Life Skills Helps Developmentally Disabled

By Alex Weinstock

Published: December 11, 2013

Albert walks into his apartment and takes off his shoes, hangs up his jacket and goes into his room. He gets ready for the game night being held at his build- ing. He’s excited to see his friends.

“I’m enjoying myself here,” Albert said.

While this might seem rather ordinary for most, it isn’t something Albert has always been used to. The apartment building he lives in is Life Skills, which is a facility that focuses on assisting adults who have developmental disabilities with leading an independent life. The building is an actual apartment complex for the clients to live in. Each client pays rent and takes care of a one bedroom apartment.

“If they’re here, they need support as far as their living establishment,” Team Lead Lakeisha Robinson said. “They need someone to assist their grooming or finances just teach them to be a productive citizen.”

To be a client at Life Skills, the individual must have been diagnosed with a developmental disability before the age of 21. The disabilities can range from mild mental retardation to autism or cerebral palsy. Life Skills as a whole has more than 1,000 clients.

“The idea is that they should feel like this is their home, and us as staff are coming in to provide them services, and that we leave so they don’t feel at any time that this is our property,” Community Living Manager Abbie Lincoln said.

The clients have jobs at local businesses and live like any other citizen. Clients come home to their apart- ment and work on long term goals they’ve set. Some goals may be as big as learning to drive a car while others may be as simple as putting fruit into their diet. Either way, the clients are learn from different experi- ences that help make them part of the community.

“The main thing is to help them accom- plish their goals,” Robinson said.

Many staff workers develop bonds with the clients while helping them attain their goals. The staff believes they are passionate about making sure the clients’ quality of life is the best it can be. Team members feel they go out of their way to implement activity nights, visit clients one-on-one, and host birthday parties. A person doesn’t have to be an employee at Life Skills to get involved. A volunteer can help at annual events that are held like the Festival of the Trees Gala in November, or they can be a part of specific programs like Make it a Home, where one can donate money or items to a client’s new home.

“It’s all about the needs of the client. That’s all we do,” Program Supervisor Paulette Webb said. “It’s great to help people who aren’t able to help themselves.”
It’s rewarding. I feel good to do something that could be to the average individual simple but can mean so much to someone else. It’s just great.”

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