Posted February 13, 20251:18 pm
CLEVELAND, Ohio–Colleen Slattery is the first face you see when you walk into the Cleveland Legal Aid Society. Serving as the organization’s receptionist, she loves her job and is considering studying for the Ohio Bar Exam to practice law herself.
These days, she’s looking toward the future, both a far cry and a stone’s throw from her past.
Slattery had previously been hospitalized for suicidal ideation while attending law school. She eventually graduated in 2015 and landed a federal clerkship but continued to struggle with her mental health. She was fired from two jobs in that time.
“I thought my mental health was struggling because I was in the wrong career. I just felt like I needed liberated,” she explained.
In 2020, she went looking for a fresh start in Los Angeles, and that was where she had her first experience with psychosis. At one point, she found herself sleeping on a beach. “I didn’t want to talk to anyone anymore. I chose to be homeless because I was triggered by other people. I just felt safer,” she explained.
Eventually, Slattery was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her father intervened and brought her back to Ohio for treatment. Slattery was living in Cleveland at the University Circle Transition Program in 2023 when she toured the nearby Magnolia Clubhouse. The non-profit organization gives people with mental illness a place to go for socialization, employment and educational support, and access to medical and psychiatric services in a safe environment.
“At Magnolia, I found community and acceptance; a place for me to ‘practice’ being employed again in a low-risk, highly supportive environment,” said Slattery, who began working in Magnolia Clubhouse’s billing department.
Lori D’Angelo is the clubhouse’s executive director and witnessed Slattery’s transformation.
“Colleen is a great example of someone who has used these opportunities. I’ve watched her enjoyment and sense of herself become stronger and more hopeful,” D’Angelo said.
D’Angelo began her career at Magnolia House while she was in graduate school at Case Western Reserve University, which is just around the corner from the Clubhouse. It was there she said she fell in love with the concept.
“It just seemed like such a wonderful way to help people rebuild their lives, giving people community and purpose. Working together to operate the Club is the vehicle for building relationships, community, and recovery.”
D’Angelo explained that it is a standardized model with an accreditation process through Clubhouse International and a well-established research base. It’s also cost-effective.
“A year at the Clubhouse costs less than a week in the hospital,” D’Angelo said.
In addition to Cleveland, there are accredited clubhouses in Dayton and Columbus. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services provided funding to expand the clubhouse model in Ashtabula, Geauga, Portage, Mahoning, and Hamilton counties, with plans and funds to expand in Lorain and Montgomery counties, as well. OhioMHAS has additional funds to award to non-profit organizations interested in exploring and implementing the clubhouse model across Ohio.
"It is very fulfilling to see this progress being made so that more people across Ohio who live with mental illness can access this life-transforming and saving service," says D'Angelo. "We are working together with the national and international network of Clubhouses to promote the expansion of this highly needed service to fill the void in the treatment of mental illness."
Clubhouse members play an active role in the day-to-day operations alongside staff.
Colleen Slattery moved from the clubhouse’s billing department to the front desk, where she began having more interactions with people, in anticipation of outside employment. In April 2024, Slattery landed the job she has now at the Cleveland Legal Aid Society, an organization that provides free legal representation to people with lower incomes and has a partnership with Magnolia House. For Slattery, it was meant to be.
“I could get back to my career in a supported way,” she explained. “Returning to work with the open understanding I live with mental illness has been critical. Everyone at Legal Aid has been welcoming and supportive.”
As Slattery continues her healing journey, she hopes to practice immigration law one day, a recommendation she returned to while she was in a residential treatment program, and an idea that keeps popping up in her mind, even more so now.
“Especially after being at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, where they’re serving vulnerable populations. You just feel like you’re doing something noble and something human. I can’t wait to commit to something like that for the rest of my life,” she said.
Source: Ohio MHAS - Clubhouse Provides Soft Landing, Launching Point for New Beginnings