Fountain House Training: Complete

By: Ruben Gallegos

When I arrived at Fountain House Clubhouse (FH) for the 279th Foundations Group training, I was expecting to learn about early Clubhouse history, Fountain House philosophy and practice, and about FH Units. I was also looking forward to Standards discussions.

Throughout the training I learned a great deal about these topics, and the experience and knowledge gained far and away exceeded my expectations.

I believe this was successfully accomplished largely because of the 10-day training structure, and the philosophy that 'Fountain house is best learned by experiencing it'. Each day had a training 'Theme of the Day', with activities, papers to read, and thoughtful questions to ask ourselves, and questions to ask of Unit members. At meeting times we had productive and engaging discussions with FH staff, FH members and other Clubhouse colleagues. It was these discussions that provided me with much greater insights into the past, present, and future of the Clubhouse model.

This knowledge, coupled with my FH Unit work, and Standards study, more than answered the questions I initially came with, and provided me with a number of successful practices that I could bring back for consideration to the San Angelo Clubhouse.