Off-campus home helps prepare students for adult placement

For most students, Heartspring becomes home when they enroll in the school. Until last January, “home” was one of six houses located on the Heartspring campus. For three students, a new and exciting opportunity has allowed them to experience residential life outside of Heartspring’s borders. Group Home Seven, more commonly known as G7, opened in January 2010 as a training house for students who would soon be transitioning into an adult placement.

According to Paul Faber, Heartspring executive vice president of operations, the concept of G7 had been discussed for several years. Toward the end of 2009, there was a waiting list for students to enroll in Heartspring, staff felt there were several students who would benefit from a less staff-intensive environment and a duplex was available for rent in a residential development close to campus. All of those factors lead to the opening of G7.

The goal of the house was to provide a stepping-stone to an adult placement where students will be more independent with less structure, less staff oversight and more leisure time. “This was an opportunity for students to live in an environment that was a better representation of what adult living will be like,” said Faber. “It also serves to enhance the student’s ability to build their recreation and leisure skills during time when specific tasks and duties are not scheduled.”

Dana Trombley has worked in the homes at Heartspring since 2001 and was quick to apply for the position of home coordinator in G7. “I sought out this opportunity because I’ve been through adult placements with my son,” she said.

As a result of her personal experiences, Trombley was excited for Heartspring to offer this experience to students. “What we’re doing in G7 is similar to what these students can expect from an adult placement,” said Trombley. “They need to experience what it will be like when they transition into an adult facility while here at Heartspring with all the supports in place for them. This enables us to see what skills they still need to work on.”

Unlike the other group homes at Heartspring, G7 only houses three students with a smaller staff to student ratio. Additionally, students have greater freedom to make choices on how to fill their time. “We still run all of the goals and do everything they do on campus,” said Trombley. “But they are able to manage their own time and run their own schedules.” The students in G7 know what is expected of them each day and work to achieve all of their goals.

Currently, Nick, Josh and Michael live in G7 and have all excelled during their time in their new home. Nick has learned to take care of his own schedule and is able to cope with his feelings when he starts to get upset using calming procedures he’s learned while at Heartspring. Recently he achieved a milestone goal by riding on the glass elevator at the mall. This was something he has been working on for three years. Nick also has had an aversion to stairs and to help overcome that, he lives in the basement bedroom at G7 and must navigate the stairs every day – something he now does with little incident.

For Josh, living in G7 is “pretty cool”. “I like it,” he said. “I like my own bedroom and bathroom.” Josh also has a cooking goal that he works on three nights a week. He selects what meals he is going to cook, goes to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients and then prepares the meals with a little assistance from staff. Dana has seen an increase in his skills and confidence level. She also notes that Josh has really blossomed as a leader in the house.

Josh likes his housemates, Nick and Michael. “They’re cool,” he said. “I play Memory with Michael. And well, you know, Nick is kinda my best friend.”

Michael moved into G7 when Melanie, an inaugural house member, left Heartspring to live in an adult placement. His transition went very smoothly and he has developed his own routine. One of his favorite activities is watching “Jeopardy” with the closed captioning on, as he has a profound hearing loss. Home paraeducator Patty Gore has seen Michael grow since coming to G7. “He is doing things independently and seems much happier here.”

Outside of their individual goals, the boys have chore goals and personal hygiene goals – all of which will also be expected of them in an adult facility.

In addition to the goals set for the students in G7, they also participate in community outings and special event nights at the house. The residents of G7 are quite active. “Sunday is movie and popcorn night in the home. They also go out to the movies a couple of times each month,” said Trombley. “On the weekends they have been going to the YMCA to watch a basketball game. They also rent movies and go shopping. When the weather is nice we go for a walk each night after dinner.”

Thursday nights are very popular in G7 as they all get to go out to eat at a nearby restaurant. Each week a different student gets to pick where they will go.

When first approached about the new home, parents were hesitant about moving their children off campus.

“We’d been so pleased with Nick’s experience at Heartspring that frankly, we were a little nervous about his moving off the campus,” said Dan, Nick’s dad. “But we had also learned to trust the staff’s judgment, so we went ahead and hoped for the best. On the plus side, the idea of a residential environment that would more closely mimic his eventual adult placement seemed like a great idea.“

Melanie’s mom, Sue, was also skeptical about the move. “I did have a few concerns initially, however when I learned Dana was going to be the home coordinator, those concerns were put to rest,” she said.

Although Melanie was only in G7 for five months before transitioning out of Heartspring, Sue believes living in G7 was a benefit to her. “I believe it provided an opportunity for Melanie to become more familiar with a less structured setting; a more home-like environment,” she said. “The transition to adult services is very difficult as clients must adjust to a different lifestyle. I do believe it was helpful.”

Nick’s parents, Dan and Meg, were excited to see Nick thrive in his new home. “Nick has loved living in G7 or ‘the all new G7’ as he still refers to it. The first time we came to visit after he moved into G7, he was so excited to show us around – you’d think he’d just bought his first home. He is so much more at ease when we drop him off after visits now. He almost seems to enjoy getting back to G7, which not only testifies to what a great environment it is, but also to the wonderful staff,” said Dan.

Heartspring’s admissions director, Cara Rapp, has been pleased with the response to G7 she’s received from parents. “When speaking to parents they’re excited to hear that Heartspring really wants to look at the future goals of their child being as independent as possible, living out in the community with fewer staff, “she said.

One year after opening its doors, G7 has proved to be a success. “Ultimately we’re preparing them for the big picture,” said paraeducator Dustin Esquibel, who has been on the staff there since the home opened. “All of these students are going to be more prepared for life after Heartspring.”