A rehabilitation facility in Pembroke that helps people with substance abuse and mental health disorders is working to expand its services to include a clubhouse component.

The programme, which would provide a restorative environment for people whose lives have been disrupted because of mental illness, is one of several initiatives Dignity House plans to pursue.

Kim and Nicholas Darceuil launched Dignity House in March 2022 to provide dual treatment to people suffering from substance abuse and mental health conditions.

Mr Darceuil said the clubhouse programme would provide an opportunity for new clients and those who successfully complete the facility’s programme to meet and share experiences.

The couple said that since the launch, the residential facility had been filling a void for people who experienced the two challenges.

Mrs Darceuil said: “Sometimes people have multiple admissions for the same thing and we realise that medication alone is not sufficient.

“People need to know how to remain healthy mentally and how to remain substance-free. And we are here to help them.”

The centre runs an acute programme where treatment is provided to people such as those with daily jobs and who need support for mental health challenges.

Its rehabilitation programme focuses on clients who are underinsured, homeless or who cannot afford to be treated over a long-term period.

Mr Darceuil added: “It is an entire aggressive, emotional approach to supporting people with mental health challenges.”

Dignity House treats different groups of clients within eight to 12-week periods and it can house 17 clients at a time at its Bluff Lane facility in Pembroke.

Mr Darceuil said that the facility had successfully treated people experiencing bouts of mental health before they returned to the community.

He added that it had a 62 per cent success rate since its launch.

Mr Darceuil said: “We have had both males and females, who had been just stressed out because of marriage, physical or job-related challenges and they are now back into the community living a different life.”

Clients have ranged in age from 20 to 74 and came from various backgrounds within the community.

The facility is attached to a recently launched charity, the Dignity Foundation, and the couple are looking for help to offset costs for clients in need but who cannot afford treatment.

Mr Darceuil explained that some clients use the Government’s financial assistance programme and pay $3,000 for treatment at Dignity House.

However, he said the normal cost to take care of a client ranged from $6,000 to $7,000.

This year, clients were charged $5,000 for treatment but next year the fee is expected to increase since the facility struggled to reach out to support some clients, given its monthly expenses.

Mr Darceuil said the Dignity Foundation was a useful avenue for people to support the rehabilitation programme.

The facility also works with insurance companies to offset costs for clients, some of whom receive a full service, equating to programmes which people often travel for overseas.

The facility, which works with Solstice Bermuda, runs its programme over a three to 12-month period, although they can be extended depending on the volume of support needed.

Within the first three months, clients join group sessions in the mornings, followed by devotions and later, life skills, therapy and counselling sessions in the evenings.

“We are structurally treating mental health challenges, the clients may see the psychiatrist once a month or when needed and then we step up to the supported living phase and we should see some level of change by then,” Mr Darceuil said.

The final leg of treatment is an independent living phase where the facility helps clients to find an apartment and work so that they can return safely to society.

Mr Darceuil said: “When you see lives change and you help people walk through the most difficult times in their lives and you see that person working or even driving and they hail you, it’s really life-changing.”

The couple are working to gain accreditation for Dignity House from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, based in Canada.

Reviews carried out by the commission are used “to determine if programmes and services offered by providers meet defined international standards of quality in health and human services”, its website said.