Julie Boesky helps prepare dinner under the interested eye of JARC executive Joyce Keller.

More Than A Home

lthough the Jewish Associa-
tion for Retarded Citizens is
best known for its Haverim
Homes for retarded adults, the pro-
gram has branched out in this
decade to better serve individual
clients. More than 100 persons are
served in its residential programs,
and 200 more receive counseling or
help in finding other services.
In addition to the 60 persons
who reside in the ten Haverim
Homes, JARC offers the following
programs:
• The Aaron and Helen L.
toeRoy Independent Apartment
Program was started in 1980 to
assist those who were ready for a
more independent lifestyle. The
program provides preparation,
placement, and later supervision to
higher functioning individuals.
Clients sign their own leases,
are responsible for paying rent and
for the care of the apartment. They
choose their own furnishings and
are encouraged to live as in-
dependently as possible.
They are visited on a regular
basis to assure successful
maintenance of this self-sufficient

A

The record player attracts Helen Oliva.

All of them worked at the Jewish
Vocational Service Community
Workshop on Woodward.
In 1974, Michigan's Mental
Health Code was changed, requiring
mental health agencies to move
residents from large institutions to
smaller facilities with less-structured
settings. Most of the original
residents of the first Haverim Home
had moved there from their parents'
houses. But with the code change,
many more Jewish mentally retard-
ed residents would be released from
larger institutions. Where would they
all go?
In late 1977, the Parents Associa-
tion went through a major revamping.
A new board was formed consisting of
parents, business people and mental

life style. At present, 32 in-
dividuals are in various stages of
the program. Some are preparing
to live independently by learning
the necessary skills. Twenty-four
are actually living independently
with support from the staff.
• Many individuals are still on
waiting lists to enter. group homes
and the Family Assistance Pro-
gram, started in 1980, is designed
to work with these individuals and
their families. Information is pro-
vided regarding availble services
and public benefits. Counseling is
offered to parents in helping them
come to grips with the eventual
separation from their child, a ma-
jor problem area.
The majority of clients attend
vocational programs, activities at
the Jewish Community Center,
and programs run by Jewish Fami-
ly Services.
• The Coordinated Interven-
tion Services Program for Dually
Diagnosed Individuals was started
to help persons who are both men-
tally retarded and emotionally im-
paired. Agencies designed for
either people with mental retarda-

tion or mental illness often cannot
help these individuals.
Coordinated Intervention Ser-
vices places many individuals
in day programs or vocational pro-
grams. Some are also placed in a
residential setting. Counseling is
available to the client and the
family.
• The Benard L. Maas Sup-
ported Independence Program
(SIP) started when "we began to
see a number of clients who did not
need 24-hour supervision in a
group home but were not ready for
the type of independence of the
apartment program," says Joyce
Keller, executive director at JARC.
"The living arrangements would
be too big of a change."
With the help of a gift from the
Benard L. Maas Foundation, JARC
was able to purchase con-
dominiums in four complexes in
Oakland County. Currently, the
program has nine condominiums
with two clients living in each, and
hopes to expand to six or more ad-
ditional units.
A live-in program coordinator
is at each site.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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