Editor’s Note: This is the fifth and final story in a five-part philanthropic series profiling nonprofit organizations in Athens County.
In a room lined with homemade crafts, a group of 10 people patiently waits for Mike Taylor to make his choice for karaoke. Finally settling on Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This,” Taylor steps up to the mic and belts the lyrics.
In this room, Taylor is able to let go — relaxing on a couch, cracking jokes and volunteering to be the first to sing. Outside this room, Taylor avoids social interaction with strangers and speaks only when necessary.
Taylor came to HAVAR, a nonprofit support group that provides aid to people in Athens and Washington counties, three years ago. He was fresh out of foster care in Northeast Ohio, trying to live by himself, develop his leadership skills and build long-term relationships.
Now 23, Taylor lives independently but uses HAVAR to assist with some day-to-day activities.
Though Taylor’s needs represent a low end of the needs spectrum, other consumers require 24-hour support services and help eating and bathing.
“What we do varies from consumer to consumer,” said Lisa Simpson, a program manager. It’s all about how much help our consumers need. We may spend several hours a day with one person and a couple hours a week with another.
Each person outlines what skills they want to learn and what they need help doing on a day-to-day basis. One end of the spectrum is as simple as a ride to the grocery store, while the opposite end incorporates being fed and bathed.
The Organization
Next to a small parking lot at 1005 E. State St. crammed with cars, a weathered Girl Scouts sign mistakenly identifies the brown brick building owned by HAVAR.
Instead of distributing Girl Scout cookies, the building, one of the organizations’ two in the county, acts as a gathering place for HAVAR?consumers to learn and grow in good company.
At the center, consumers, like Taylor, can develop social skills or just have a place to hang out and do things such as cooking, playing games and watching movies.
“My favorite part of (the center) is cooking class and doing crafts,” Ica Queen said, shaking the whole table as she colored vigorously.
Queen said she has been going to the center since August and that the atmosphere is what keeps her coming back.
“I like coming here and meeting my friends and the staff,” she said.
In order to access HAVAR’s services, one must go through a multistep process with the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities. The process can be expedited if emergency care is needed.
HAVAR receives funding through Medicaid and Athens tax dollars, though Simpson said the money received through taxes is negligible. Donations provide just more than .05 percent of HAVAR’s income, according to 2010 tax records.
The Employees
As the afternoon rolls around, the activity center is abuzz with the whir of a microwave and the small pops of juice-box straws.
The three employees on duty, Margaret Payne, Rhonda McFarland and Sherry Bail prepare lunch for those who brought it.
With patience and love, they go about their daily work routines, but a day at the Building Bridges Adult Center is not a typical day at the office.
The trio does everything from feeding consumers to fostering good social, reading and writing skills.
McFarland is a full-time employee at the center, which is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. As she feeds one resident, she engages in conversation with another.
“You never know one minute to the next what you’re gonna do, and that’s the part of it that I like,” McFarland said. “They keep you hoppin’. They’re delightful people.”
Bail, also a full-time employee, is a residential aide and works almost exclusively with Patti Naffziger.
“Every consumer I work with makes me smile,” Bail said.?“I come to work every day with a smile on my face.”
Both McFarland and Bail started in the field of home health care before coming to work for HAVAR but, for various reasons, were unhappy with their previous jobs.
“Someone told me about HAVAR, and I went not knowing I would be working with the developmentally disabled, but I love it. They grow on you,” McFarland said.
Steve Line, a residential aide, also didn’t know what he was getting himself into at first, but said something keeps him coming back.
“I enjoy working with people and helping people,” Line said. “That’s what I love to do, and that’s what keeps me here.” ?
Needs
Though not understaffed, employees say HAVAR’s greatest need is always more volunteers.
HAVAR, which accepts all monetary and physical donations, has three volunteers and one intern.
Volunteers at HAVAR act as friends to the consumers, giving them one more person who they can talk to or another mentor to help them work toward their goals.
Max Schmidt, a student volunteer, has been working with Taylor on a speech he will give to teach other HAVAR consumers how to play video games; the presentation will further his goals of building relationships and being a leader.
“The ultimate goal,” Simpson said, “is to add happiness, direction, and community involvement to people’s lives.”
sm366909@ohiou.edu
