Interlude's History

Interlude Inc. was founded by the late Celine Karraker in 1978, after a personal struggle to find caring, personalized help for her daughter Nell - who had schizophrenia.  The original program was a halfway house designed to offer a non-institutional, safe, family style home for men and women with mental illness.

"The beginnings of Interlude stem from the anguish and frustration I felt trying to find a place for my daughter, who was struggling with schizophrenia. I wanted a non-institutional, safe, communal, and caring home. I was tired of hearing what many doctors told me: that she could never live independently, may not develop fully as a human being. I was fed up with the stereotypes surrounding the mentally ill, assumptions that they are dangerous, mentally retarded, or victims of poor parenting." – Celine Karraker, Founder

How did Celine choose the Interlude name? Celine, an amateur musician, wanted to create a program that would become an 'Interlude' between sickness and health. (Interlude is a musical term meaning a transitional portion of music in between movements).

Although recovering from mental illness is often a complicated journey, Celine knew that people with mental illness could focus on their recovery in a safe, caring environment with staff to provide counseling and case management services.  

Since Celine's original vision of a group home, Interlude has grown from a tiny staff serving 10 clients to operate multiple residential programs.

With your help, we continue Celine's caring vision to provide a haven
for people with mental illness, to this day and into the future.