Creative Learning and Mental Health: Working with Youth in The Clubhouse Network

ABSTRACT

While mental health issues have always been part of the landscape of youth work, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought them into sharp relief. For nearly 30 years, The Clubhouse Network has provided young people from low-income communities with a safe out-of-school setting in which to explore, experiment, and express themselves through technology. In the process, they gain a stronger sense of self while developing marketable technology and life skills. Furthermore, the Clubhouse learning model helps young people deal with some of the real pain in their lives. This article explores how three Clubhouses around the globe (in Colombia, New Zealand, and Nevada) provide unique opportunities to address adolescent vulnerabilities and provide trauma-informed care, and what others can learn from their experience.