Abstract

The St. Louis Empowerment Center and Boston University's Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation have formed a partnership to study the effects of attending a consumer-operated drop-in center.

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. 

 Contacts:

E. Sally Rogers
Principal Investigator
Director of Research IOWA
Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation
940 Commonwealth Ave., West
Boston, MA 02215
Phone: (617) 353-3549
Fax: (617) 353-7700
E-Mail: ERogers@BU.Edu

Helen Minth

Executive Director

St. Louis Empowerment Center

1905 South Grand Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63104

Phone: (314) 865-2122

Fax: (314) 776-7071

E-mail: hminth@aol.com

Kathryn DeForest

Director COSP Study

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville

Campus Box 1210

Edwardsville, IL 62026-1210

Phone (618) 874-6350

Fax (618) 874-6351

E-mail: Kdefore@siue.edu