these times of

austerity and the acute lack of mental health services, organisations such as ours

could provide a valuable contribution to help to alleviate the unmet needs of mental

health service users across the country. Around the United Kingdom there are

buildings suitable for organisations similar to ours which could be utilised for a

fraction of the cost of a staffed service.

In terms of the Clubhouse Model that we have developed in the local mental health

community, it would be useful to see an independent evaluation carried out which

would include publicising the positive outcomes not only for our Members, but for

Member Representatives and our Trustees.

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In general, aspirations are set very high with regards to developing a business plan;

however, given the fact that we are all people who have mental health problems, we

think it better to grow our services at a steady pace.

Our Main Aspirations are:

1. To continue to develop our role as a mental health community resource,

which has access to and links with other services in Gateshead

2. To continue to provide and enhance our community cafe and room hire

functions.

3. To continue as a staff free service and enhance our multi-stranded approach

to groups & activities (see below)

4. To look into accessing statutory funding and light touch monitoring.

5. To further provide training courses for our member reps & Trustees in dealing

with problems and to promote team building.

6. Further development of Gateshead Clubhouse model of working

7. Further development of monitoring to chart and further demonstrate the

impact of this way of working on individuals

8. To further promote widely with a view to being piloted elsewhere

All of the above will ensure that the service does not stagnate or become

institutionalised.

Anthony Johnson (Chair of Gateshead Clubhouse)

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3 GATESHEAD CLUBHOUSE: BACKGROUND

The Constituted body of Gateshead Clubhouse was established in 2008. Founder

members worked closely with Gateshead Council (Adult Social Care and Economic

Development Service) to establish the Clubhouse at the former Worcester Green

Day Centre in 2010, with grant support from the Big Lottery and also The Reaching

Communities Fund. In the initial years, we procured the services of Mental Health

Concern to act as a host organisation, using the funds we secured from the Big

Lottery. In 2014, members decided to end this partnership, in order to run the

Clubhouse directly. We formed a registered charity (Charitable Incorporated

Organisation) in March 2015.

We established the Clubhouse against a backdrop of government cuts, mounting

needs, growing social isolation, an increase of people being discharged from

secondary care and the closure of a Local Authority Mental Health Day Centre.

When we formed the organisation, we recognised a need for members to take

ownership of services to ensure that we had greater choice in what we provided

leading to an improvement in personal empowerment.

The Clubhouse operates as a community centre for people with mental health

problems who live in the Borough of Gateshead. It is a user-led organisation run

entirely by our members, all of whom are involved in all aspects of the organisation,

from governance and operations to designing and running activities.

As a registered charity (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) the Clubhouse legally

requires a board of elected Trustees to oversee the charity. The Clubhouse currently

has ten trustees who ensure compliance with the regulations of Charity Law.

Ten Member Representatives support the day to day delivery of our service and

provide a direct link between members and the Board of Trustees, with several

Trustees being both a Member Representatives and a Trustee. A range of sub

committees and sub groups have been established to support a wide range of

functions including – a Finance and Funding Group, a Health and Safety, and a

Member Representative’s Group.

As a building-based service, we provide open-access to all of our members who are

encouraged to engage in organised activities, social groups and the wider life of the

service with peer support.

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4 WHERE WE ARE NOW

We offer a safe space in which members can be themselves and enjoy a social life

alongside various projects and activities. Our experience is that participation reduces

isolation from the wider community and improves mental health. We currently have a

thriving membership of 434 members.

Social activities lie at the heart of the Clubhouse, in the context of the safe and

relaxed environment it provides for members with opportunities to socialise on a

daily basis; and, in the way that they provide an important safety-net for members.

This has created a genuinely inclusive community which embraces people who have

experienced the corrosive effects of social-exclusion and a myriad of other negative

life experiences that have contributed to or have amplified their mental health

problems. We have quite a range of activities for members to choose from, these

include: -

Cooking skills: including training for members in health & safety, food hygiene,

safeguarding and other skills. Not only does the cafe provide nutritious meals for

its members, it is also able to generate further income through the sale of a wide

range of baked foods that are produced in-house.

Courses run in conjunction with Gateshead Council Adults Learning, these

include arts and crafts, cooking.

Strong links have been forged with Tyneside Recovery College (ReCoCo) where

members often attend courses at ReCoCo, or at the times they are facilitated by

ReCoCo at Gateshead Clubhouse e.g. WRAP.

The continuous development of creative and artistic skills, including singing,

dancing, poetry, block printing, glass and clay designing, painting, song-writing,

drama, comedy, mask painting etc.

Digital Life Skills / IT and media awareness courses.

In collaboration with Media Savvy: digital skills courses.

Our local history studies project: members of the Clubhouse have worked

extensively with Tyne and Wear Museums (TWAM) on the co-production of local

history sessions which take place in local museums and at key historical sites

across Gateshead. This work has included the production of an animation, under

the tutelage of a professional media teacher; this was subsequently shown to the

public at an official launch event the Shipley art gallery. Building on the success

of these projects, Gateshead Clubhouse has now forged links with the

Gateshead Library service with members recently forming their own history

group, developing further new activities, in collaboration with staff at Gateshead

Library.

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A wide range of Health and well-being course, including Mindfulness.

In conjunction with the Gateshead Housing Company: on-going mental health,

diabetes and other health related awareness sessions.

Seasonal group activities: these have included trips to various places around the

region and elsewhere in the UK.

Several other groups have become established, based on the interests shown by

Clubhouse members, including Clubhouse Chronicles, these involve capturing

the views and rich life experiences of Clubhouse members. Various publications,

videos and website articles are planned.

In addition, various external activities are organised by the Clubhouse reps, often

in collaboration with cross-sector organisations. These include outdoor fitness

and well-being based pursuits e.g. gardening, walking, football and cycling. There

are also regular trips to various geographical locations, local, regional and

elsewhere e.g. Bill Quay Farm, Alnwick, Kendal & Bowness, Saltburn, Keswick

and the North Lakes, Bury Market, York, Harrogate and Edinburgh.

5 CLUBHOUSE MILESTONES

2008 Constituted

group formed

2009 Worcester Green Day

centre taken on at

peppercorn rent

2009 renovations funded by Gateshead

Council (£80k) and PCT (£10k)

2010 £230k Big lottery funding /

MHC appointed as

managing agent / host organisation

2014 Ended partnership with MHC

2014 Oct becomes members'

run

2015 registered as a charitable

incorporated organisation

2016 – 35 year lease obtained

(peppercorn rent)

Community asset

transfer from Gateshead

Council

2018 –(Where we are now) Current

membership at 434– Track

record proving a peer led

service works

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6 Mission, Values & Guiding Principles

We have developed and adopted a mission statement which underpins the ethos,

values, aspirations and principles by which our services are delivered (see below)

and guides our aspiration to become recognised as a hub for the community of

people using mental health services in Gateshead Borough, renowned for our

diversity and the high quality and choice of the services we provide.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT:

Our mission statement is built on the recognition of a core set of values which

include:

Gateshead Clubhouse aims to provide a service where people with mental

health needs can access facilities in a supportive and safe environment -

where the processes of recovery and self-growth can be assisted through

the ownership of and involvement in its services. We will build on the

existing skills and abilities of our members, providing opportunities for

education, training and work, promoting individual empowerment and

peer support.

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6.1 THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY HAS TWO CORE PRINCIPLES:

MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT:

Members are at the heart of our service and are involved in all aspects of our

organisation, including its strategic and operational management. This approach is

unique and it encourages members to use their experience to develop the services

we offer.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Members are encouraged and supported to develop themselves and others through

a wide range of courses and activities. We believe that social interaction and

participation in activities improves confidence and self-esteem.

7 PREMISES & LOCATION

The Clubhouse is located within the former Worcester Green Day Centre in

Bensham, Central Gateshead, set in a quiet residential area, within a short walk from

Gateshead Town Centre and public transport interchange, making the premises

easy to get to. The building is on the ground level and is accessible to everyone

The building is leased from Gateshead Council at a peppercorn rent, on a 35-year

lease. It initially refurbished with the support of grants from Gateshead Council, the

Primary Care Trust and Gateshead Housing Company. Since then we have

enhanced capacity & tailored the clubhouse to the service’s needs, based on careful

attention to the growing needs of our members.

OPENING TIMES:

The Clubhouse is open 11am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday. There are also often

additional activities / groups starting before 11am. As a user-led organisation,

Member Representatives have supported the opening of the Clubhouse since 2016,

running the building without any paid workers. Because of this we have been open

every single week day of the year (minus New Year’s Day), thanks to our dedicated

member reps.

‘Mental Health Matters’ currently runs an Out of Hours service from the Clubhouse

on a Thursday evening and at the weekend. We work closely with MHM, as many of

our members use both services. This also enables the building to be open 7 days a

week.

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8 GATESHEAD CLUBHOUSE: OUTCOMES

We support members on their own terms and deliver a wide range of health and

well-being outcomes connected to social inclusion and community participation. Both

quantitative & qualitative data is collected, but we recognise we need to expand our

qualitative data collection.

QUALITATIVE OUTCOMES :

• The appreciation of peer support

• Improved health and emotional well-being

• Increased confidence and self esteem

• An improved quality of life

• Making a positive contribution to the community

• Increased choice and control of our facilities and the activities we offer

• An improvement of the experience of feeling valued

• Acknowledgement of the Clubhouse as a place of safety – a sanctuary

9 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

We deliver a range of products and services, which contribute to the finances of our

organisation.

These include:

SOCIAL & LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

All the activities and services we provide are identified, developed, directed and are

often delivered by our members. We provide a wide range of opportunities to just

drop-in and relax and to take part in member led activities such as providing peer

support, Ladies Friendship Group, Men’s Group and a ‘Hearing Voices’ Group.

We also provide opportunities to work with tutors, such as in guided mindfulness

practice, arts and crafts, photography and computer skills, which are offered

regularly in response to our member’s expressed needs and interests. Indeed, some

members have told us that they would like us to run accredited courses leading to

qualifications.

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More importantly many friendships are developed and members are encouraged to

socialise outside the Clubhouse by arranging shopping trips, social outings and trips

or short breaks away. Whenever possible, funding is secured to deliver activities free

of charge, (for example working with Adult Learning to secure funded courses),

however we charge for trips and outings to recoup costs.

To generate income alongside making applications for charitable donations or

funding, we are looking into the possibility of accessing personal budgets and social

prescribing in the future.

ROOM HIRE:

This is a popular venue and its flexibility means that we can hire rooms out to other

organisations for meetings, or to deliver courses, thus providing an income stream -

our clients have included Gateshead Council, Help for Heroes, Mental Health Trust,

Health Champions, User Voice Gateshead and North East Together.

CAFÉ AND OUTSIDE CATERING:

The Clubhouse contains a small Community Café which is entirely run by our

members. It offers home-made food at affordable prices, catering for a wide range

of dietary requirements; we actively encourage healthy eating, socialising and

sharing meals with friends.

Contract catering is also offered, providing buffets for up to 150 people and providing

hospitality for customers booking rooms.

The café turns over £300 per week with a profit margin of 100%.

PROMOTION & MARKETING

The Clubhouse has a low cost but effective marketing and promotions strategy. This

targets marketing efforts to referral organisations and individuals with mental health

support needs.

Word of Mouth: Our most powerful source of marketing is by word of mouth. This

engages mental health professionals and GP’s amongst others and potential

members directly. This form of marketing has enabled us to engage with “hard to

reach communities”.

Printed & Electronic Literature: A range of leaflets and posters are produced in-

house and they are distributed through a wide network of GP surgeries, secondary

services, housing projects and other voluntary and community organisations.

Online: Our dedicated website www.gatesheadclubhouse.com provides members

with up-to- date timetables and further information on groups and activities,

alongside membership forms and yearly AGM reports that are all available to

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download. We also have a presence on social media using Facebook and Twitter,

and an active page on the Gateshead MBC website ‘Our Gateshead’.

Face to Face: Face to face marketing and promotion to mental health professionals

and other referral partners are a great way to raise awareness of the Clubhouse and

maintain an open dialogue. Gateshead Clubhouse has an open-door policy to

encourage drop-in visits from professionals, to help them to understand and

experience the uniqueness of the service.

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10 MARKET RESEARCH: SWOT ANALYSIS.

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Member-led service

Team working approach to managing and operating the Clubhouse

Flexibility of service

Responsive to need

People at the heart

People feel part of a community – part of something good

Sense of belonging

Informality – no onerous monitoring, no strict eligibility criteria

Understanding of needs

Provides a space to be yourself

Strong peer support - by helping others we are helping ourselves

Long term financial situation – low reserves

Fluctuations in health of key people

Some skills gaps

Fluctuations of user led activities

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

Learning and development opportunities and courses

Self-growth & recovery opportunities e.g. mindfulness

Collaborating with others to deliver services (e.g. public sector other Voluntary and Community organisations

Awareness raising of the service and mental health in general

Exploring opportunities

Support others to develop services - Inspiration / Replication

Financial uncertainty in the long term

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11 STAKEHOLDERS

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12 DEVELOPING A FUNDING STRATEGY

Running Costs require £15,000 per year from external funders, the rest we are able

to generate on our own from café sales and room hire, with sustainability in mind.

Our running costs are £39,000 per annum, our membership is increasing (as noted

earlier we have 434 members); and, to give an idea of how busy we are: in March

2015 the total amount of visits by members was 600, with our busiest days seeing 50

members or more.

Nevertheless, we still need to make applications to local authorities and other

funding bodies to provide extra finance for on-going costs such as fuel and other

utilities. Our efforts will always be to recover full costs for the services we provide

wherever possible.

We see grant giving trusts as being one of our main avenues of funding; but, hope

that in the future, through social prescriptions, direct payments / individual budgets

and statutory funding we can consolidate our position.

13 KEY SUMMARY

The way that Gateshead Clubhouse has been developed clearly demonstrates

that it is possible to create a well-functioning and self-sustaining mental health

community model, based on peer support and a common-sense approach. It is

probably unique in the way it operates.

The practical nature of the model has also been shown to be relatively simple to

sustain financially.

The way that Gateshead Clubhouse is managed and run is a very different

dynamic to that of a staffed service. It puts the interests of its members at the

centre of everything it does and values common sense. It is based on a non-

hierarchical structural approach.

The Clubhouse provides a safety net for the most vulnerable people who have

often had harsh lives and experienced severe levels of social isolation. If the

clubhouse was not there, many of its members have said they would have

nowhere to go except to look at their own 4 walls or spend their time looking

around shops because they had no one to talk to.

The Clubhouse provides an antidote to the institutionalism and stagnation which

often exists in other building-based mental health community services

The concerted cultivation of our members’ individual empowerment and

responsibility has led to a significant increase in positive mental health and well-

being, especially among member reps who actively help to keep the Clubhouse

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going. As a result of this we actively avoid any build-up of misunderstandings and

interpersonal conflict that might occur between members.

Members are encouraged to participate in activities at a pace that can be

customised to suit their own way of working, individual preferences and

differences.

The Clubhouse ethos overcomes all barriers associated with age, gender,

ethnicity, mental and physical impairments.

Comradeship and friendships organically develop among people who have

previously had significant difficulties in making and sustaining friendships.

The Clubhouse has developed an impressive foundational ethos of peer support

which ensures that there is always someone prepared to help if someone is ill

and no one person is taking on all the pressure. For example, with regards to the

kitchen the aforementioned ‘cafe light’ fall back system.

Overall, there is a fundamental ethos of encouraging members to try out new

activities and skills, often by trial and error; and, emphasising the fact that it is OK

to make a mistake as long as lessons are learned along the way.

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14 FINANCIAL FORECASTING & BUDGETS

Income and Expenditure Budget 2018 – 2019