Community Comes to Aid of Laurel House Following Vandalism

Area groups are working hard to get a local clubhouse back on its feet. 

Laurel House, a Livingston Avenue clubhouse for adults living with mental illness, was broken into and vandalized sometime the weekend of October 25-28.

According to program coordinator Allison Powers, vandals broke in through a window and destroyed the house over the weekend, while it was vacant.

As a result, the organization had to close its doors to its members for two days and bring in a cleaning crew to help fix the mess and replace appliances and fixtures. 

Despite the challenge, Powers said a number of supporters have jumped to help with the recovery, donating money, furniture and time to help get the clubhouse back in order.

"They're willing to do what we need them to do," she said.

Laurel House executive director Deborah Kaufman said a lot of that support has come as a result of an email that was sent out from the state Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, asking for people to come forward and help Laurel House.

It subsequently went viral and spread all over the area, and since then, many area nonprofits have reached out, she said.

Laurel House is affiliated with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Middlesex and the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD).

It has a number of local supporters, including the department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling at UMDNJ, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Rutgers Community Health Foundation, Magyar Bank and the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

The purpose of Laurel House is to provide a supportive haven for adults with mental illness to come on a voluntary basis and ease into a daily working routine through chores, social gatherings, and other structured activities like daily meal preparation, job skills training and the production of a newsletter. 

It is the first clubhouse in New Jersey and the only one in Middlesex County. 

Kaufman said the destruction resulted in the loss of their stove, which has since been replaced. Three computers, a keyboard and a laser printer were also destroyed, which prevents the newsletter from being produced, she said. 

They are accepting donations from anyone who wants to help Laurel House get back up and running as it was. 

For more information on Laurel House, visit www.laurelhousemiddlesex.org.