Green Door

Green Door helps people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses from shelters, jails and community mental health facilities to work toward recovery and live in the community.

Why do we exist?

Green Door was established to help adults with severe and persistent mental illnesses who are released into the community from places such as St. Elizabeths without the support that allows them to live independently, be it housing or medication management. Green Door is the only program in the District certified as a clubhouse – a model that began in New York, designed by people with mental illness for people with mental illness. At Green Door, Members not only help run the organization, but they serve on all committees, including the Board of Trustees. As a certified Clubhouse, Green Door is put through a rigorous evaluation process every three years by the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD).

What have you accomplished?

One of the outstanding programs at the Green Door Clubhouse is our employment program. Employment means security, independence, satisfaction, and provides a daily routine around which Members can build their lives. Employment through the Green Door Clubhouse begins with working at Green Door, then progressing to temporary employment in the community, and eventually permanent supported employment (“supported” meaning that Green Door staff always keeps in touch and is always available, no matter how long the Member has held the job. Green Door Clubhouse and Employment Accomplishments in 2002:

• 45% of Green Door’s daily attendance worked in jobs in the community, and after two years, 85% were still working (significantly above the national average of five to fifteen percent paid employment for people with mental illness.)
• All Green Door members who were working earned above the minimum wage, averaging more than $8.50 an hour. 
• 47 members were placed in transitional jobs with Green Door partner companies.
• 83 members secured permanent jobs in the community.
• 78 members worked on group transitional jobs. 
• Green Door secured five new transitional job sites, allowing 10 more members to receive job training each year.

Green Door offers services to nearly 450 individuals each year. Nearly all Green Door members are impoverished —90% fall well below the federal poverty level, receiving only about $500 per month in Supplemental Security Income. Most significantly, 100% of our members are disabled by a major mental illness (64% suffer from schizophrenia). Green Door’s re-hospitalization rate is 11 percent, compared to a national rate of 50 percent.

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