June 22, 2026
Dear City Council Members,
My name is Sheryl Trainor, I am a volunteer with NAMI and Clubhouse El Dorado (https://namieldoradocounty.org/clubhouse-el-dorado/). The clubhouse is located in the city of Placerville. We have been in operation since August 2024.
In less than 2 years we have been in operation, we have grown to 300 plus members with an average daily attendance of 20 members. While we are applying for other funding streams, including becoming a Medi-Cal site certified and a managed care provider, as well as, soliciting grants and philanthropic donations, these will not cover the entire cost of the clubhouse program.
• For those not familiar with a Clubhouse model, it is open 5 days a week, 9- 5:00 pm with a work-day focus. It is recognized as a high value investment often costing ½ of traditional clinical models due to its reliance on peer-support and member run tasks
• It has been open all holidays for meals and connection, and provided 60 social outings on evenings and weekends via a grant to decrease isolation. As of the last few months:
• 94 resumes have been completed
• 95 jobs secured
• 135 interviews completed
• 44 members back in school
• 69 members linked to housing
• 273 linkages made to medical and other resources
• Over the last two years 16,000 meals made and served by members (as well as cleaning up!)
We are currently facing extreme funding cuts and became aware of the Cannabis Committee.
We are requesting a grant from the Cannabis Committee to continue funding our daily meal and nutrition program which includes teaching members how to plan, prepare and serve healthy breakfasts and lunches.
Many individuals living with serious mental illness experience food insecurity and limited access to nutritious meals. Rising grocery costs and unstable housing conditions have made healthy food increasingly difficult to obtain.
Although community partnerships have helped offset food expenses, costs continue to rise. Donations from Feeding the Foothills provides meat, and some eggs, bread and milk. A previous grant provided money for fresh fruits and vegetables, pantry staples, to go meal containers, and kitchen sanitation supplies.
The majority of our funding was provided through the county Mental Health Services Act from the state. This will drastically decrease with the new Behavioral Health legislation on July 1 -changing total amount of money available and services that can be covered. We will be optimizing these county funds and continue to engage with grant writing, community fundraisers, and private sponsorships – we received $150,000 in donations in fiscal year 2025-26.
In addition to the culinary program there are other needs for which we require funding from donations and fundraisers including transportation, meeting educational and employment requirements (finger printing) and accessing other community resources.
Please come by for a tour and let us know if you have any other questions. I plan on being present at the City Council meeting tomorrow June 23. Thankyou for considering our request! Sheryl Trainor
[email protected]
NAMI Board Member/ Clubhouse El Dorado Volunteer