Just as the stately Victorian features of Fellowship Club have been well preserved, the basic tenets of Twelve Step recovery have thrived there for nearly 50 years. Fellowship Club, one of the nation's first halfway houses, has been a recovery haven to about 10,000 alcoholics and addicts. It turns 50 this year on Dec. 14, the date it opened its doors to its first residents in 1953. Fittingly, the annual Fellowship Club holiday open house will be held on that same date this year. Plans are in the works to celebrate the Fellowship Club jubilee in 2004.

Addiction is an illness of great consequences, and Fellowship Club gives people the time and support to get back on their feet. Fellowship Club is about removing obstacles so people can integrate the Twelve Steps into their daily lives. It is here that they find they can live, work, make friends, and have fun while staying sober.

What's stayed the same?
While Fellowship Club has changed to meet the changing needs of residents, much has stayed the same about this fixture of the West Seventh Street neighborhood.

"Time, structure and support are the biggest constants, plus the fact that we've always been an abstinence-based, Twelve Step facility," says Brenda Iliff, executive director of Fellowship Club. "We're especially proud that we've held true on the basic needs of our residents, and yet we continually develop new ways to enhance the fellowship of recovery."

"Fellowship Club is a safe place where people aren't judged," says Jim Thalhuber, manager of Clinical Services at Fellowship Club. "Rather, they're respected and supported in doing some basic things that help bring dignity back to their lives. It's a place where we talk about small accomplishments, and people get validated for that. It's about looking at life and being willing to make some changes."

'An island of sanity'
Fellowship Club was "an island of sanity" for Bob P., a 1995 Fellowship Club alumnus. "The beauty of the place is its structure, camaraderie, and safeness-of being in a boat with the same people who have the same disease," he said. "It taught me how to have fun again. Looking back, I can't imagine how people stay sober without going to Fellowship Club."

Bob was like most people who come to Fellowship Club. He had completed 28 days of primary residential treatment, but he knew he wasn't ready to return home. He had been a vice president for a large Midwestern company, but he lost that job to drugs and alcohol. "I needed time to restart my life," he says. "Fellowship Club gave me time to acclimate to sober living, to gain friends, and go back to work again. It was about how to live life in a structured environment."

He recalls his first dose of structure-and humility-at Fellowship Club. "Here I was, a former executive in the computer industry, and I was taking two buses to work. They told me to keep it simple. I had gotten a job, like everyone is required to do within the first couple weeks at Fellowship. I would be working with computers. I thought this would be right up my alley. When I got to my workplace, it turned out I would be taking apart old computers to salvage the metal and spare parts. I made $4 an hour."

Bob did well at Fellowship Club. He stayed four months, was president of the house, and got to know the St. Paul recovering community well. He loved St. Paul and stayed in the area for the first two years of early recovery. He moved back to Chicago briefly but returned to St. Paul, where he lives today. Like so many people, Bob found St. Paul to be a recovery-friendly community with tremendous resources for support.

What's changed?
Whereas Fellowship Club during its early years was more of a sober house for homeless alcoholics, it now serves a more diverse clientele. Some residents come from positions or families of means and prominence, while others (about 25 percent) are referred by the county and struggling financially. Residents of 30 to 40 years ago were mostly middle-aged alcoholics, but today's clients are predominantly multiple-drug users with an average age of 31. Out of 225 patients in 2002, 178 (79 percent) were addicted to alcohol and at least one other drug. Only 13 residents (6 percent) were addicted to alcohol only.

"Our typical resident is someone who needs structure and time to strengthen their recovery," says Iliff. "We get people with co-occurring disorders, people with family issues-people with extra blocks to recovery."

Residents of the 55-bed Fellowship Club are about 75 percent male, 25 percent female. According to the 2002 patient profile:

• 65 percent of residents had at least one previous experience in residential treatment.
• 68 percent had been treated on an outpatient basis for a coexisting mental health issue.
• 37 percent reported a history of emotional abuse.
• 84 percent reported dependent use of alcohol; 55 percent reported dependent use of cannabis; and 45 percent reported dependent use of cocaine.
• Average length of stay was 79 days.

"Our residents today come to us with many more needs," says Thalhuber. As a result, Fellowship has responded with more and better-educated staff, more groups, on-site mental health services, and more structure and support.

Each resident designs an individualized recovery plan with his or her counselor. The plan identifies pertinent recovery issues and sets goals and methods to achieve those goals. Each resident's plan is ongoing and changes as needs change.

"On paper the majority of residents have completed Steps One through Three before coming here, but sometimes not in their heart," said Iliff. "For some, we've got to go back to Step One. This is about walking through recovery; it's a process."

Fellowship Club also offers an opportunity to do or redo Steps Four and Five. "Steps Four and Five are about self-forgiveness and beginning the process of asking or seeking the forgiveness of others," says Thalhuber. "The majority of our residents have completed these steps before coming here, although sometimes it becomes very clear they are stuck in self-pity and/or resentments and would benefit from revisiting these steps as a way to get to Step 9 and the promises."

The first week is a "get-acquainted" week for new residents and includes vocational assistance in which they learn interviewing, resume writing, and networking skills. Most residents either work 32 to 40 hours a week, and a few who have shown responsibility are able to attend school during the day. They must be back home by 6 p.m. for dinner. Evenings are time for lectures, group therapy, one-on-one counseling, Twelve Step meetings, and fellowship with peers. Each resident is required to attend three outside Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings a week, plus the open AA meeting on Friday evenings at Fellowship Club.

Mondays include a "Who Am I?" meeting led by the Fellowship Club community. Most residents attend AA/NA afterwards. Counselor-led support groups meet Tuesdays. Wednesdays are an AA/NA night and often include sessions with spiritual care or mental health specialists. Thursdays are Orientation Group night for the newer residents, while others attend the evening lecture; a Community Meeting for the whole house follows.

Fridays are special because they feature the traditional open AA meeting at 7 p.m., usually a standing-room only affair run by AA and held in the Fellowship Club dining area. Many Hazelden alums come to this meeting to receive their medallions, usually presented by a special sponsor or mentor. A speaker from the house talks for about five minutes and is followed by a main speaker. Socializing follows. The Friday meetings serve as an important continuing care nugget for many alums who stay in the Twin Cities area.

Saturday mornings are reserved for the newly started Recovery Planning Groups-two men's and one women's group. These groups emphasize the importance of a well thought out, individualized continuing care plan. Residents are encouraged to take ownership of their recovery plan. They are given an opportunity to present their finalized plan to clinical staff. Every fifth Saturday "Bridge Groups" are held that feature alumni who come in to talk about early recovery and what worked for them and what didn't. Sober house fairs are held several times a year on Saturdays to inform residents of sober housing options in the area. Retreats that address the Twelve Steps and spiritual issues are held quarterly.

A peer-led support group is held from 11 to noon on Saturdays. The remainder of the weekend is a time for reflection and rest.

On-site mental health services
The mental health services of Fellowship Club are great resources for current and past residents. Residents have access to on-site services, including individual and group therapy, psychological assessments, psychiatric consultations, biofeedback sessions, and medication management. They can attend special groups off campus that address issues such as anger, grief, and eating disorders. Past residents can access continuing care groups and outpatient mental health services at Fellowship Club as well.

Current residents benefit from the great peer and community support. Strong peer relationships are obviously a big part of recovery, says Thalhuber, and that's something that only gets better because of an active, caring alumni network in St. Paul that provides residents with local contacts, inspiration, and role modeling.

Before discharge, continuing care plans are developed for all residents and include recommendations for Twelve Step support groups, continuing care groups, counseling, and a range of Hazelden resources, including published materials and alumni activities.

Many return to visit, show their gratitude, and share their experience, strength and hope. Many will hopefully return to mark Fellowship Club's great milestone.

"The one thing I hear over and over from our alumni is that, 'If it wasn't for Fellowship Club, I wouldn't be sober today.'" says Iliff. "People 30 and 40 years out come back to visit. They like to reminisce; our library brings back a lot of memories for many. They say, 'I needed the time and support, and this is where I got it. This is where I learned to stay sober.'"

--by Marty Duda

Published in The Voice, Summer 2003