Clubhouse Capitol Day 2025

Empowering Voices, Strengthening Communities 🎤💪

On March 4th 2025, the San Antonio Clubhouse had the opportunity to join our Clubhouse Texas family at our State Capitol in Austin for a Clubhouse Texas Advocacy March. Here, we got to practice advocating for ourselves while creating new bonds across the State. Texas Clubhouses present for our Clubhouse rally were the Austin Clubhouse, REAL, PLAN, Phoenix, San Angelo, Cowtown, and Fort Bend. Although every Clubhouse is diverse and has its own unique goals, we came together to advocate for three priorities: increased funding for Clubhouses, workforce development, and policy support for employment and housing. 

Out of a long list of potential priorities, these three were decided upon as our focus to systematically strengthen Clubhouses and basic needs that members must have fulfilled for a strong foundation towards recovery. Our hopes for focusing on increased funding for Clubhouses was to further expand and establish Clubhouses in underserved areas, especially West Texas, and to continue supporting existing Clubhouses. Workforce development was focused on to train mental health professionals and peer support specialists within Clubhouses by supporting further education and certification programs. Our third priority, policy support for employment and housing, focused on the basic needs members need met outside of the Clubhouse to aid them in being more active members of the Clubhouse. This includes advocating for policies that incentivize employers to hire Clubhouse members, as well as affordable housing specifically for individuals with mental health conditions. 

A lot had to happen before we could even show up to the Capitol steps. For months before our march, we would all meet once a week in true Clubhouse form to coordinate and update each other. During these Zoom calls, we decided on our three priorities mentioned above, our t-shirt design, schedule, and updates on meetings with politicians in the Capitol. Individually, Clubhouses focused on setting up legislative meetings and researching who they would be speaking to in order to learn the best approach when advocating for our three priorities. We also all met the day before on March 3rd at the Austin Clubhouse where we had the opportunity to meet new Clubhouse friends and reunite with old ones. Our time together started out with a lunch made and served by the Austin Clubhouse followed by a tour, an advocacy training led by Ami from San Angelo Clubhouse, sandwich making for our Clubhouse Texas Advocacy March lunch bags, and putting the finishing touches on our rally posters. The training encompassed a wide range of topics that all related to advocacy for mental health Clubhouses including the legislative process, how to effectively hold a legislative meeting, and deep diving into our three priorities. After the work-ordered-day, Clubhouses met together for dinner at a local Italian restaurant the night before our big day.

The Clubhouse Texas Advocacy March was structured in a way that each individual Clubhouse could focus on sharing what a Clubhouse is and advocating for themselves in the morning from 9-12. We got our weekly cardio this day going up and down the Capitol stairs from Senator Jose Menendez’s office to Representative Trey Martinez Fischer’s desk. Ezra, a San Antonio Clubhouse member who was present at the Capitol shared that “being at the Capitol for my peers and to support our Clubhouse meant a lot to me because it is a way I can give back, and it allows a path for my voice to be heard when so often it is not. It empowered me, and I felt strong fighting and advocating for what is important to me - mental health advocacy and support”. Between these two appointments, we would run into different Clubhouses doing the same. It truly felt like we had taken over the Capitol that day. At noon, we all got to sit and have lunch together before our rally at 1.

During the rally, we heard multiple speeches from Clubhouse members who shared their mental health recovery journey and how the Clubhouse played its role in each individual’s life. Shirleen, a San Antonio Clubhouse member and speaker on the podium, says that she “liked how we all came together for a great cause”. And it isn’t just Clubhouse Texas that she’s referring to. Politicians joined us alongside this rally due to every Clubhouse spreading the word across the capitol during our morning legislative meetings. A couple of bystanders, including a few educators from Canada, joined us in our rally and expressed their support for our movement. We even had NAMI support us in our rally speeches. Our Clubhouse Texas Advocacy March was a success and brought many people from different backgrounds and mental health organizations to spread the word on what Clubhouses are and why they are needed. 

Our Clubhouse Texas Advocacy March was important not just for the San Antonio Clubhouse or Clubhouse Texas, but to all who weren’t able to be present. Lisa, a San Antonio Clubhouse member and speaker on the podium, summarizes our experience and reason for advocacy by stating that “my experience at the Capitol was something I will never forget. I have many trying times in my life but being able to share my story to others has made all the hard times worth it. I am honored to be able to use my experiences to advocate for those who feel they don't have a voice. Speaking at the Capitol meant to me that I am capable of doing so much more than I ever dreamed possible”. Clubhouses are a space where members can feel empowered in their mental health journey and lead us to places in our recovery that we never dreamed of, such as the Clubhouse Texas Advocacy March at the Capitol steps.

Written by: Julie Gonzalez, Social Practitioner at San Antonio Clubhouse

Meeting of the Minds 

Building a Stronger Future 💪🌱

On March 12, 2025, form communities’ Connection Center hosted the March Meeting of the Minds (MOTM). MOTM is a gathering of various recovery nonprofits, community organizations, and mental health groups to promote collaboration and networking.

This month’s event was a great success! Many meaningful connections were made, and seeds were planted for future partnerships. A huge thank you to all who attended, the Connection Center team, and Jorge and his maintenance team for their hard work in bringing MOTM to form communities.👏

We’re excited to keep the momentum going! The next MOTM will be held on April 9, 2025, from 9:30–11:00 AM at Discovery Behavioral Health. We hope to see you there! 📅

"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions."

- Dalai Lama

This quote reminds us that happiness isn’t a gift we receive passively; it’s something we actively create through our choices, actions, and mindset. Every small step we take towards nurturing our well-being, whether it's practicing gratitude, pursuing passions, or fostering positive relationships, contributes to the happiness we experience. It’s a call to take responsibility for our own joy and to actively cultivate it in our lives, one action at a time. Remember, happiness isn’t found, it’s built—brick by brick, action by action. 🌟

How do you find strength in difficult moments, and how can you lean into that strength more often?

Take a moment to pause and think about this question. 

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