At Everett Clubhouse, structure for the 1 in 5 people with mental illness

EVERETT — Deloris Murphy has been a regular at Everett Clubhouse for over a year. At her first visit, she immediately felt it was a place she could thrive.

“I’m pursuing things that I never thought I would be able to,” she said about her goal to be a professional photographer. “I believe with the confidence I have gained since coming here, I can do this.”

Murphy, 61, describes herself as a person living with mental illness, working on her recovery every day. She takes medicines for depression and anxiety, and she manages some physical health challenges as well, including diabetes.

She exudes warmth and wisdom gained from many experiences as a nurse aide, criminology major, deli worker, foster mother, adoptive mother, stepmom, grandma and more. Murphy now pours her heart into the Everett Clubhouse and into the next chapter of her life.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, with a theme this year of #MoreThanEnough. The National Alliance on Mental Illness website explains: “Showing up, just as you are, for yourself and the people around you is more than enough.”

The stigma of mental illness delayed Murphy from seeking help, she said. Now she doesn’t want others to experience the same thing.

Murphy has felt that “people think you’re a complete nut.” Her own inner circle of family and friends have told her she wasn’t one of “them,” meaning those people with mental illness. But she affirms, “Yes, I am.”

People don’t walk around wearing a sign to advertise their illness, Murphy joked, so she goes out of her way to be positive with everyone in her path.

“If I felt the way I did, somebody else does too,” she said.

But if people did wear a sign to mark mental illness, one in five people would be wearing one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That could be depression, panic attacks or schizophrenia, for example, which affect people’s physical health, relationships and ability to keep a job.

Twelve years ago, Murphy was hospitalized twice for suicidal ideation after a particularly rough time in her personal life. Then she was OK for a while. And soon after, she met her current husband.

But in 2019, Murphy said she plummeted physically and mentally. She could barely get out of bed. Murphy’s husband gave her an ultimatum — get counseling or leave.

So Murphy went to Compass Health, and worked with a doctor to adjust her medicines. Eventually her counselor referred her to Everett Clubhouse, one of three clubhouses managed by HERO House NW.

At the Everett Clubhouse, about 50 members find support in each other and the routines of a “work ordered day,” where they work with staff and other members to manage the program and make decisions. That includes everything from cleaning the bathroom to learning how to staff the reception desk. Everett Clubhouse also has a social event Thursday afternoons. Staff “generalist” Abenie Adams emphasized that everything is member-led.

Not all of the members show up at once; if they did, they would overcrowd the currently crammed office space. The other half of the leased space is being remodeled after a pipe burst in last winter’s deep freeze. They have plans for a better kitchen that can also serve as training for restaurant jobs.

Murphy drives 21 miles from her home in Arlington to Everett Clubhouse a few times per week, where she often cooks lunch with and for members. When gas prices are high, she might only make the trip on those two warm meal days. She also writes cards or calls members on their birthdays, learns new computer programs and checks in on members if they haven’t come around in a while.

Now her husband calls Everett Clubhouse Murphy’s “work,” and nudges her to go when it seems like she might be stuck in bed or otherwise feeling down and self-isolating.

Everett Clubhouse opened in the fall of 2019, weathered the pandemic and just added a third full-time staff member. The rehabilitation associate will recruit local businesses to offer part-time jobs for members in a “supported employment” program. A business hires the Clubhouse member directly, and both the staff and member receive job training. If for some reason the member needs backup, a staff member will fill in for them.

Research suggests the work-ordered day increases members’ self-esteem and confidence, and it can be a bridge to the routines and social skills required in paid employment. Everett Clubhouse is “supposed to create opportunities for members to learn, so if they are looking to be in a vocational setting, this is a great place for them,” Adams said.

About 10 members could be ready to work.

Staff and members will host their first in-person fundraising event Aug. 12 at the VFW in Everett. They hope to add more donors and build community awareness about the programs.

Murphy had advice for fellow community members who encounter people with a mental illness.

“Be nice and be kind,” she said. They are our neighbors and, hopefully, getting support to work on their own recovery.

“We have 52 members and I know most of them, and I would trust them to clean my house, watch my purse, and take my grandma — if I had one — to the grocery,” she said.

Murphy might try out the supported employment program if she can find a job that is physically manageable. She’ll also continue her recovery work, which for her means: “Being able to wake up every day and know that you’re OK, and that there’s people out there that you can help. And I think that’s what Clubhouse has been for me.”

How to connect

Everett Clubhouse, 1901 Wetmore Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The clubhouse assists those 18 and older who are living with mental health issues pursue employment, educational and personal goals. Membership is free.

For more information, call 425-389-9510 or go to everettclubhouse.org.

Joy Borkholder: 425-339-3430; joy.borkholder@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jlbinvestigates.