Club Horizon

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Wake County received a donation of $10,000 honoring Derek Pearson, a young man from Raleigh with schizophrenia. This donation provided NAMI Wake the initial funding needed to fulfill their dream of creating a community program for adults with mental illness which would provide a sense of safety and belonging as they began the recovery process. NAMI Wake, along with a group of family members, friends, and persons living with mental illness, choose to open a non-profit Clubhouse Model program which would be available to all adults with serious mental illness living in Wake County.

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A NAMI Committee, working with staff from Wake County Human Services established Derek’s Renaissance House (DRH), Inc. during the summer of 2002. This committee recognized the impact of mental health reform in Wake County and worked diligently to establish and open the Clubhouse program. The establishment of Derek’s Renaissance House was a community effort. Wake County Human Services provided $90,000 in start-up funds which were provided by the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services as a result of the downsizing and closure of hospital beds at Dorothea Dix Hospital. Eli Lilly and Company provided the first corporate gift in the amount of $10,000.

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The first official fund-raising event was held during the fall of 2003 Nina’s Restaurant, sponsored by Nina and Chris Psarros in memory of their son, Daniel F. Boylan, Jr. In November 2003, DRH encountered problems with the City of Raleigh zoning codes, which prohibited the establishment of a psychosocial rehabilitation program in the city limits. This barrier provided the incentive for advocate Ann Akland, former President of the Board to advocate for change in Raleigh zoning laws. Derek’s Renaissance House, Inc. officially opened Club Horizon, (saving the name Derek’s Renaissance House for a Clubhouse within the city limits) and began to work with persons diagnosed with mental illness in September of 2004. Club Horizon is located in Knightdale just outside of Raleigh.