HERO House NW
Side by Side, Stronger Together
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Problem: 1 in 4 persons suffer from a mental illness - more than cancer, diabetes or heart disease. Serious mental illness costs America $193 billion in lost earnings every year and depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. 26% of unhoused adults live with a serious mental illness. 24% of state prisoners live with a mental health condition and the King County Jail is the third largest provider of psychiatric beds in the state. The most devastating impact of serious mental illness is the separation from others in society. Isolation kills. There are only two accredited Clubhouses in Washington State. Discrimination and stigma result in many barriers to care and recovery. Mental illness is not a life-threatening condition by itself, but the lifespan of someone with serious mental illness is 20 years less than someone in the general population.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Clubhouse Services- Work Ordered Day
The daily activity of a Clubhouse is organized around a structured system known as the work-ordered day. The work-ordered day is an eight-hour period, typically Monday through Friday, which parallels the typical business hours of the working community where the Clubhouse is located. Members and staff work side by side, as colleagues to perform the work that is important to their community. All of the work in the Clubhouse is for the Clubhouse and not for any outside agency or business. There are no clinical therapies or treatment-oriented programs in the Clubhouse. Members volunteer to participate as they feel ready and according to their individual interests.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Clubhouse International Member 2021
External reviews
Photos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
HERO House NW has a 14 year history of service to the Bellevue, Washington community and has seen unprecedented growth in 2019. From just one Clubhouse in Bellevue with a budget of 500,000+ (just 4 years ago), we have nearly tripled in size with the addition of the Seattle Clubhouse and the Everett Clubhouse, with a total budget of 1.7 million. We have been able to set the stage for our vision of a Puget Sound region where people with serious and persistent mental illness not only survive, but thrive.
Clubhouses create a safe space where members living with mental illness can step out of the shadows of social isolation and into the light of a healing community. Through meaningful relationships, our Clubhouse members have real opportunities to reintegrate into society by becoming gainfully employed, pursuing education, and attaining stable housing. At HERO House NW, our long term goal is to establish a Clubhouse in every community in our region.
We are dedicated to diverting individuals with behavioral health needs from costly interventions, such as jail, emergency rooms, and hospitals: Membership in Clubhouse is a proven program that lowers the hospitalization rates and increases community involvement. The expected outcome of a 25% increase in membership from rural areas directly applies to this priority.
We will also reduce the number, length, and frequency of behavioral health crisis events: With individuals becoming members of Clubhouse, their membership will reduce the length and frequency of behavioral health crisis events. With the transportation program allowing a 25% increase in membership from rural areas, we can expect that Clubhouses can serve as a diversion for someone who is thinking about going to the hospital.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We will improve the quality and increase the number of awareness tools across the spectrum of marketing our HERO House NW brand throughout the organization. This includes website updates, newsletters, collateral brochures, social media, direct mailings, contact with mental health providers, radio, tv, news, signage, etc.. Having a strategic awareness plan at each level of the organization will enable the growth of membership across the three Clubhouses. This plan will have a three level approach that will include 1. Board of Directors 2. Staff 3. Clubhouses.
The board of directors will have a specific plan moving forward on how to raise awareness for the overall organization and what their role will be in how this will be developed. Networking and spreading the word of HHNW will be necessary in order to grow this organization. Each board member will be provided empowering tools on how to create awareness, including specific language, sample letters, handouts, informational links to share, etc... Each board member will participate in some substantive way in at least one major event by volunteering during, contributing to the guest list, donating supplies, providing space, assisting with promotion, manning a table at a resource fair, servinging alongside members and staff. This is different from attendance in that this provides board members with a prescribed opportunity for engagement and hands-on interaction with the Clubhouse community while reaching the larger community..
The staff will have specific goals within each program for outreach to the greater community including providers, colleges, local organizations and other critical partners.
Each Clubhouse will have different goals depending on their community’s unique challenges.
Each Clubhouse will be tasked with addressing the awareness of their own program and scheduling meetings with legislators, decision makers and the larger community to bring awareness of the Clubhouse model. Best practices will be shared among the three Clubhouses. For example, already there are Clubhouse members who have decided to form a Public Awareness/ new membership committee. Their goals are as follows: to increase Social Media posts by 20% this year and increase the number of Social Media followers, increase media coverage, hold more open houses, be part of producing new videos, attend multiple Resource Fairs, increase the number of member presentations in the community while attending an increased number of events (advocacy, trainings, fundraisers) in the community.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
HERO House NW's Clubhouses are unique in that our programs have maintained accreditation with Clubhouse International since 2008.
Clubhouse International is the governing organization that oversees the accreditation of each clubhouse using the evidence-based model of psychiatric rehabilitation worldwide. These accreditations last for 3 years if the clubhouse meets the full qualifications for a full accreditation. The accreditation record of Bellevue Clubhouse has been in full standing for the past 10 years. This means that HERO House NW has maintained adherence to 37 International Standards for Clubhouse Programs. These standards run the full range of clubhouse functions. The accreditation process begins with a comprehensive self-study that is delivered to the accreditation team that is sent by Clubhouse International. The accreditation team does an in-depth review and evaluation of HERO House NW in each of the 37 aforementioned standards. This maintains accountability in the quality of employment programs, member engagement, functioning of the daily workflow, administration of the clubhouse, and more. The importance of accreditation, aside that we are accredited means that we are following guidelines and metrics that have facilitated the real success of current and future clubhouses.
A significant asset of HERO House NW is that since its inception, it has remained free of a mental health auspice agency. As a free standing clubhouses, we do not report to an auspice agency and therefore has the freedom to adhere to the international standards without interference, ensuring that our programs are always clubhouse focused. This allows for us to provide clubhouse services to members with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) including co-occurring substance use disorders. Furthermore, it allows us to serve these individuals without the constraints of Medicaid-only members. This makes the programs at our Clubhouses more in line with clubhouse best practices than many other organizations. Its international nature ensures that we are considering many of the multicultural viewpoints of the members we aim serve, which is important since mental health and what constitutes mental health varies greatly across the cultures that make up the Puget Sound Region. Thus, this is a crucial skill as these standards are the building blocks that govern the evidence-based practice of psychiatric rehabilitation.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
HERO House NW contributed to the reduction of Medicaid costs:
1. Participants who attended the Accredited Clubhouse 3 days or more per week had mean 1-year mental health care costs of US $5697, compared to $14,765 for those who attended less often.
2. Reduction in hospital stays and incarceration rates.
3. Also, one year of holistic recovery services are delivered to Clubhouse members for the same cost as a 2-week psychiatric hospital stay.
HERO House NW's Employment and Other Significant Outcomes:
1. 42% EMPLOYMENT RATE: employment rate at Accredited Clubhouses annually – double the rate for people in the public mental health system.
2. Improved well being: more likely to have close friendships and people to rely on.
3. Better physical and mental health through reduced disconnectedness.
HERO House NW's Future:
HERO House NW's Clubhouses, Bellevue Clubhouse, Seattle Clubhouse and Everett Clubhouse, have come together to work on bringing Clubhouse to every community in Washington State. The plan is to build three or four very strong, accredited Clubhouses that will act as hubs for expanding into new communities around the state. The hub in Western Washington is already forming through the planned HERO House NW organization. This will provide a strong base for growth using better economies of scale, shared services, diversity of sustainable funding sources, and a large voice for advocacy at the state level. This model will allow for further integration into the Behavioral health communities and ensure long-lasting sustainability for recovery of those living with mental illness. It will also guard against similar programs duplicating efforts administratively and competing for fundraising. It will create a much larger footprint of impact and become
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
HERO House NW
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Mr. Scott Rerucha
Legacy Group Capital, LLC
Term: 2017 - 2024
Scott Rerucha
Legacy Group Capital, LLC
Savinay Dangi
Microsoft
Sudhir Ralhan
Kimberly Miller
Trailhead Therapy
Lesa Hastings
Microsoft
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data