Guide to Services

• Introduction to Services
• Team Structure
• Communicating with the Team
• Personal Care & Dressing
• Grocery Shopping
• Meal Preparation
• Laundry & Household Maintenance
• Social Skills, Recreation & Community Involvement
• Relationships
• Guardianships
• Roommate Situations
• Health and Safety
• Budgeting and Spending
• Fundraising and Subsidy
• Benefit Maintenance
• An Ordinary Life

Introduction to Services

The fact that you are reading this indicates that you want something different for yourself, or for someone whom you’re helping to choose a residential service. And in Virginia, that “something different” is Hope House: the only organization in Virginia that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities exclusively in their own homes and apartments. That’s been our service model for more than twenty years, having closed our last group home in the early 1990s.

We believe that most people benefit from living in their own home and choosing the people with whom they might share a home, rather than being placed in a setting where the only commonality is a diagnosis. We serve as diverse a group of individuals as any group home provider, including people who have mobility challenges, hearing, speech, and sight impairments, seizure disorders, or diabetes – just to name a few. We have found that there is little that prevents someone from being able to live safely and successfully in his or her own home.

We provide assistance and training in all areas of daily living. More important, we offer support that enables an individual to develop a lifestyle of preference, rather than circumstance. We assist people in participating in the community activities and social settings that interest them and would make them happy.

We believe that people with disabilities should be highly involved in determining the types of services they want and need. Our goal is to provide the support that people need, while promoting greater independence. We believe our work should focus on skills that are practical and useful and promote individual mental health. Those skills include shopping for groceries, managing money, cooking dinner, getting dressed, and anything else that will improve that person’s quality of life.

We take every step to support individual needs and work hard to ensure safety. We also coordinate regular doctor and dentist visits, supervise medication administration, and assist with diet and fitness. Our services are centered on individuals’ needs, with a strong philosophy of promoting choice within the context of day-to-day life.

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Team Structure

If you are a family member or guardian, you will most likely be communicating regularly with the team providing support to your loved one. Each team is comprised of a Team Leader, Services Coordinator, several Support Assistants, and a variety of part-time support staff.

All service locations have an overnight staff member (in some cases two) who remains awake throughout the night to provide specialized support to those who need it, and general support to others when necessary.

The Team Leader provides leadership and supervision to the team, and is responsible for administrative duties such as scheduling, billing, and payroll. The Service Coordinator is responsible for overseeing individual medical needs, medications, money management, individual plan development, and updating the team regarding any changes in the health status or development plan for people receiving support. When you have concerns or questions about services, the Team Leader and Service Coordinator are the people to talk to first.

Support Assistants are full-time staff who provide direct service. Each team has several Support Assistants. Because these staff members are full-time, they get to know the people we support very well, and are key in providing stable and reliable services. We feel that regular, face-to-face interaction is the most critical component of our support services.

Part-time staff fill in the gaps, but don’t let their part-time status fool you. Hope House Foundation has several part-time staff members who have worked with their respective teams for more than five years, and quite a few who have been with the agency for over a decade.

Often, these staff members have full-time jobs elsewhere in the field of disabilities, which brings a depth of skill and knowledge that strengthens and enhances the services we provide.

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Communicating with the Team

Because we support many people whose families are not involved in their lives, we know first-hand just how much interested and committed family members can enrich the lives of the people we support.

Families are a great resource for staff, providing ideas, information, history, and feedback. In general, when a family member has suggestions or concerns, we recommend that they first contact the Team Leader. This ensures that the information will be followed up on, and that it will be communicated as needed to all team members.

Please let the Team Leader know what kinds of information you would like regularly provided to you, as well anything you might want to be notified of immediately, such as illness or injury. Some families want a lot of information; others want just to enjoy their relationship with their family member and only to be informed of health concerns or financial needs. The choice is yours.

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Personal Care & Dressing

There are days when getting dressed is a challenge for all of us. It’s no different for the people we support. Our job is to provide guidance in wearing seasonally appropriate clothing that is in good repair, without impeding the individual’s personal sense of style. We find the best way to do this is to give the person we support guided choices, along with a clear explanation of the results of those choices.

We also focus on helping the person we support find the sense of style they want to present to the world. Are they a jeans and T-shirt kind of dude or the ever-matching hat-and-bag sort of lady? Regardless of style, it is important to have outfits that are clean, match, fit well, and are in good repair. Hope House staff aids people in understanding laundry procedures and using laundry supplies. Assistance is provided at the level needed to accomplish this task.

The people we support are urged to complete personal hygiene tasks on a regular basis and are provided the necessary level of assistance needed. They are also encouraged to attend to less frequently performed personal care tasks, such as trimming nails or scheduling a haircut.

Overall, we provide services that help the people we support acknowledge their needs and preferences, as well as to acquire the skills to increase independence in carrying out routine activities of daily living.

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Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping provides excellent opportunities for learning in a number of areas. Making healthy choices, understanding budgeting, handling money, safety in the community, and completing a transaction are all components of the experience. This is an opportunity to put skills that are often taught out of context, such as math, to practical use in a community setting.

Grocery shopping is typically done weekly, although some folks shop more or less frequently based on individual needs and preference. Staff members provide the necessary guidance to plan, shop for, and prepare meals.

While this process varies for each person we support, it generally begins with menu planning, in which personal taste is carefully balanced with any dietary restrictions. A grocery list is prepared from the menu plan, and the appropriate quantities of food are determined based on the person’s shopping schedule. People we support are encouraged to make healthy, budget-conscious decisions once in the market.

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Meal Preparation

Some of our most comforting memories are of meals shared with friends or family. At the same time, an awkward meal is not easily forgotten. People we support are assisted in scheduling meals, practicing safe food preparation, and presenting a well-balanced meal attractively.

Staff provides direction in making appropriate meal choices and using kitchen appliances safely and correctly. We offer assistance with obtaining and preparing a wide variety of food. People we support are taught to observe food-handling safety rules regarding temperature, storage, cleanliness, and disposal of food.

Staff also provides coaching in social skills for mealtimes, such as proper use of utensils, serving and being served, and using napkins. In addition, we coach the people we support when dining out, by teaching how to place meal orders, seek assistance from waitstaff, and leave an appropriate tip.

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Laundry & Household Maintenance

For some, keeping a tidy house doesn’t always appear at the top of the ‘to do’ list. For others, nothing brings greater joy than organized closets and vacuumed floors. The same is true for the people Hope House supports. It is our goal that the people we support acknowledge the needs of their home and find a benchmark of cleanliness that keeps them healthy and safe while allowing them to be comfortable and enjoy their space.

Our goal is to help people take pride in their homes and assist individuals in creating a space that reflects their preferences. The people we support are encouraged to develop a cleaning schedule and identify when needs arise outside of that schedule.

While our services tend to focus on more routine chores such as dusting, vacuuming, mopping, washing dishes and cleaning bathrooms, we also remind the people we support of the occasional need for deeper cleaning and minor repairs. Staff provides assistance at the level needed by each individual to ensure that routine cleaning and maintenance take place, while encouraging skill acquisition and increased independence in this area.

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Social Skills, Recreation & Community Involvement

We want the people we support to have the best life possible, and actively seek ways in which they can participate in the community in which they live and work. We strive to understand, and to help those we support increase their own understanding of what makes them happy, what they enjoy, and how they want to spend their leisure time.

While these are often lifetime pursuits, learning to enjoy the journey is a worthy aspiration for each of us. Living peacefully in a community often takes patience and skill. The people we support are taught to recognize their own boundaries, recognize the boundaries of others, and understand how to respond correctly when those boundaries have been crossed.

Acknowledging and following community rules and local laws are also a focal point of our services in this regard. On the most basic level, we encourage people to recognize their own name, telephone number and address in print, build the skills that increase safety in the community, and learn how and when to ask for assistance.

We also help the people we support pursue leisure activities, including hobbies, sport-related activities, and vacations.

Hope House supports people in pursuing their romantic interests, while understanding the responsibilities and consequences that may arise from that. The staff of Hope House are trained to support the rights of the people we support, including supporting their religious and cultural preferences.

We make every effort to provide the people we support with the tools they need to thrive and become connected in their community.

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Relationships

Over the years, we’ve learned so much from the people we support. We’ve learned that, like everyone else, they are enriched by having a variety of people (other than just staff and family) in their lives. We know that most often what people lack is not the ability, but the opportunity to have acquaintances, friends, and partners in their lives.

We have supported people in marriages and friendships that endured a lifetime. Likewise, we have supported people grieving the loss of a spouse or friend to death or divorce. We strive to help people develop healthy and positive relationships. Like a family, we feel concerned and protective of the people we support.

In complex situations, we sometimes connect people with licensed counselors and support groups to help further develop a sense of self, personal safety, and choice in their relationships.

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Guardianships

Hope House Foundation serves a number of people who have an appointed guardian. Usually it is a family member; on rare occasions, however, it is an agency that provides the service of guardianship. This occurs in cases when the individual is medically fragile and has no one else to serve in the capacity of guardian on their behalf. Service providers and Community Services Boards are prohibited from acting as guardians due to potential conflicts of interest. Generally, in the day-to-day events, having a guardian doesn’t play out much differently than having an involved family member advocating for the rights of their loved one.

A guardian’s role is described in Virginia Code, Section 37.2-1020, Part E., wherein it states, “A guardian shall, to the extent feasible, encourage the incapacitated person to participate in decisions, to act on his own behalf, and to develop or regain the capacity to manage personal affairs. A guardian, in making decisions, shall consider the expressed desires and personal values of the incapacitated person to the extent known and shall otherwise act in the incapacitated person’s best interest and exercise reasonable care, diligence, and prudence.”

Hope House Foundation embraces this description, as it as it parallels our own mission of helping people build skills and develop a framework of knowledge that moves them toward increased independence. It is important for guardians who are considering Hope House as a service provider to understand that Hope House is bound by state licensure regulations, as well as regulations that are attached to funding. Hope House must provide supports within those guidelines.

Hope House does not develop plans that incorporate “time-outs”, consequences that deny preferred activities, remove privileges, or otherwise create negative consequences for behavior. We believe all behavior is communication and that people learn best from positive reinforcement for desired behavior. We seek to understand the motivations for negative behavior, and then assist people in learning alternative methods of communication.

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Roommate Situations

Living alone is becoming more costly for everyone these days, but for people we support who are relying on SSDI or Social Security payments, it has become next to impossible without some kind of housing subsidy. Some people are lucky enough to have family willing and able to subsidize their housing. In some cases, people’s needs or challenges are such that Hope House may choose to provide a subsidy enabling them to live alone. In most cases, however, we encourage roommate situations, and are careful in facilitating roommate matches.

Typically, roommates share housing and all utility expenses. How groceries are purchased varies depending on whether dietary needs are significantly different or people have greatly differing preferences. Ideally, two roommates determine a weekly menu together, and the cost of the items purchased to meet the menu are shared equally. The cost of condiments, paper and plastics, cleaning supplies, and so on, are also shared. Staff assists roommates in negotiating household chores, and agreeing on rules of conduct regarding TV usage, music, visitors, etcetera.

Most roommate situations are positive for the people we support and having a roommate can often decrease loneliness. It also helps people build skills in getting along with others while simultaneously learning to advocate for themselves.

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Health and Safety

As an agency, our concern for health and safety touches every area of service we provide, but it deserves attention on its own merit as well. It is our goal that the people we support understand their bodies, respond to its needs, and seek appropriate assistance when needed. We challenge the people we support to understand the medications they take and their potential effects, both positive and negative.

We attempt to provide ample opportunity and encouragement to the people we support to take care of themselves through regular exercise and routine physical exams. We provide guidance in day-to-day safety in both the home and the community. The people we support are encouraged to travel safely, understand traffic devices and signals, request assistance from appropriate sources, and to practice caution around strangers and in unfamiliar locations.

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Budgeting and Spending

Having control of one’s own finances provides an unparalleled sense of independence. We want the people we serve to enjoy freedom and responsibility in the financial aspects of their lives as well. Making choices about what to spend and how to save money are important life skills.

We provide guidance and help people develop a practical concept of monetary values and principles. It’s our goal that the people we support learn about the routine expenses attached to living in the community, as well as how to budget for those expenditures. Hope House assists nearly all the people we support in managing their own finances.

With a few exceptions, the people we support have checking accounts in their own names into which their monthly benefits are deposited directly. Those accounts are managed using Quicken software because of the security and record-keeping advantages offered by this software. The people we support pay their bills online with assistance from staff. We support their use of checks, cash, or bankcards to make other purchases in the community, based on preference, skill, and so on.

People generally receive spending money weekly based on their individual budget. The team’s Service Coordinator maintains an accounting of all income and expenses, along with supporting documents (copies of bills, statements, receipts, etc.), which are maintained on file. Many of the people we support are their own representative payee for monthly benefits.

For a few of the people we support, a family member, legal guardian, or external agency serves in the capacity of representative payee. There are also some instances in which Hope House serves as the representative payee.

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Fundraising and Subsidy

After reading the previous section on budgeting and spending, you may be wondering how the expenses of a home can be managed when the average income allowed by Medicaid for people with cognitive disabilities is generally less than $700 per month. One way in which this is possible is related to Hope House’s ability to secure money, goods, and services through our fundraising efforts.

Successful fundraising has enabled Hope House to purchase properties so that the people we support can have safe and affordable housing. It also provides  for other needs such as dental care, clothing, furnishings, and recreation, none of which are covered by Medicaid. Fundraising also helps us establish relationships with neighbors, business leaders, artists, musicians, and the community at large.

Last, but by no means least, our marketing and fundraising activities provide opportunities to educate the public about people with disabilities and the benefit of including them in community life through involvement in civic groups, employment, and friendships.

Our fundraising activities include the annual Stockley Gardens Arts Festivals, our musical concert events, and a host of other events throughout the community. In addition, we operate a thrift shop that helps to fund services and subsidies.

Furthermore, many businesses regularly host special fundraisers that provide a percentage of profits to Hope House Foundation. Hope House is also a United Way recipient organization; however, we only receive funds that are specifically designated for Hope House during their annual drive. Hope House’s designated United Way number is 5070.

Finally, Hope House applies for state, federal, foundation and corporate grants to supplement programs and capital needs.

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Benefit Maintenance

In cases where Hope House is the payee, Hope House completes all reporting to Social Security, VA, and/or other organizations. For those who are their own payee or have a payee other than Hope House, we provide all records and assistance needed in completing those reports.

Because the people we support live in their own homes and have leases in their own names, they become eligible for a variety of other benefits such as foodstamps, fuel assistance, and Section VIII housing vouchers. Hope House’s Resource Coordinator assists the people we support in applying for and maintaining these benefits, as well as filing yearly income tax reports when needed.

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An Ordinary Life

We are still in a time where an ordinary life for a person with a disability is an extraordinary thing. Through all of the services we provide, one thread remains constant: the desire to assist people we support in leading an ordinary life. We hold fast to the idea that learning and growth take place throughout our lifetimes and that this principle holds true for the people we support as well.

We believe that for the people we support, just as for anyone else, personal growth and development arise from making real choices, and the experience those choices afford. Taking measured risks is an important aspect in learning and truly experiencing the richness that life has to offer. Oftentimes, our most cherished and humorous stories are about the times things didn’t go as we had hoped or planned.

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