Fairweather Lodge

Pennsylvania - Stairways Behavioral Health - Erie http://www.stairwaysbh.org

- Human Services Center - New Castle http://www.humanservicescenter.net

- Fayette County Community Action Agency - Uniontown  http://www.fccaa.org

- New Visions, Inc - Shippensburg http://www.new-visions.org

- Paxton Ministries - Harrisburg http://www.paxtonmin.org

- Strawberry Fields, Inc. State College http://www.sfionline.org

- Venango Training and Development Center - Seneca http://www.vtdc.org

-Threshold Rehabilitation Services - Reading https://www.trsinc.org

The Fairweather Lodge Program helps people reintegrate themselves into the community by providing emotional support, a place to live, and employment for its members.

The program was developed by Dr. George Fairweather in California in 1963 as a result of extensive experimental research.

In his studies, Dr. Fairweather found that people with serious mental illness are less likely to return to the hospital when they live and work together as a group, rather than live and work individually.

His research also showed that the lodge program helps people stay in the community longer, provides more employment opportunities, and costs less than conventional treatment programs.

Because of the success of the original groups, the Community Lodge Program has expanded considerably during the past 25 years and there are now lodges across the nation.

Fairweather Lodge for Veterans in Pennsylvania

In April of 2016, OMHSAS made state funds available for the start-up of a statewide veteran Fairweather Lodge Initiative.  OMHSAS was also awarded a federal Money Follows the Person (MFP) grant to develop Veteran specific Fairweather Lodges.