Oasis House Welcomes New Program Coordinator
Four years ago, Rebecca Franz worked as a part-time generalist at Bell’s Oasis House program for a summer. She really liked the program, the people she worked with and the relationships she developed.
Come fall, Rebeca left the job, “regretfully,” she shared, to take a full-time position elsewhere to meet her family’s needs at the time. She continued to stay in touch with then-program coordinator, Joanna Richoux, though, and stopped in a few times just to check in.
Today, Rebecca Franz is back at Oasis House. This time, she’s the program coordinator.
Bringing her education, her work experience, and a large measure of enthusiasm and desire to learn, Rebecca is well-positioned to meet the responsibilities of the role successfully. And she is a true believer in the Clubhouse model.
“I really love the membership aspect,” she told us. “I love seeing the teamwork and people working side by side.” She continued, “The Clubhouse model is in alignment with Bell’s mission and vision. Sometimes I feel like I’m working in two worlds, with the Clubhouse International policies and standards, and then Bell’s protocols, but overall, it fits together nicely.”
Rebecca finds the work rewarding. “I’ve seen people coming in with a certain mood,” she said, “and then as they engage and receive support, you see that mood change through the course of the day, and they’re feeling better.” She enjoys seeing the pride people seem to derive from their efforts and their accomplishments.
The Clubhouse environment overall, Rebecca says, is “very welcoming and positive. Everybody’s been super friendly. Staff are great and patient. Having been without a program coordinator for a few months, they’ve had to learn and do a lot, too.” Now it’s Rebecca’s turn to step in and assume those responsibilities. Part of that learning will be attending a two-week Clubhouse International Colleague Training in September.
When asked what she was most looking forward to in her new role, Rebecca answered that it would be understanding more about her responsibilities. “Learning more and more about Clubhouse and the philosophies and standards will help me grow into the role. I’m really looking forward to learning and growing and meeting people here and from other Clubhouses.
Rebecca shares a home with her husband and two sons in Dallastown. One of her sons, she told us when we sat down for this interview, is a recent honors graduate from Penn State York with a degree in English and a minor in writing digital content. He now is also a part of the Bell family; Gavin started as Bell’s Communications Coordinator on June 26. While he didn’t write this article, he did snap the accompanying photos of his mom at Oasis House to round out the piece.