Crystal House Clubhouse receives accreditation from Clubhouse International

Read the full article in the Leominster Champion.

GARDNER — Crystal House Clubhouse, a service of Open Sky Community Services, recently received noti?cation of full accreditation by Clubhouse International, according to Clubhouse Director Tamela Deveikis.

Crystal House, located in Gardner, is a community dedicated to the rehabilitation of adults recovering from mental illness. Through a variety of meaningful and engaging tasks, members have the chance to develop, or refresh employment skills, explore educational opportunities, and participate in social activities. Members work together with clubhouse staff in all areas of the club’s operation.

The club has an average enrollment of 80 members, with an average daily attendance of 30. In addition to Gardner, communities served by the club include Fitchburg and Leominster.

The accreditation process included an extensive self-study as well as a visit from faculty of Clubhouse International. In May 2021, Crystal House was awarded conditional accreditation with some recommendations for change. In June, Crystal House was told they have successfully made those changes and is now granted full accreditation. A letter from Executive Director of Clubhouse International Joel Corcoran that accompanied the accreditation report thanked Crystal House for the example they set as a quality Clubhouse based on Clubhouse Standards.

Open Sky President and CEO Ken Bates noted that this is a signi?cant milestone for the program and for Open Sky.

“Accreditation of our Clubhouse is a huge achievement,” Bates said, “and this is indicative of the outstanding quality of support the Clubhouse is providing for its members.”

Daveikis is very happy about the accreditation: “The Crystal House members and sta? and I are very excited and proud to be an accredited clubhouse. We feel that keeping the momentum of a clubhouse model active in our club over the years has helped us achieve this goal. We are grateful to Open Sky as our parent organization for the support to accomplish this goal.”

For more information about Crystal House, visit the club’s Facebook page at facebook.com/crystalhouseclubhouse or go to openskycs.org/crystalhouse