Our motto: A safe place to belong, work & return
DIAMOND HOUSE
A Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program
“Clubhouse”
The descriptive name of “Clubhouse” was taken
from the original language that was used to
communicate the work and vision of the first
Clubhouse, Fountain House in New York City,
which started in 1948. As the first community of
its kind, Fountain House has served as the model
for all subsequent Clubhouses that have
developed around the world.
Fountain House began when former patients of a
New York psychiatric hospital began to meet
together informally, as a kind of “club”. It was
organized to be a support system for people
living with mental illness, rather than as a service
or a treatment program. Fountain House also
clearly distinguished itself from other programs
by its insistence that members and staff work
together, side-by-side, as peers and partners, in
every function of the Clubhouse operation.
Communities around the world that have
modelled themselves after Fountain House have
embraced the term “Clubhouse”, because it
clearly communicates the message of
membership and belonging. This message is at
the very heart of the Clubhouse way of working.
“Diamond House”
Diamond House had its beginnings in 1990
when a group of people with mental illness,
along with their families and supporters formed a
Clubhouse lobby group with the aim of opening a
Clubhouse in Adelaide. Clubhouse SA Inc came
into being in 1994 but it wasn’t until 1996 that we
were given an operating grant from the
Department of Human Services to open
Diamond House in accordance with the
International Clubhouse model. Situated in the
western suburbs only six kilometres from the
CBD our Clubhouse was named after Ishbel
Diamond, one of the hard working lobbyists and
recognized as our founder. Our funding is non-
recurrent; to date we have been funded every
year. Since opening in 1996, over 650 people
have become members of Diamond House.
There are currently approximately 260 active
members.
Diamond House is a member of the
International Centre of Clubhouse
Development
Background