U.S. News & World Report recently found Louisiana to be one of the worst states for mental health. It’s not surprising considering more than 3 million Louisianans live in a community that doesn’t have enough mental health care providers, making it extremely difficult to access care, let alone afford it.

Our family has faced this reality firsthand. When my son Brian was diagnosed with a serious mental illness, we didn’t know where to turn. We worried what this would mean for his future. Would he be able to hold a job? Live independently? What would happen to him after I passed? Or worse, what would I do if, God forbid, I outlived my own son?

After bouts of homelessness and substance use, Brian stumbled upon Key Clubhouse while he was in Miami, and it was truly an answered prayer. Key Clubhouse was unlike anything I had seen before in Brian’s long journey with mental illness. Unlike a traditional outpatient facility, there were no clinical staff. There weren’t lines of people getting medication or going through group therapy, not that there’s anything wrong with those things. Rather, members were given practical resources — including job training and housing support — recognizing that their hopes, dreams and goals were just as valid and important as mitigating their symptoms.

As members work side-by-side with staff and fellow peers with mental illness, it can get messy. Sometimes, there are misunderstandings. But together, they learn to problem-solve with diplomacy rather than screaming. I came to understand for the first time that for Brian to finally recover and lead a healthy, stable, meaningful life, he needed more than treatment. He needed a sense of purpose and belonging, a reason to get out of bed in the morning, a community of peers who knew what he was struggling with, cared for him and saw him as more than his illness. The clubhouse provided all that and more.

As I saw Brian’s life completely change for the better, he wasn’t the only one impacted. I knew at that moment I had found my life’s calling: I wanted to bring this model to our hometown of Lafayette and help more families in need. In 2020, alongside my son, we were able to open Focus Clubhouse and have since helped 30 people with serious mental illness in our community.

Clubhouses are lifesaving interventions. These free and voluntary community mental health programs give people with serious mental illness a safe haven where they are welcomed, supported and are finally seen and celebrated for their strengths. This not only prevents mental health crises but builds the necessary relationships, resiliency and trust for people with serious mental health conditions to reach their full potential.

Through the power of the clubhouse, members are more likely to be employed, stably housed and able to pursue their goals, like completing school, compared to others with serious mental illness. All of this uplifts individuals and their families in a compassionate way that also saves taxpayers a tremendous amount of money. It’s a model that should be expanded with dedicated public funding to reach more people in need.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re partnering with Fountain House, the original clubhouse, and Clubhouse International for their “Clubhouse Week of Action.” From May 28-31, we’ll be joining clubhouses across the country as they open their doors and invite their representatives, local businesses, the media and others in the community to come see what clubhouses have to offer.

It’s estimated that about 180,000 adults in Louisiana live with a serious mental illness and would benefit from this holistic model yet Focus Clubhouse remains the only clubhouse in the entire state. We can’t do this work alone. We need Louisiana officials at the local, state and federal level to start investing in proven and dignified solutions, including clubhouses, that can save lives.