I started attending Our Place Clubhouse around 1993 or so, maybe even earlier! At that time, the Clubhouse was on 6th Avenue, across from the Ronstadt Transit Center. The Clubhouse was on the first floor, and the Arizona Hotel occupied the second floor. Members had the option of working as janitors of the Arizona Hotel, and some of the members even lived upstairs in the Hotel.
It was a very friendly environment with plenty of activities and opportunities to be productive with such things as sorting clothing donations, helping in the kitchen, or cleaning parts of the Clubhouse, very similar to the current Clubhouse, now located on Pennington Street.
I remember around 1998, the Clubhouse relocated from 6th Avenue to Pennington Street. With the move to the new location, a new program, Café 54 was started, opening in 2004. I was one of the first graduates of the Café 54 training program. It was a stepping-stone to my getting a job out in the community. Café 54 also had catering at that time and had occasional soirée parties for employees and members.
I remember being in the Café, working, and Mindy, the Director, showed me an empty room which I remember sweeping. At the time, that room had concrete floors. They are now wooden floors, and it was made into a very nice room and workspace. It is now the Clubhouse’s Integrated Resources Unit, which has computers available for members to use. They took out a wall which made a corridor pathway connecting the Clubhouse and Café 54.
When I’m here at the Clubhouse, I like to hang out in Membership Services. It is a good, serene place to chat with other members and staff, or even just look at the fish in the Clubhouse aquariums and relax. I gravitate towards places where I feel comfortable.
I always have someone to talk to at the Clubhouse if I need to. If I ever have any kind of problem, I can always bring it here and seek some feedback and help. Our community is understanding and open to our needs.
