FAIRWEATHER LODGE:
Life and Employment in a Fairweather Lodge
Setting
PANEL PARTICIPANTS
 Sallianne Brown RN, CPRP, Clinical Coordinator – Transitional Services, Inc
Pittsburgh, PA (CCL Board member)
 William C. McHenry, Lodge Coordinator – New Visions, Inc Shippensburg, PA
(CCL Board member)
 Jennifer Mullins, Lodge Coordinator – Transitional Services, Inc. Pittsburgh, PA
 Various Lodge Members from TSI and New Visions,
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:
 PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
 Describe the principles of the Fairweather Lodge model.
 Describe operating components of Fairweather Lodge.
 Summarize benefits of Fairweather Lodge to its member and communities.
 Identify resources to assist them in “next steps” when considering establishing a
Lodge.
 Identify some future initiatives appropriate to the Lodge model.
HISTORY OF FAIRWEATHER LODGE
 Dr. George W. (Bill) Fairweather’s book, Community Life for the Mentally Ill, based on his research at the Veteran’s
Hospital in Palo Alto, was released in 1963. He had begun his work there in 1960.
 Later, under a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Fairweather set out to promote the
Lodge Model nationally, in what became known as “The Dissemination Project.”

One of the first community based programs designed and tested with a randomized experimental design

Longitudinal follow –up of 40 months demonstrated that significant outcomes were not short lived.

Reference- Fairweather, G.W., Sanders, D.Cressler, D and Maynard, H. (1969) Community Life of the Mentally Ill
 Fairweather stunned the mental health profession by using terms like, “full citizenship,” “meaningful roles in
society,” and “equal social status” to describe the desired outcomes of his project.
 Community Life for the Mentally Ill, gave birth to the “patients’ rights” movement in psychiatry and the “strength-
based” approach to mental illness – a belief that a patient’s strengths were at least as important as the patient’s
illness.
 There are over 100 Lodges in the US today.
CURRENT LOCATIONS OF LODGES IN THE US
CURRENT ADAPTATIONS OF THE MODEL
 Woman with children- Texas
 Men leaving incarceration- Minnesota
 Veterans- California, Iowa, PA
 Lodge Members at Large
LODGES IN PENNSYLVANIA
LODGE PRINCIPLES
 Principle I. The lodge must provide a safe, healthy and caring environment, which reinforces the
recovery process.
 Principle II. The Lodge must be part of the plan for managing symptoms and promoting good mental
health.
 Principle III. Services must be available as long as the participant wants and needs them.
LODGE PRINCIPLES
 Principle IV. People with psychiatric disabilities increase their community success and raise their
social status through employment, through accumulating wealth, and through direct (not third-party)
consumerism.
 Principle V. Above and beyond economic roles, participants need
to perceive(and to have) meaningful social roles in both the
Lodge and the larger community.
 Principle VI. Successful Lodges resemble a healthy family.
LODGE PRINCIPLES
 Principle VII. In order to progress, people with psychiatric disabilities need autonomy commensurate
with their behavioral performance, with the ultimate goal of full autonomy. Similarly, the Lodge needs
autonomy commensurate with its behavioral performance, with total autonomy being the ultimate
goal.
 Principle VIII. Lodges must not be dependent on resources from any single entity.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF LODGE LIFE
 Admission Criteria
 Each Lodge is different as to age, gender and other funding criteria
 Most important is a desire to live with others cooperatively
 Must want to work, ideally in the Lodge’s business if possible
 Must be able to contribute to the Lodge’s financial obligations – rent, utilities, food, etc
 Must be able to contribute to the Lodge’s upkeep
 Acceptance Process
 Screened by staff for eligibility
 Final decision with other Lodge members
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF LODGE LIFE
 Principles of Self Governance
 Members decide who will live at their Lodge
 Members agree on House Rules and means to enforce them
 Members do things together
 Members support each others’ recovery, including medication and substance use
 Lodges support health and safety for its members
 Members act as a family; focusing on building strong relationships with each other
 Staff are only consultants
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF LODGE LIFE
 Business and Employment
 Lodge run businesses
 Outside employment/training
 Community Partners
 Funding for training
 Creativity is key to entrepreneurship
STANDARDS AND OUTCOMES
 Standards for Certification
 Developing Lodge
 Acclaimed Lodge
 Exemplary Lodge
 Outcome Compilation and Analysis
 Lodge principle implementation is basis for fidelity outcomes
 Individual elements are weighed based on importance. The fidelity tool has shown validity over time
nationally.
 http://www.theccl.org/FairweatherLodge/Standards.aspx
COST EFFECTIVENESS OF LODGE MODEL
Fair Weather
Lodge (FWL)
Homeless
Shelter
Incarceration
Inpatient
$11.00 / day PP
$110 / day PP
$120 / day PP
$460 - $600 / day PP
$15,750 / year
$40,000 / year
$44,000 / year
Avg $193,500 / year
“NEXT STEPS” TO STARTING A LODGE
 Funding
 Availability
 Creativity is the key: endowments, grants (public and private), homeless funding
 Proof of Model
 Quality Fidelity to the Model is maintained
 Cost effectiveness is far below other service models for housing/programming
 Dedicated or Targeted Population
 Many new initiatives for specific populations are being funded publically and
through private organizations.
“NEXT STEPS” TO STARTING A LODGE
 Partnerships and Technical Assistance
 State/OMHSAS has been long in support of Lodges
 FY 2002-2013, $210,000
 PA State Fairweather Lodge Coalition
 Network of experienced Lodge providers and coordinators
 National Coalition for Community Living
 Monthly calls
 Conferences
 Consultation available
“NEXT STEPS” TO STARTING A LODGE
 More about the Coalition for Community Living
 National Organization and Board
 Toolkit available
 Fidelity standards, outcome reporting and certification
 Annual Conference
For more information about CCL, visit
www.theccl.org
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
 Expansion of Businesses - PASU
 Regional Training Lodges
 Veterans Lodges
 Transition Age Youth
 Businesses as social entrepreneurial enterprises – Greenlight Products
 New initiatives and Innovations
PERSPECTIVES
 Lodge Impact on:
 Members
 Coordinators
 Neighborhoods
 Mental Health System
MEMORIAL TO DR. FAIRWEATHER AT 2015 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
IN PITTSBURGH – 9/23/15
MEMORIAL TO DR. FAIRWEATHER AT 2015 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
IN PITTSBURGH – 9/23/15
MEMORIAL TO DR. FAIRWEATHER AT 2015 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
IN PITTSBURGH – 9/23/15
MEMORIAL TO DR. FAIRWEATHER AT 2015 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
IN PITTSBURGH – 9/23/15
MEMORIAL TO DR. FAIRWEATHER AT 2015 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
IN PITTSBURGH – 9/23/15
MEMORIAL TO DR. FAIRWEATHER AT 2015 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
IN PITTSBURGH – 9/23/15