Karen, Club Nova's Director, is like that cool friend your older sibling had in high school. The friend who was the only girl unanimously voted on to wear the school mascot's outfit at Varsity football games; the girl who wrote and directed her class' victorious skit during Spirit Week; the girl who went home and wrote her own anthology of poetry. Your sibling's friend won the following of her peers through her sheer magnitude of passion. Karen is this girl years later, in a job position typically requiring rigidity and in a place that would easily stifle the zany zeal of a lesser person. Instead, Karen is the antithesis of Nurse Ratched, as she effectively leads Club Nova not with an iron fist but instead a gentle heart. She is zealous about her job - "it's a gift to be allowed into this community" she says - and staff, members and volunteers alike respond positively to her passion. Club Nova's people follow her not out of fear, but instead out of admiration.
Karen does her job so well because she believes being Club Nova's Director is her true calling. She states: "This is where I belong…everything I was born with, everything I've experienced in life, has led to me being here, I mean, all my talent, skill and knowledge it's all getting to be used and appreciated." [Hear say this statement.] Karen works predominantly in the Club House. The Thrift Shop is only one small facet of the many Club Nova sub-organizations Karen oversees. Club Nova is split into many units: a culinary unit, an administrative unit, a communication unit. Among other things, these units address housing, supported education and employment issues. Members and staff alike run these units. When not working in these units, Karen's main job is to be a presence in the Club House. Here, she build relationships with staff, community contacts and, of course, Club House Members. With 14 years of experience behind her, Karen has made lasting friendships with all involved in Club Nova. Karen stresses these are friendships, as opposed to psychologist/patient or boss/worker dynamics. Friendships require mutual trust and respect. Club Members thrive when given this trust. Club Nova believes people become what you expect of them; if you treat them as colleagues, they will become colleagues, capable of a wealth of activities and responsibilities.
Despite all Karen's success, there are still headaches. As with any non-profit organization, money is a huge issue. Like Camellia, Karen has to be very conscious of Club Nova's funding and expenses. The cost of keeping up Club Nova - paying the staff, buying food, heating and lighting the house, etc. - is considerable. The funding for Club Nova, unfortunately, is not. To make matters worse, the legal wrangling of trying to increase funding is difficult. "The paper trail is just seemingly endless" Karen says. "The whole mental health system is over-regulated. All these regulations cost a lot of money. If we weren't so over-regulated, there would be a significant amount of more money to provide the opportunities we are here to provide." For example, medical record keeping is redundant. If one small change is made in state forms, then most forms must subsequently be altered and sent back into the state. These constant changes in state and federal statues and regulations create a whirlwind of paperwork. This paperwork, which Karen attests is often "meaningless" is quite time consuming. As with any organization, time is money. It is tragic that a community such as Club Nova is suspect to the confusing, capricious and constricting regulations of our society. Simply put, "Our culture is crazy with litigation." [Hear Karen discuss financial issues.]
Thankfully, in the end, money is not at the heart of Karen's and Club Nova's job. Karen and Club Nova's main goal and greatest achievement is building a community, a family of 90 Club House Members and 8 staff. Karen is the undisputed and proud leader of this community. [Hear Karen discuss this community.] Energetic, eccentric and loving, Karen is your sibling's best friend matured, working her wonders not to help the Seniors win Spirit Week, but instead to help the lives of Chapel Hill's mentally ill better.
Karen does her job so well because she believes being Club Nova's Director is her true calling. She states: "This is where I belong…everything I was born with, everything I've experienced in life, has led to me being here, I mean, all my talent, skill and knowledge it's all getting to be used and appreciated." [Hear say this statement.] Karen works predominantly in the Club House. The Thrift Shop is only one small facet of the many Club Nova sub-organizations Karen oversees. Club Nova is split into many units: a culinary unit, an administrative unit, a communication unit. Among other things, these units address housing, supported education and employment issues. Members and staff alike run these units. When not working in these units, Karen's main job is to be a presence in the Club House. Here, she build relationships with staff, community contacts and, of course, Club House Members. With 14 years of experience behind her, Karen has made lasting friendships with all involved in Club Nova. Karen stresses these are friendships, as opposed to psychologist/patient or boss/worker dynamics. Friendships require mutual trust and respect. Club Members thrive when given this trust. Club Nova believes people become what you expect of them; if you treat them as colleagues, they will become colleagues, capable of a wealth of activities and responsibilities.
Despite all Karen's success, there are still headaches. As with any non-profit organization, money is a huge issue. Like Camellia, Karen has to be very conscious of Club Nova's funding and expenses. The cost of keeping up Club Nova - paying the staff, buying food, heating and lighting the house, etc. - is considerable. The funding for Club Nova, unfortunately, is not. To make matters worse, the legal wrangling of trying to increase funding is difficult. "The paper trail is just seemingly endless" Karen says. "The whole mental health system is over-regulated. All these regulations cost a lot of money. If we weren't so over-regulated, there would be a significant amount of more money to provide the opportunities we are here to provide." For example, medical record keeping is redundant. If one small change is made in state forms, then most forms must subsequently be altered and sent back into the state. These constant changes in state and federal statues and regulations create a whirlwind of paperwork. This paperwork, which Karen attests is often "meaningless" is quite time consuming. As with any organization, time is money. It is tragic that a community such as Club Nova is suspect to the confusing, capricious and constricting regulations of our society. Simply put, "Our culture is crazy with litigation." [Hear Karen discuss financial issues.]
Thankfully, in the end, money is not at the heart of Karen's and Club Nova's job. Karen and Club Nova's main goal and greatest achievement is building a community, a family of 90 Club House Members and 8 staff. Karen is the undisputed and proud leader of this community. [Hear Karen discuss this community.] Energetic, eccentric and loving, Karen is your sibling's best friend matured, working her wonders not to help the Seniors win Spirit Week, but instead to help the lives of Chapel Hill's mentally ill better.