DETROIT — Standing in the middle of poverty-stricken Detroit like an oasis in the desert, the Arab and Chaldean Council Clubhouse has established itself as a place of healing for Wayne County residents suffering with mental and substance abuse problems.

Joyce Johnson (left) helped give Youkhana Kako the support he needed through the ACC Clubhouse to get clean after a drug addiction took over his life. Ilkhazan is currently studying with Johnson in order to pass the U.S. citizenship test. PHOTOS: Nick Meyer/TAAN

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, the clubhouse hosted a Recovery/Eid Party for those who have used the support offered to heal in the face of adversity.
Keynote speaker Jamar Horride, a project consultant for the enhanced employment program of Detroit and Wayne County’s Community Mental Health Agency, said that the key to getting clean from alcohol or drugs or mental illnesses great and small is to admit you have a problem and to seek help.

“The change happened for me when I began to open up and let individuals in who were trying to help,” said Horride, during his speech to clubhouse members.

“We have to believe and be focused and motivated to change,” he added.

Horride witnessed his best friend commit suicide at age 13 and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He violently acted out afterwards but eventually began to open up about his problems.

Now he offers help to others through various programs much the same way the ACC does through its clubhouse.

ACC Clubhouse Director Abdelwahab Alawneh

Clubhouse Director Abdelwahhab Alawneh calls it the “most diverse clubhouse in the world,” with patients ranging from people of Middle Eastern descent to Asian to Caucasian and African American, all receiving support.
The culturally sensitive clubhouse, opened in 2007, offers English and U.S. citizenship classes, transportation to jobs, and support for those who need help for mental health problems and substance abuse. Many attendees are also trained to work in the kitchen or on the cash register in the snack shop to give them a better sense of purpose and duty, and other events like women only dances and arts and crafts days allow them to gain a better sense of self.

Patients must be referred by their therapist, and ACC takes care of the paperwork from there.

Thirty-eight-year-old Youkhana Kako of Detroit was one of the success stories celebrating his recovery on Tuesday with a home-cooked lunch of chicken, rice, and beef kafta after winning a Certificate of Appreciation Award. He received personal support from Joyce Johnson of the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries to help him get clean through the clubhouse.

“With no support, I was going to fail, but when we come here, it’s like home for us,” he said. “Joyce is one of the nicest ladies I’ve ever met.

“They gave me the support to stop my drug habit through support meetings and they help us get jobs; they do a lot for us.”

Also on hand to celebrate was Iltefat Ilkhazan, who came to America from Iraq in 1996. Ilkhazan has been divorced twice and has eight children, seven of whom live with her in Detroit. The struggles of raising the kids on her own and having one of her daughters taken away by an ex-husband led her into a deep depression, but she found a home at the clubhouse.

“The ACC has helped me so much, they changed my life,” she said. “I wanted to die, but they changed everything. I feel like I have brothers and sisters here, like I have a family.”

The ACC helped straighten out things in court so she could keep custody of two of her sons and is now helping her get her GED so she can go into nursing.

“At first I thought I couldn’t make it when I was by myself, but now with my experience I know I can make it,” she said.

The clubhouse is funded by the Detroit Wayne County Mental Health Agency.

For more information on programs offered by the ACC, visit //www.myacc.org.