Donna Maxon is ArchCare at Saint Teresa’s Housing for the Disabled Specialist working with families, ArchCare, and many other interested parties on Staten Island and beyond. This project has been ground breaking from the start. Throw in CV-19 and many things could have been different. Donna deserves much praise for her work on this and many other Autism and Special Needs projects on Staten Island. The update below is direct from Donna:
In early March activities and events continued for tenants and included:
Church Club met twice, which supports tenants attending Sunday Mass together at Saint Teresa;
Pizza and Bingo Night;
Sunday Dinner/Cooking Class; and
Crime Prevention Presentation with Dinner – A local Police Officer spoke to tenants about best practices to ensure their safety.
Once CV-19 took over, many events were put on pause including:
Three additional Church Clubs;
Crafts night to make St Patrick’s Day decorations;
Two Game Nights;
Movie Night with Pizza;
Tenant Council Meeting;
St Patrick’s Day Party to include an Irish Cooking Demonstration;
Restaurant Club;
Cardinal Dolan’s Visit/Opening Event; and
Parent Support Group - suggested and run by tenant family members.
We were all especially disappointed that the Cardinal Dolan’s visit and the Grand Opening event was postponed from March 26th, 2020. We had a wonderful program planned and the tenants had identified a group craft project to make as a gift for the Cardinal. We hope this will be rescheduled when large gatherings are permitted and safe for all.
During CV-19, the building continued operations as follows:
Lounge areas were closed to prevent gatherings/Laundry Room remained open with special rules posted to limit one tenant at a time;
Site Coordinator continued to provide expanded services that included:
Communicated with all tenants and families;
Maintained communication with all tenants and families - provided friendly visits and support, as appropriate;
Ensured quarantine safety rules were being followed;
Disinfected commonly used building surfaces – twice daily;
Responded to emergencies- building floods, odors, alarms;
Interacted with the contractor and Maintenance to ensure repairs/ building maintenance; and
Supported smooth building operations including handling trash.
Tenants and families remain in communication with the Site Coordinator and Donna Maxon, and their reports indicate that they remain highly satisfied with the building and that the tenants are very happy at ArchCare at St Teresa. Friendships have formed, a strong sense of community has emerged, and tenants remain in contact with each other on their own.
As the program is now up and running, the ArchCare Autism Housing brand and model is more clearly defined to include:
Integrated Community that includes people with autism and neurotypcial tenants;
Family run activities, events, meetings, groups and presentations;
Unique building design that offers common areas to support socialization and interactions, both through activities published through calendars and announcements, as well as informal gatherings;
Tenant and Family Council Meetings to provide opportunities to participate actively;
Site Coordinator who lives at the building – professional expertise working with this population;
No direct care is provided by ArchCare, but tenants are free to have their own Self Hired Staff;
Simply Home technology installed in apartments to teach and support independent living skills;
Supportive and welcoming environment that includes: communication, active community, and involvement with the Parish.