Adventure House provides safe space for the vulnerable

Every Tuesday, Adventure House hosts a social.

There’s Bingo, with good prizes, and people get to mingle, connect and have fun.

After two years of being isolated as a result of COVID, the members and staff are happy to be interacting face to face again.

Lavonda Hunter, who recently joined Adventure House as the new program coordinator, wants the community to know they are open and back in the swing of things.

Located at 924 N. Lafayette St. in Shelby, Adventure House is open during the week from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and also has a weekend and evening social program.

“Our member population is severe and persistently mentally ill,” Hunter said.

Members struggle with schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar and other mood disorders.

Adventure House was founded in 1986 and was modeled after New York’s Fountain House which provides community-based rehabilitation for people with a mental illness.

At Adventure House, participants are members, not clients or patients. Members assist staff in performing day-to-day duties that keep the house running, from cooking and cleaning to lawn care. In the process, they have the opportunity to socialize, build relationships and learn important life skills.

Adventure House helps with job opportunities outside the program, education and housing. Members can return after any length of absence.

There are different units in the house - snack bar, billing, administrative, kitchen and others - and members can help out in each unit.

“Units are set up to help build independence,” Hunter said. “It gives them a little bit of practice in a safe zone.”

They arrange transportation with TACC for those who have Medicaid and assist with getting connected to other resources and job opportunities.

“If you don’t have a funding stream, that is not a reason to not come,” Hunter said.

She said they still provide services to those who have no funding.

Staff are currently getting a transitional job program up and running to help people ease back into the workforce.

“What we are needing right now is to get the community involved and aware we are here,” she said. “With COVID and everything shutting down, people don’t know what Adventure House is and what we’re all about.”

During the pandemic they still provided outreach services, but the house was closed.

One of the members said the staff would call and check in on him at least once a week if not more and made sure he had everything he needed.

Genia Robinson, rehabilitation specialist, said since opening back up, attendance has been down.

“COVID hit us hard, we were averaging around 60 or 70 members and now we’re at about 30,” she said.

One of their current issues is getting referrals. Referrals can come from a mental health provider, a pastor or a family member.

Staff said there is a breakdown from the referral source.

“We used to have a waiting list of 10 to 20 people,” Robinson said. “Now we could easily take in 20.”

They are at maximum capacity at around 70 members.

Hunter, who has been working in the mental health field for over 30 years, joined Adventure House three months ago.

“I love Adventure House and what it stands for,” she said. “Everybody here is treated the same. A diagnosis isn’t the first thing someone hears and sees when they walk through the door. You are treated like a person. That is what has drawn me to the program. It’s a place where individuals who have felt ostracized can belong."

Now she is focused on getting the program back to the way it was pre-pandemic.

Hunter said the recent mental health divestiture in the county brought in new companies who are unfamiliar with the county, which means they miss available resources.

Robinson said there are misconceptions about what they do and many people think Adventure House is a daycare for adults, which is not the case.

Robinson said everyone is treated like an adult, but they push people to be more independent so they can be successful.

One member, who had previously been homeless off and on for 10 years, struggled with schizophrenia and substance abuse. As a result of his illness and addictions, he would lose his job and end up in jail.

His mental illness made him paranoid, and he would hear voices that felt real but weren't.

One day, at one of his lowest points, a police officer asked him if he really wanted to get help and brought him to Phoenix Counseling Center where he was taught how to cope with the voices and had access to medication and doctors. He was afraid when he graduated from the program what would happen to him, but ended up being referred to Adventure House. The staff helped him find a place to live and have given him a sense of purpose and belonging.

He’s been clean from drugs for several years and knows he always has someone to talk to on bad days.

“They gave me a purpose for life,” he said. “I don’t know what I'd do without this place. I feel sorry for people who are going through something like I did and don’t have a place like this to go to. Without this place, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”

Lawrence Davis, another member, said he is a recovering alcoholic and struggles with depression.

“I lost my wife and things got bad,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do. I was killing myself, trying to escape through drinking and doing drugs.”

He went to Hunter, who was employed at another agency at the time, and was crying like a baby.

He ended up at Phoenix where he got sober. He received help with medication and with connecting to resources.

“When it got time to leave, I got worried,” Davis said, “I was scared I would go back to drinking.”

Instead, he was referred to Adventure House where he now goes every day.

“This place helps you keep a peace of mind,” he said. “They helped keep me clean. Helped me find an apartment. It’s been really good for me.”

Every morning he goes to the snack bar and helps out.

“I love to make people laugh, and I love to laugh myself,” he said.

Davis said the staff provide one-on-one care, are always willing to talk and help people get back on their feet.

“People need to feel wanted and needed. We offer that here,” Robinson said. “This is long term. Once a member, always a member.”

Members can come for the day, but no one lives in the building.

“There is not a place in this house where members aren’t allowed,” said Robinson.

Not only does Adventure House provide a safe place for people, but it cuts down on hospitalizations and potential crime and violence.

Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Adventure House open after COVID, seeking new members