Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Sad: Bethesda Lutheran Home Closing

Bethesda Lutheran Home is a institution for people with intellectual and/or physical disabilities and it is the place where I got my first real job after I graduated from high school.
From jsonline: The Bethesda Lutheran Communities Intermediate Care Facility, which provides care for 73 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Watertown, will close Aug. 31, 2014, the facility announced Tuesday.
The state will oversee a transition plan that will help the residents and their families and guardians find new residences. Relocation meetings will begin in July 2013 and continue until all of the current residents have moved to new homes.
People now living at the facility will have the option of remaining in Watertown in community homes, apartments and duplexes, with Bethesda Lutheran Communities continuing to oversee their care
"This process isn't new to Bethesda," Gretchen Block, regional director of Bethesda's North Central region, said in a statement. "We've supported hundreds of people over the years to find homes closer to family, while better connecting individuals to community resources and neighbors."
Roughly 660 people lived at the Bethesda Lutheran Communities Intermediate Care Facility at its peak, before people began moving to group homes in the communities, said Laura Reilly, vice president of marketing and communities.
It was founded 1904.
Bethesda provides community-based residential services, employment and other services to almost 1,800 people and spiritual support and services for almost 5,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in 13 states.  http://www.jsonline.com/business/bethesda-lutheran-facility-in-watertown-to-close-in-2014-b9937083z1-212054561.html
When I applied for the job, I had no idea about people with severe disabilities because at the time, the people with severe disabilities were not allowed in regular schools- they were placed in special schools, schooled at home or put in institutions, like Bethesda or state facilities.
Despite being peed on by a resident on my first day working with the residents, I loved the job and it eventually led me to become a Special Education teacher, working with kids with severe disabilities.
For more information: http://bethesdalutherancommunities.org/

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