AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin community-based organization is struggling to provide the mental health support its clients need and the group says it is all because of Gov. Gregg Abbott.
The group says his Executive Order GA-38 does not allow them to ask for proof of vaccination. So instead, they have to shut their doors.
Spending time outside the building is the closest Ashley Leonard can get to taking advantage of Austin Clubhouse right now. She stands in the garden watering some plants.
"[I] had almost nothing before I came here. I didn't have friends. I had some family. Just wasn't in great circumstances and they gave me a community and they just care about people," Leonard said.
Austin Clubhouse’s mission is to empower and support adults who have been diagnosed with mental health conditions. They do this by working side by side with them
"The way we recover and help people recover is through meaningful work, so we all run the place together. Even the members, we help," Leonard explained.
On Wednesday, they tried something new - hosting their work-ordered day on the lawn. Leonard helped staff generalist John Woods with some data entry.
"Members going through the psychiatric system - sometimes coming out of hospitals, prison, they might be homeless - from all walks of life come in," Woods said. "And the Clubhouse is unique in that we're non-clinical and we provide a real sense of need and camaraderie and community, where the staff literally needs the members help to run the organization."
Executive Director Sharon Lowe says the community organization recently closed its doors for a second time since the pandemic began.
"In March of 2020, we closed our facilities and pivoted to Zoom. And until March of 2021, we were basically closed. We started reopening a couple of days a week in March and on June 1, we opened five days a week, eight hours a day," Lowe explained.
Lowe says Austin Clubhouse has 1,200 lifelong members and about 130 active members.
"A typical day when we're in person on-site, we have 15 to 30 people on site. Where as on Zoom, we might have seven to 12 people during the course of the day, so we're not touching as many people," Lowe explained.
Lowe says they felt forced to close because the group can not require proof of vaccination. Governor Abbott's recent executive order prevents state-funded organizations like theirs from doing so.
"[It] prohibits us from checking vaccination records. Even though most of our people are vaccinated, we felt that that was something we could do to help ensure the safety of members," Lowe said.
Lowe hopes Gov. Abbott will reconsider his decision.
"It would be wonderful if the governor would choose to change his mind," Lowe said. "And not make organizations like Austin Clubhouse, not force us to make a choice between safety and isolation because isolation kills."