Fountain House was the first program of its kind. The model was spread across the US and eventually internationally starting in the 1950s, led largely by the National Council of Jewish Women. The model spread further with funding from the National Institute of Mental Health in 1977 for the National Clubhouse Training Program. In the mid-1990s New York City added "16 new clubhouses" that were funded, in part by "savings from the closing of several state mental hospitals into community programs."