My name is Stuart and I am a board member for Clubhouse Europe, recently Our Chairperson Emily sent some information out about an opportunity with Mental Health Europe, so i applied for the Co-Creation Training hoping i’d get to go, I was very happy when my request was successful so i thought why not ask if i can extend my stay and have a holiday as well? This meant i could have some much needed time away, The organiser then suggested i do a study visit as part of my stay (i enquired about study visits a few months prior) this meant i could go and meet up with a couple of mental health organisations as well as doing the training, it sounded fabulous.

So I had to plan out and arrange my trip and network with the right people. I was new to this process, I made a few mistakes but luckily it wasn't too bad, it was all arranged and I had the go ahead for the Co-Creation Training and study visit in Belgium. I will describe more about it here.

I flew to Belgium and got to the hotel. The hotel was very nice and the rooms were very clean.

Day 2

I had to double up on my medication as I was nervous and in the morning I went for a walk in the park to clear my head, then I went to the co-creation training and really enjoyed it. The same night I met with an Israeli man called Ethan and ate out and had an interesting conversation with him.

Today I attended a co-creation training which I really enjoyed. I had to take an extra dose of my Medication and walk through the park on my way, it really helped. I was in my element and I felt like i was being really useful, the others who attended really enjoyed it and the groups we joined were perfect.

Group 1: The first subject was exploring Co-Creation - I was taking bullet points and then I presented our findings.

Group 2: The second group was about Co-Creation in Practice & I took bullet points again.

Group 3: I was part of a fantastic team of 5 who had the task of organising a hypothetical conference for the European mental health awareness week, it was awesome. I made some really good suggestions & worked with the group to try and come to a consensus.

After break, we watched a presentation by 3 guests over zoom, 2 were of clubhouses; Sofia of Progetto Itaca and Gina of Mental Health Ireland and Manuel who was part of a study at a Swiss university.

We had another break then took a group photo (above).

Near the end, we did a roleplay game that was a lot of fun, someone had to sell someone co-creation… I was partnered with a lady who told me she wasn’t going to accept my proposals. I suggested she pretend to be Elon Musk, it was very surreal but I sold it to her and I was very happy. I even joked about it at the end of the training about it and people laughed.

Day 3

I got the train to Antwerp and met with Jolinde at Clubhouse de VLONDER, I was given a tour and treated to some really nice cuisine, then upstairs i was given a presentation, (de VLONDER are due to attend Clubhouse Training in London in Feb). After that I met with a really nice girl with curly hair and she gave me a really good tour of Antwerp, she gifted me 2 handcrafted postcards.

Day 4

I got the train to Ghent and Ruben picked me up and took me to De Moester which is similar to a Clubhouse. I was given a tour around the building and the farm. They have 3 Donkeys and 5 Goats, sheep, Chicken, Rabbits and a Fish pond, they also have 2 house Cats and a Parrot. I was treated to some traditional Flemish Hotpot which was very tasty. 

I got to Brugge after this and this was part of my Holiday now, the first night i went to the Historium and had a tour and then ate some pizza in the Marque. 

The Last few days were very nice in a B&B, I visited a few Cathedrals and took a Canal Boat tour, I really enjoyed myself; i also mixed some music Using AI and my Daw on my computer (i had my laptop with me).

de VLONDER

What..... is de VLONDER i hear you ask, well simply put they are a mental health organisation and they are hoping to be an accredited Clubhouse. The Building is Massive and very well decorated and presented, the big windows all around are very impressive; their garden is fantastic with its outdoor seating area and growing area where they grow there own produce and compost as well.

The Kitchen is massive like 10X bigger than my own clubhouse kitchen and they have a bakery and take orders to deliver as takeaway every day, I tried the food and it was excellent. They are amazing cooks and fabulous hosts. They made me feel really welcome. I listened to their presentation and it was great. They told me they are Due to go to London to take part in Training and their vision was inspiring.

 They also knew Tanja who is part of our board now and spoke highly of her. I really wish them all the very best of Luck, I hope they become accredited soon.

de Moester

de Moester, is a Mental health facility similar to a clubhouse and i visited there on day 3. of my Belgium Tour.I was very impressed, the people were very nice, the members and staff made me feel welcome and gave me a tour, they have a massive building and grounds which also has a small farm on it with Animals

The Picture above is only a corner of the building near the back & i will try and describe more for you. Outside they have really nice places to sit under a wooden canopy and there are other areas to sit around the farm. Inside they have a large Kitchen but the heart of the building is the main seating area, i was treated to an amazing traditional Flemish hotpot with beef, bacon and veg. They also have a games room and a crafts room, they have a very good woodwork department who restore old furniture.

The farm is where they grow produce and members have individual plots that they tend to, they have Donkeys, Goats, Chickens, Rabbits and sheep.

They also have 2 house cats and a house parrot. I thanked them for their hospitality, they are due to visit de Waterheuval soon as well so i hope they say hello to Petra and the team there for us in Clubhouse Europe, they also said they want to visit my Clubhouse here in Scotland in the Future too.