Trentkemp

I am thrilled to be sharing my accomplishments with you all during this holiday season. My name is Trent Kemp. I have been a member of Connections House since November 20, 2012. The reason that I mention the specific date is because something very special happened on my 10th Clubhouse anniversary—I performed a Rumba at the Connections House annual gala, achieving a secret goal I had for myself since 2017.

I attend Connections House almost every day and am also very active in the weekend social programs and our young adult program—I like that I am 30 and still considered a young adult. In our community, members and staff get to know each other really well and become real friends. I am glad that membership is lifetime, so I can attend the program as much as I like to and for as long as I desire because membership is for life!

When I returned from the Seminar, I officially decided to become a So, Do You Think You Can Dance? Reach For the Stars! dance performer to help raise mental health awareness and to fundraise for Connections House programs. This was a dream come true for me! My partner Kassy and I designed our own costumes and performed for over 400 guests—we even won the award for best costume!

One of my favorite things we do is visit members who aren’t attending as much, or we have not seen in a while. We call this mobile reach out-I have been a member so long I feel famous, because so many members know me. I am very happy that I can work and choose the work that I do while I am at Connections House. I am in the DREEAM unit, but I have had the opportunity to be in the kitchen—this year I even got my food handlers permit through the Clubhouse!

I am proud to share many goals I have reached this year thanks to the support of the Connections House. I attended a Clubhouse International Seminar with my colleagues in Baltimore Maryland for seven days. It was really exciting to be on the East Coast for the first time, and to meet so many Clubhouse people from around the world.

This fall I also was determined to reach another goal: to return to school. So, I enrolled in the S.P.I.R.I.T. program through Contra Costa College –where I am already a student as a psychology major—and will begin school in January to become a community support worker. The S.P.I.R.I.T. (The Service Provider Individualized Recovery Intensive Training) program through Contra Costa Behavioral Health is a 9 – unit college course taught in collaboration with Contra Costa College. The course teaches students how to develop core skills to empower themselves by attaining and maintaining recovery and resiliency through self-awareness and peer/family support, while learning to assist others in doing the same. Thanks to the Clubhouse, I have reached this important personal goal—I am so excited to see what 2023 brings for me!

Meet Trent Kemp

Let's Take A Moment and Read Trent's Story