FLiCA

The Florida site includes two drop-in centers that together form a venture called “FLiCA,” the initiative of consumers in two states, Florida and California. The PEER Center, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale acts as the contract agency for the cooperative agreement. The Mental Health Client Action Network (MHCAN) in Santa Cruz provides a second drop-in study under subcontract with the PEER Center. The FLiCA study prides itself on having consumers as principal investigator and other onsite research staff. Research is guided through subcontracts with experts from the Florida Mental Health Institute at USF in Tampa and from Florida International University in Miami.

The PEER Center is a multifaceted operation, one of the largest consumer-operated programs in the nation. Created as a result of a class-action lawsuit in 1992, the center is open 7 days a week, and has over 2000 members, with up to 150 consumers attending daily. The drop-in program provides recreational and educational activities, peer support groups, washers and dryers, showers, food, and a pool hall. A housing program helps people to locate a decent apartment, and to move and secure used furniture. The center’s sheltered employment program runs a full-scale printing operation with a job coach. Other programs include crisis services, peer support, and a thrift shop. A computer lab, with internet access houses a computer repair business that sells restored computers to consumers at a low cost. A web site is maintained at http://www.peercenter.org. The PEER Center partners with the Henderson Mental Health Center, a comprehensive program in Fort Lauderdale for case management, day treatment, crisis intervention, job training, and many other services.

The Client Action Network in Santa Cruz County was initiated in 1992 by local clients, and the California Network of Mental Health Clients, which is funded by the State. A drop-in center is open 6 days a week that provides peer support as well as material resources for individuals with schizophrenia, mood disorders, men’s and women’s issues, and concern over spiritual topics. These resources include the use of phones, newspapers, coffee and snacks, used clothing, bus passes and van transportation, poetry, art, and guitar classes, and support groups. Tutoring is available in math, internet usage, and word processing. A web site is maintained at http://www.sasquatch.com/~mhcan/. MHCAN partners with Santa Cruz County Mental Health Services, which provides outpatient case management and medication management.

Under the hypothesis that consumer-operated services can provide empowering, healing, and cost-effective services in partnership with existing community mental health services, up to 500 consumers will be assigned to the Florida site—300 in Florida and 200 in California. Because 95 % of both centers’ clients live below the poverty level, the burden of poverty and its effects, detailed housing information, and organizational environment will be included in site specific studies, in addition to the multi-site research.

Links

PEER Center

Henderson Mental Health Center

for more information about

Sally Clay

and her work, visit her website

Contacts

Sally Clay
Systems Manager
Peer Center
E-Mail: sallyclay@earthlink.net

Dianne Cote
Executive Director
Peer Center
E-Mail: peerctr@bellsouth.net

Barbara Atlas
Chief Operating Officer
Henderson Mental Health Center
E-Mail: batlas@juno.com

Gary Teague, Ph.D.
Research Consultant
E-Mail: teague@hal.fmhi.usf.edu

Bonnie Schell

Director

Mental Health Client Action Network

E-mail: bonniebelle@flashmail.com