Andrew and the Secret Mall Apartment
A member since the fall of 2021, Andrew enjoys the sense of community that the clubhouse provides. He also likes the opportunity to get out of his own headspace once in a while and socialize with his peers.
Volunteering at Connections Place gives Andrew a chance to participate in some meaningful work that also has rehabilitative merit. He is curious to see how some of the recent changes made around the clubhouse will be implemented.
Okay, so maybe Andrew doesn’t actually live inside a secret mall apartment, but he did recently see a documentary about the phenomenon and highly recommends it to others. Secret Mall Apartment is a documentary film that tells the true story of eight Rhode Islanders who created a secret apartment inside the busy Providence Place Mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way.
Program Staff Member Leah Ralph
Leah has been a staff member with Connections Place since early 2022 and has been doing an amazing job at creating delicious and nutritious meals for the Clubhouse community from the very beginning. Leah stands out from the crowd in the way that she always greets people with warmth, enthusiasm, and friendliness. She is fun to work with, easy to hang out with, and when you talk to Leah, it feels like you are talking with a long-time friend. It’s also worth mentioning that Leah has a reputation as one of the hardest working staff members at Connections Place, even amongst the people who have never worked in the Kitchen and Joy unit with her.
So what does Leah like about the Clubhouse and what keeps her coming back to work day after day? She says it is all about being able to care for people, the sense of community, and that it is a space for shared values where everyone works together to the best of their abilities. She also likes the fact that she can just be herself at work.