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Before Marlene Littlefield moved to her new home on a quiet street
in Wakefield, Massachusetts, she had been living in a state school
for the mentally handicapped and in her family's home.
The opening of the Cedar Street group home several years ago made
it possible for Ms. Littlefield to live in a typical small-town
neighborhood without sacrificing access to the around-the-clock
support of a trained staff. The home gives her a degree of independence
and comfort that was not available in her previous residences.
Every day now Ms. Littlefield departs in the morning by van for
a paid job at a small factory in nearby Stoneham. "I work at
American Training," says Ms. Littlefield. "I do piecework.
I make jewelry boxes and spoons and stuff."
After work, Ms. Littlefield returns to the two-story house she
shares with five other mentally handicapped residents and spends
the rest of the day socializing with housemates, cleaning her room,
and preparing for the evening meal.
"The dining room is the center of the house," says assistant
site director Mendy Johnson. "It's where the residents socialize,
play games, and have dinner. Every night all of the residents participate
in cooking dinner."
Although Ms. Littlefield has dreams of one day living in her own
apartment, home for now is this bright, spacious living space where
her family includes her roommates and the staff that lives in the
house 24 hours a day.
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| Riverside's
group home on Cedar Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. |
The Cedar Street house is one of about 60 supportive homes for
the mentally handicapped and people with mental illness operated
in eastern and central Massachusetts by the nonprofit Riverside
Community Care.
Although the state and federal governments provide the organization
with a substantial portion of its financing, funding rates for nonprofit
organizations such as Riverside have not kept up with increasing
costs.
"As a result, we've turned to the Federal Home Loan Bank of
Boston's Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and other funding to help
us develop our housing," says Scott M. Bock, president and
CEO of Riverside Community Care. "The Bank's funding has become
really important to us. We've received four AHP awards."
Riverside developed the Cedar Street house after the state Department
of Mental Retardation approached the organization for help with
developing a group home for six people who were either about to
be discharged from a state institution or needed to move out of
their childhood home.
"When their families start to age, they often become concerned
about their children's future," says Mr. Bock. "Others
may have had behavioral issues that made things difficult at home.
Some families may want to help the person achieve more independence.
Other residents could have been living in a state school and were
able to move out successfully and be integrated into the community."
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| Bob
(left), a resident of Riverside's Chestnut Street home, and
Jason Moscato, program director for Riverside Homes, at the
Chestnut Street home. |
"We really look for houses that will put us into neighborhoods,"
continues Mr. Bock. "Our goal is to look like everyone else
in the neighborhood. Typically, we have to find a house that is
larger than the usual neighborhood house. We prefer not to be right
on top of neighbors because initially they're going to be somewhat
nervous. I've been in my job 23 years, and during that time we've
always earned the respect of our neighbors."
Mr. Bock admits that the area's inflated real estate market makes
it more difficult for nonprofits to purchase and develop this kind
of housing. "We could either pay a high price to purchase housing
or continue to be subject to the whims of the rental market and
poorly maintained houses," says Mr. Bock. "We decided
that the best solution was to purchase housing that would give us
permanence and the best-quality place."
Typically, rent and other supports for housing are drawn from state
subsidies and a percentage of the residents' monthly Social Security
income. In addition to providing housing for the mentally handicapped,
Riverside Community Care also operates group homes for residents
with mental illness, including a Victorian-style home for six adults
at 100 Chestnut Street in Wakefield.
"The residents of these homes are folks who either end up
in a state hospital or were admitted to community-based or private
psychiatric hospitals," says Mr. Bock. "They're people
who haven't been able to develop to their potential. They're really
kind of stuck, at risk of living in hospitals rather than in the
community. What we try to do is build a structure in the house and
set goals they can achieve."
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| Riverside's
home at 100 Chestnut Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. |
Member Dedham Co-Operative Bank has received four AHP awards on
behalf of Riverside, with each award consisting of a subsidized
advance and a grant. In addition to receiving a $120,000 grant and
$266,542 subsidized advance for its Cedar Street initiative, Riverside
has received AHP awards for its Chestnut Street home and for homes
in Peabody and Reading.
"The AHP enabled us to come up with a stable cost of funds,"
says Mark R. Whalen, president and CEO of Dedham Co-Operative Savings
Bank. "As a result of the subsidized advances we received,
we were able to lend money to Riverside at the lowest possible interest
rate."
"The Riverside program appealed to us because we saw an opportunity
to help them provide housing," he adds. "They provide
a wonderful living environment for the people they're helping. Frankly,
there aren't a lot of people out there helping clients like this.
We saw the need and it was just our little way of helping."
See a multimedia web documentary on Riverside Community Care
in the Profiles section of the web site.
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