Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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| Facility on East Church St. cost $600,000 |
Cutting the ribbon Tuesday to officially open Piedmont Community Services’ (PCS) new group home on East Church Street Extension in Martinsville are (from left) Diane Lovell, a PCS board member; Martinsville Vice Mayor Kimble Reynolds Jr.; Norma Jean Hairston, a resident of the home; state Secretary of Health and Human Services Marilyn Tavenner; PCS Executive Director Jim Tobin; the Rev. Lynn Bechdolt, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church; and Greg Preston, director of community support for PCS. (Bulletin photo by Mickey Powell) |
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Wednesday, July 22, 2009
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer
State Secretary of Health and Human Services Marilyn Tavenner on Tuesday used one word — “awesome” — to describe Piedmont Community Services’ (PCS) new group home on East Church Street Extension in Martinsville.
“This one is as nice as any I’ve seen” anywhere in Virginia, said Tavenner, a native of Fieldale who has held her post in state government since 2006.
Tavenner was the special guest during a ribbon-cutting and open house for Cottage Place. The new group home, which replaces a similar smaller facility on Starling Avenue that had the same name, can house six residents. Five people currently live there, said PCS Executive Director Jim Tobin.
Construction costs for the group home, including architects’ fees, totaled about $600,000. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development paid about $500,000 of that amount, and PCS paid the rest, Tobin said.
Many of the home’s furnishings either were donated or sold to PCS at a discount, officials said.
The new brick house was built to suit disabled people. For instance, it has showers, doors and kitchen appliances that are accessible to wheelchairs.
However, Cottage Place is “a residential program for intellectually disabled adults,” according to the invitation for Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting.
Tavenner said the state prefers using that term over mental retardation.
“Intellectual disabilities are no different” than other types of disabilities, and people with such disabilities should not be treated any differently than those who are disabled in other ways, she emphasized.
Living in group homes keeps people with intellectual disabilities from having to live in state institutions that offer hospital-type care, Tobin said. That helps disabled people, he said, because they are able to remain near their families and friends and continue being part of the community.
And, he said, intellectually disabled people generally are happier when they live a basically normal life in a family-style environment, which is how group homes are structured.
Martinsville Vice Mayor Kimble Reynolds Jr. said that when he worked for the MARC Workshop about two decades ago, he quickly realized that people with intellectual disabilities often give “unconditional love” to others they meet.
A resident of Cottage Place, Cynthia Dunford, noted that residents want to be part of the community.
Along that line, “you’re always welcome at our home,” she told about 100 people who attended the ribbon-cutting.
Approximately 10 people work in shifts at the group home, which is licensed by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
Staff is on duty 24 hours a day, and each employee is trained to administer medications as well as perform CPR and resolve conflicts among residents if necessary, said Shannon Clark, PCS’ regional coordinator for Martinsville and Henry and Patrick counties.
Debra Buchanan, chairman of the Henry County Board of Supervisors, told staff that “the difference you make in people’s lives ... touches all of us.”
A mostly brown and maroon color scheme is found in the house, which has six bedrooms, two bathrooms for residents and a private restroom for staff, along with a living room, kitchen and enclosed back porch, plus an office for manager Ethel Schoolfield.
The manager’s office and activity room have large interior windows through which occupants can see what is going on in the living room. Except for those windows and a framed notice of wage regulations on an end table in the living room, it is hard to discern the group home from a regular home.
Cottage Place residents are expected to take part in household chores. They are taught skills such as sweeping and doing laundry, said Clark.
After all, “this is their home,” she said.
Tavenner, whose background is in nursing, said intellectually disabled people should acquire such skills in order to “maximize your potential” in daily life.
Costs for staying at the group home are covered by Medicaid waiver funds, and rent residents pay through disability benefits and other income sources.
Cottage Place is adjacent to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on land that the church donated. Pastor Lynn Bechdolt said church members sensed it was God’s will for the land to be used for the group home.
Besides, she quipped, “this end of our property, all we ever did with it was mow it.”
The group home is one of several in Henry County and Martinsville operated by PCS and other organizations. Tobin said he expects more will be needed in the future as intellectually disabled people are no longer able to be cared for by family, such as parents who develop health problems as they age.
PCS is developing a similar group home in Rocky Mount. Tobin anticipates another one will be needed locally in about five years, and PCS already is in preliminary stages of planning for it, he said. |
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