The model, which is non-residential, has its roots in a support group formed in 1943 inside Rockland Psychiatric Center in New York; when people were discharged they met in New York City, and eventually formalized their group in a house in Manhattan that was called "Fountain House". It was "the first psychiatric rehabilitation center of its kind in the United States." The group hired professional staff for the first time in 1955; together staff and members created a set of day programs that, along with the member-centered approach, became the model for other clubhouses.