They lift your spirits, prompt you to think, make you feel grateful and inspire you to do more. They connect you to our community, shining a spotlight on what's good about our city. They're stories that are Uniquely Milwaukee.
When Grenesha was 18, she felt the pressure of becoming an adult. Then she retreated.
“I was very isolated, just spent all my time at the library mostly by myself, just reading books,” she said, adding that her isolation led to hospitalization and a bleak outlook on her future. “I honestly didn't see myself past 30. I didn't want to be past 30.”
Then Grenesha heard about Grand Avenue Club — a voluntary, non-clinical mental-health organization. She became a member and has stayed involved for 14 years, moving well past the point where she imagined her road ending.
“Now, this August, I'll be turning 40,” she said. “I went from not having any work skills to having a full resume and being offered jobs. Went from dropping out of college numerous times to now having a degree and continuing on with another degree.”
Founded in 1991, Grand Avenue Club supports members through the pillars of employment, education and enrichment. Since 1994, it’s been a part of Clubhouse International, a model committed to enriching the lives of people experiencing mental illnesses.
“We're the only clubhouse in Milwaukee,” Grand Avenue Club associate director Ben Holt said. “This is a model that's been around since the ’50s. Started in Manhattan. There's about 370 or so clubhouses around the world in about 32 countries.”
The club in Milwaukee — like others in the network — provides support beyond clinical treatment, which can be complimentary to forms of traditional treatment like medication and therapy.
“We always tell people, ‘If you need clinical help, get it,’” Holt said. “And we refer people to places all the time. But sometimes people get on medication or start therapy, and they're like, ‘Okay, that's helping, but now what?’ The clubhouse model works really well with clinical models because we provide a lot of the extracurricular things. It’s long-term. It’s more personalized.”
Trevin has benefitted from that personal approach after struggling with anxiety that held him back from keeping jobs and staying in school. “Before coming here, I would say my mental health was not the best,” he recalled. “I was isolating a lot, and I had a lot of panic attacks and anxiety.”
Years of seeking mental-health treatment eventually led him to a therapist who recommended Grand Avenue Club. With help from the organization, Trevin now holds two jobs and recently got accepted to UW-Milwaukee’s Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies program — something that seemed like a far-off dream but is now very real, thanks in part to the tools he picked up at Grand Avenue Club.
“I feel like I have the social skills to join organizations and clubs and build a friend group there,” he said.
The club is free to join for those who are 18 years or older with a diagnosed mental illness, and member involvement can look like any number of things, from administration to joining the board of directors. Shelby, who joined in 1999, prices clothes for Grand Avenue’s Water Street Boutique, where proceeds go toward the club’s programing.
“My impact here has been wonderful, because I've seen most members come and go, get good, get better and better and better,” he shared. “That gives me something to smile about and think about and appreciate.”
Grenesha understands that when you’re facing mental-health challenges, getting involved with anything comes with hesitation. She felt that way, too. But she also knows firsthand that joining the club has the potential to be life-changing.
“There's so much here to do … you're not focused on mental illness,” she said. “It really opens your world up to opportunities. Instead of closing doors, it opens doors, and it takes your focus off whatever issues you're going through.”
To learn more about becoming a member of Grand Avenue Club, visit the organization’s website or email outreach@grandavenueclub.org.
