Elwood: Discovering the Richness of Community
It was just a few minutes after 3:00 p.m. and the front door of the Princeton South home flew wide open. Laughter and enthusiastic chatter preceded Elwood and his three housemates as they entered their home after a busy day of work at the Mille Lacs County Developmental Achievement Center (DAC). Without delay, the four put away their hats, coats, backpacks and lunch boxes and the cheery conversation continued. Elwood shared exciting highlights of the day and hopeful suggestions for evening activities with Doane the program supervisor of the home.
The Princeton South home is just one of ten Volunteers of America-Minnesota residences for adults with developmental disabilities. Each home is located in a traditional residential neighborhood and provides a variety of services with the goal of increasing each resident’s independence and self-reliance, while fostering community engagement.
Elwood, age 64, is developmentally disabled, has schizophrenia, and is a resident of the Princeton home. When he was a child, his father worked for the railroad and left Elwood’s mother alone to care for the five children. The family struggled with a variety of serious issues including, limited cognitive skills, financial and marital problems, and physical abuse. As a result, the family was not well-accepted by the community and Elwood was mocked and taunted at school. Though his childhood was difficult, Elwood fondly recalls working on his uncle’s farm where he cleaned the barn, pitched bales of hay, fixed fences, milked cows, and fed the chickens and pigs. But when Elwood was 12, his schizophrenia manifested itself in the form of hallucinations, disturbing voices, and poor impulse control. A series of unfortunate incidents followed. His mother was unable to effectively control him and as a result, the state took guardianship in 1958. Elwood spent the next 37 years within the confines of a several state-run mental hospitals.
Then in 1995, as many of the state institutions closed, Elwood came to live at the Princeton home where he readily adapted to an engaging and active community lifestyle. At the Princeton home, Elwood regularly helps staff and the other residents with a variety of household chores. Over time, he has become more self-reliant and needs only occasional reminders regarding his personal hygiene. In fact, Elwood will often remind staff of when it’s time to take his medication. Elwood is content simply hanging out with his housemates. He enjoys scrapbooking and playing Checkers (although he sometimes changes the rules). Elwood says, “I love coin purses,” and possesses several packed with snapshots of the special people in his life, including his girlfriend, Vera, who lives at the Princeton North home. Elwood is friendly, extremely polite and has a strong work ethic. Each weekday, he works at the DAC from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. where he assembles items such as tape dispensers. After that and on weekends, Elwood says, “I like to get out, go shopping or fishing, and have a snack at McDonalds or Dairy Queen.” He also participates in a variety of leisure activities with his housemates and a friendship-group for individuals with special needs at a local church. Each summer, Elwood attends a camp for individuals with special needs in Central Minnesota. While Elwood still hears voices from time to time, he has learned to verbalize his fears and talk about them with staff before reacting.
After spending nearly four decades cut off from the outside world, the Princeton South home has helped Elwood discover self-reliance, quality of life, community, and the comfort of a real home.