Agency Overview: Difference between revisions
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*[http://itech.dickinson.edu/wiki/index.php/The_Stevens_Center Back to The Stevens Center] | |||
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== '''Location''' == | |||
The branch of the Stevens Center at 253 Penrose is Carlisle's drop-in psychological and social rehabilitation center. The Center is open 8-3:30 Monday through Friday, and closed on the weekends. | |||
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== '''Mission''' == | |||
The mission of the Stevens Foundation is to provide persons with cognitive, developmental and physical disabilities access to programs and services that will help them attain their life goals. It is also their mission to assist family, friends and the community in their efforts to ensure full participation and success in all aspects of life for persons with disabilities. (Stevens Foundation Website) | |||
Carlisle's Stevens Center hopes to empower its members by providing a healthy and comfortable enviornment for recreation purposes, to learn independence, to gain employment, and in general, to have a normal life. The members themselves run the day to day operations of the building, while the administrator oversees all management aspects. There is a hot lunch offered three days a week, an organized trip, occasional parties, outings or in-house movies. The members decide the menu for the lunches, buy and prepare all the food, clean the kitchen and divide the daily chores between themselves each day. There are also opportunities to work as janitorial staff, in the horticulture room, preparing meals and for the Warmline. | |||
' | The central mission can be summed up in three words: empowerment, confidence, and flexibility. Many of these members have been told that they are worthless, and the mission here is to try to get them to take back their life. The director of this program, Stephanie, wants to give the members a level of flexibility, a chance to find values that perhaps previously had been lost, and feel empowered with the belief that they are just as normal as everyone is. The key point here being...these members are just like the rest of us, except they have different methods of executing life's tasks. Thus, they want to teach these methods of coping in a way that can empower each member. | ||
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== '''History''' == | |||
''' | The history of how the Steven's Center came about is more of a developmental process than an idea. They first started out on Louther Street, known as the Sadler clinic. They were really small and their main focus was social rehabilatation within the group. It was more of a "drop in" and "hangout" center in the beginning. The individuals that are a part of this group are called "members," and it was a place for them to expand socially and learn how to interact in different situations. However, as useful as this might be, the facilitators realized that they needed to place a stronger emphasis on psychological rehabilitation. Thanks to innovative technology, we are beginning to see the emergence of a new school of thought concerning the treatment of disabilities. First and foremost, there is the time-honored medical model. This system is defined by the medical professions' classification of patients as "sick" people who are in need of rigid supervision and instruction. Although seeing a doctor and being treated is vitally important to one's health, there is also another aspect of personal rehabilitation that needs to be accounted for. This is called the recovery model. This style of treatment encourages the individual to make their own decisions; it is based upon the belief that pursuing your own individuality is the most successful form of care. Because of this type of modeling, the Steven's group needed to expand, and that is when they moved to the office near Walmart. The main focus at this clinic is to help members regain a level of functioning that was stripped away when diagnosed with their illness; it is more of a psychological rehabilitation where they learn how to act in their own best interest instead of simply listening to regimented medical instruction. | ||
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== '''Services Offered''' == | |||
There are an array of different services provided by the Steven's Group. The first is obviously social rehabilitation, where they learn to build relationships, and improve their social skills. The second service is psychological rehabilitation, where they learn to rebuild their own life based on their own decisions. Also, they have a consumer run hotline service, called the "Warmline," for positive reinforcement. A member who may need someone to listen to their problems or to help them finish their day could call this number for support. Finally there are numerous employement opportunities within the Steven's Group. Many of the members here have not had a job in 20 years, so opportunities for empolyment include, cooking, cleaning, running errands, etc. If you are empolyed by the Steven's Group, you are called a "Member-Employee." The employment opportunities serve to slowly incorporate them back into the "normal" life they once had. Also, many workshops are provided for purposes of recovery. These workshops focus on the individual's skills, so there might be a knitting workshop or a painting workshop which allows one to explore their hidden talents. So often the members are devalued and marginalized by those "normal" people that they in turn separate themselves from the rest of the world and forget they actually have talent and achievable goals. | |||
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||
== '''The Director''' == | |||
Stephanie Faron first became interested in doing social work involving people with disabilities when she was in college. It was during this time that she landed a summer job working at a facility that treated many individuals living with disability. At first she recalled being scared, but soon developed a passion for the line of work. It is her desire and ultimate goal to help the people in the Stevens Group to regain their independence as well as their recognition as citizens who have an active and positive role in society. The Stevens Group is more of a club that is designed to provide a social and comfortable environment, where the members can feel like they are not being treated like they have a disability. To Faron, this perspective is destructive as well as false. In her own words, "just because you have a disability doesn't mean you can't take care of yourself," and that is what she stresses at the Stevens Group. | |||
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== '''How to Become a Member''' == | |||
' | Most of the individuals who come to the Stevens Group are "high functioning." However, a good portion of the people there were previously in hospitals for years, where lying in bed and receiving treatment was the normal daily practice for them. Each member has a case manager who follows the individual's progress, condition, as well as the wants and needs of the individual. If the case manager as well as the individual would like the individual to become involved with the Stevens Group, the case manager must write a referral. At this point, the potential member comes in for an interview with Stephanie Faron. In this interview, Faron assesses if he or she is appropriate by the behavior and attitude they present. At this point in time, Faron has only ever turned away one individual because the person was offensive and angry, a potentially destructive element to add to the amiable atmosphere at the Stevens Group. | ||
What Stephanie Faron stresses when speaking of the members' past up until the point of joining the Stevens Group is the concept of loss. By the time the individuals become a part of the Stevens Group they have lost everything. Due to the policies that are in place regarding the area of mental health, a person usually has to lose everything before he or she can get help. They lose their job, their friends, their car, their family sometimes, their money, the house, and their identity. The provides this opportunity for them to get help, but only once they have usually reached rock bottom. | |||
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Latest revision as of 20:27, 4 May 2005
Location
The branch of the Stevens Center at 253 Penrose is Carlisle's drop-in psychological and social rehabilitation center. The Center is open 8-3:30 Monday through Friday, and closed on the weekends.
Mission
The mission of the Stevens Foundation is to provide persons with cognitive, developmental and physical disabilities access to programs and services that will help them attain their life goals. It is also their mission to assist family, friends and the community in their efforts to ensure full participation and success in all aspects of life for persons with disabilities. (Stevens Foundation Website)
Carlisle's Stevens Center hopes to empower its members by providing a healthy and comfortable enviornment for recreation purposes, to learn independence, to gain employment, and in general, to have a normal life. The members themselves run the day to day operations of the building, while the administrator oversees all management aspects. There is a hot lunch offered three days a week, an organized trip, occasional parties, outings or in-house movies. The members decide the menu for the lunches, buy and prepare all the food, clean the kitchen and divide the daily chores between themselves each day. There are also opportunities to work as janitorial staff, in the horticulture room, preparing meals and for the Warmline.
The central mission can be summed up in three words: empowerment, confidence, and flexibility. Many of these members have been told that they are worthless, and the mission here is to try to get them to take back their life. The director of this program, Stephanie, wants to give the members a level of flexibility, a chance to find values that perhaps previously had been lost, and feel empowered with the belief that they are just as normal as everyone is. The key point here being...these members are just like the rest of us, except they have different methods of executing life's tasks. Thus, they want to teach these methods of coping in a way that can empower each member.
History
The history of how the Steven's Center came about is more of a developmental process than an idea. They first started out on Louther Street, known as the Sadler clinic. They were really small and their main focus was social rehabilatation within the group. It was more of a "drop in" and "hangout" center in the beginning. The individuals that are a part of this group are called "members," and it was a place for them to expand socially and learn how to interact in different situations. However, as useful as this might be, the facilitators realized that they needed to place a stronger emphasis on psychological rehabilitation. Thanks to innovative technology, we are beginning to see the emergence of a new school of thought concerning the treatment of disabilities. First and foremost, there is the time-honored medical model. This system is defined by the medical professions' classification of patients as "sick" people who are in need of rigid supervision and instruction. Although seeing a doctor and being treated is vitally important to one's health, there is also another aspect of personal rehabilitation that needs to be accounted for. This is called the recovery model. This style of treatment encourages the individual to make their own decisions; it is based upon the belief that pursuing your own individuality is the most successful form of care. Because of this type of modeling, the Steven's group needed to expand, and that is when they moved to the office near Walmart. The main focus at this clinic is to help members regain a level of functioning that was stripped away when diagnosed with their illness; it is more of a psychological rehabilitation where they learn how to act in their own best interest instead of simply listening to regimented medical instruction.
Services Offered
There are an array of different services provided by the Steven's Group. The first is obviously social rehabilitation, where they learn to build relationships, and improve their social skills. The second service is psychological rehabilitation, where they learn to rebuild their own life based on their own decisions. Also, they have a consumer run hotline service, called the "Warmline," for positive reinforcement. A member who may need someone to listen to their problems or to help them finish their day could call this number for support. Finally there are numerous employement opportunities within the Steven's Group. Many of the members here have not had a job in 20 years, so opportunities for empolyment include, cooking, cleaning, running errands, etc. If you are empolyed by the Steven's Group, you are called a "Member-Employee." The employment opportunities serve to slowly incorporate them back into the "normal" life they once had. Also, many workshops are provided for purposes of recovery. These workshops focus on the individual's skills, so there might be a knitting workshop or a painting workshop which allows one to explore their hidden talents. So often the members are devalued and marginalized by those "normal" people that they in turn separate themselves from the rest of the world and forget they actually have talent and achievable goals.
The Director
Stephanie Faron first became interested in doing social work involving people with disabilities when she was in college. It was during this time that she landed a summer job working at a facility that treated many individuals living with disability. At first she recalled being scared, but soon developed a passion for the line of work. It is her desire and ultimate goal to help the people in the Stevens Group to regain their independence as well as their recognition as citizens who have an active and positive role in society. The Stevens Group is more of a club that is designed to provide a social and comfortable environment, where the members can feel like they are not being treated like they have a disability. To Faron, this perspective is destructive as well as false. In her own words, "just because you have a disability doesn't mean you can't take care of yourself," and that is what she stresses at the Stevens Group.
How to Become a Member
Most of the individuals who come to the Stevens Group are "high functioning." However, a good portion of the people there were previously in hospitals for years, where lying in bed and receiving treatment was the normal daily practice for them. Each member has a case manager who follows the individual's progress, condition, as well as the wants and needs of the individual. If the case manager as well as the individual would like the individual to become involved with the Stevens Group, the case manager must write a referral. At this point, the potential member comes in for an interview with Stephanie Faron. In this interview, Faron assesses if he or she is appropriate by the behavior and attitude they present. At this point in time, Faron has only ever turned away one individual because the person was offensive and angry, a potentially destructive element to add to the amiable atmosphere at the Stevens Group.
What Stephanie Faron stresses when speaking of the members' past up until the point of joining the Stevens Group is the concept of loss. By the time the individuals become a part of the Stevens Group they have lost everything. Due to the policies that are in place regarding the area of mental health, a person usually has to lose everything before he or she can get help. They lose their job, their friends, their car, their family sometimes, their money, the house, and their identity. The provides this opportunity for them to get help, but only once they have usually reached rock bottom.
