COSIG CONFERENCE BROCHURE.pdf - Drexel University College ...

FAIRWEATHER LODGE FIDELITY
Principles, Practices, Outcomes and Satisfaction
Fidelity to the principles and practices of the Fairweather Lodge is important for a number of
reasons. But participant outcomes and participant satisfaction are a test of fidelity at least as
important to the spirit of the Fairweather Model as any checklist of programmatic elements. A
comprehensive assessment of Lodge success, therefore, involves: 1) Adherence to the Lodge
Principles; 2) Implementation of Lodge Practices; 3) Demonstrated Outcomes; and 4) Participant
Satisfaction (see page 6).
Principles
In his ground-breaking 1963 book, Community Life for the Mentally Ill, Dr. Fairweather
established thirteen principles for successfully integrating people with mental illness into the
community. Although all thirteen were valid at the time, the eight principles updated for this
assessment tool are those which remain relevant to distinguishing the unique values of a
Fairweather Lodge. A program which is at odds with these principles might be a wonderful
program, but it is not a Fairweather Lodge.
Practices
Over the last forty years, as practitioners have experimented with the Lodge Model, a wide
variety of practices have been implemented with various degrees of success. The sixteen
practices selected for this assessment are those which have enjoyed the greatest success. We
recognize that conditions vary from one setting to the next, and that the most successful
practitioners are those who can adapt to local conditions, but these sixteen practices are highly
recommended, especially for new programs.
Outcomes
We presume that anyone associated with a Fairweather Lodge will have a philosophical affinity
for the values defined by the eight Principles and sixteen Practices. And it is easy to get
engrossed in implementing the principles and practices while at the same time struggling to
obtain/maintain funding, hire/supervise staff, recruit/ screen participants. But hopefully, the
reason practitioners choose the Lodge Model in the first place is because of the potential
outcomes, and any assessment of Lodge success needs to examine the outcomes produced.