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Persons living with mental health challenges are at increased risk of stigma, social isolation, and social exclusion. Due to its emphasis on member participation and community, the clubhouse model of mental health may help address these issues. In this study, we examined experiences of social belonging and of various social determinants of mental health among members attending a psychosocial clubhouse. Twelve members of a large psychosocial clubhouse were interviewed regarding their experiences of community life and belonging. Phenomenological qualitative methods were utilized to examine the meaning and structure of these experiences. Members overwhelmingly experienced the clubhouse as a central site of belonging ("an oasis"), but members also recounted devastating portraits of life in the outside world ("a desert"). This world presented fundamental restrictions on their movement and speech and held deeply sedimented norms pertaining to who is considered valuable, productive, and even human, which they were reminded of through an endless tyranny of questions ("what do you do," "where do you live," etc.). Life in the clubhouse presented an alternative world for members to experience nourishment, dignity, reaffirmed personhood, and a sense of beauty. And yet, the desert outside remained. Implications of these findings for clubhouses, mental health practice, and sociopolitical and community engagement are discussed, including the need to address profound deprivations and power imbalances within the wider world, beyond the walls of humane spaces such as these. Public Policy Relevance Statement: Members who attended a psychosocial clubhouse for mental health were able to experience nourishment, dignity, reaffirmed personhood, and a sense of beauty, but oppressive meanings and structures in the wider world remained. These findings suggest the need for clubhouse and broader mental health policy to focus greater attention on advocacy, community engagement, and sociopolitical issues, including societal restrictions on members' movement and speech, and the constant scrutiny and questioning they endure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]