The St. Louis Empowerment Center is a
consumer-operated drop-in center that consists of four components: a peer-run
Drop-In Center, Community- and Facility-Based Self-Help Groups, Individual Peer
Support and the Friendship Line. It is a joint program of the Depressive and
Manic-Depressive Association (DMDA) and the Mental Health Association of Greater
St. Louis. All of the managers and
employees are individuals with a mental illness.
The Peer Run Drop-In Center is open 365 days a year.
It provides a clean, safe, tolerant and drug- and alcohol-free
environment with participatory decision making.
The Drop-In Center provides opportunities for consumers to create an
empowering, non-hierarchical environment in which self-help/mutual assistance
flourishes. Consumers develop
skills and competencies through exposure to their peers.
Support groups and educational programs are provided.
Meals, social activities, clothes-washing facilities, and other amenities
are available to those who drop in.
The Friendship Line operates daily, and aims to
combat feelings of social isolation and loneliness that occur among consumers.
It is particularly helpful on weekends and in the early evening when many
traditional services are unavailable and clients are likely to require a crisis
line. Operators provide friendship,
support, and in emergencies, referral to mental health professionals or other
resources.
Individual Peer Support workers are matched with
consumers who would like a “buddy” for several hours a week.
Together, the pair participates in recreational and social activities,
and the Peer Support worker often teaches the individual a variety of
skills for daily living.
For this study, 240 consumers with serious mental
illness will be recruited from clients of two traditional mental health providers in St. Louis,
namely BJC Behavioral Health and Places for People.
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups.
The control group will continue to receive traditional services just as
they already do. The experimental
group will continue to receive traditional services, but will also be invited to
attend the St. Louis Empowerment Center.
The
Missouri study is administered through the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation
at Boston University.
Contact information: E. Sally Rogers, Principal Investigator: (617) 353-3549
Helen Minth, Executive Director of the Empowerment Center: (314) 865-2112
Kathy DeForest, COSP Project Director: (618) 874-6350
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