The Gainesville Opportunity Center is a clubhouse model program that helps adults who are living with a mental illness recover from their illness. Clubhouses are first and foremost a community, which offers people who are living with a mental illness, hope and opportunities to reach their full potential. We provide our “members” (the term we use to describe our participants); opportunities to build long-term relationships that in turn support them in obtaining employment, education and ultimately their goals. Members participate in all aspects of the club, from washing dishes and taking out the trash to writing grants and developing budgets, there is no “Member Only” or “Staff Only” tasks. It is in the work of the clubhouse that the recovery begins to happen. For many members this is the first time that he or she has been given the opportunity to use their skills to help others rather than just receive a service. In a clubhouse, it is not about how sick a person is, but rather what they have to offer the clubhouse and then, what the clubhouse has to offer them. We work side by side, in partnership, staff and members together. It is a community.