Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Westview senior boys were out-Foxed on the soccer field.
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ary Annivers 1985-2010
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Former group home residents miss friends
SCHOOLS ❚ Musical Education
Bramble Cottage residents have moved on to other good homes, but some still miss their old living arrangements. by Samantha Shirley-Urano editorial@mrtimes.com
Webster’s Corners Grade 7 students Mason Hicks, Teigra Stuart, Madison Browne and Caleb Wiebe show their old instruments. The school recently received a $2,400 grant for musical instruments which will help students in their new band program. The music program will be for students in grades six and seven. See story on Page 3. Troy Landre-
ville/TIMES
Bramble Cottage, an assisted living group home in Maple Ridge, was closed down recently, leaving the five people with developmental disabilities living there to find new homes. Loni Neville, a 29-year-old who lived at the house, is now living with a woman who befriended her years ago. The woman’s 12-year-old daughter and mother also live in the house. Loni’s mother, Gayle Morrissette, said that although Loni’s current caregiver is very kind and tries to help her, the situation can’t replace what she had at Bramble Cottage. “It’s not the quality or the quantity that she was used to at Bramble,” Morrissette said. “It’s just such a shame they closed that house down. It was such a wonderful place. Everybody there had jobs and they had lots of friends.” At Bramble Cottage Loni lived in the basement with her friend, Stephanie Kleckner, whom she knew before moving into the home. The staff at Bramble Cottage would make sure Loni and Stephanie had rides to appointments, grocery shopping or fun outings, but it’s more difficult to do those things now, Morrissette said. She added Loni is good at taking the bus, but she worries about her walking when it gets cold this winter. Loni has a degenerative bone disease in her feet and ankles, so it’s hard for her to get around. “She knows how to ride the bus, but when it gets cold, and it is hard for her to walk, I worry about her trudging around in the snow and ice,” Morrissette said. “If she falls down, she’s well over 200 pounds, it takes somebody pretty strong to get her back up on her feet.” Morrissette is grateful, however, for Loni’s caregiver welcoming her into her home. When the residents found out Bramble Cottage was closing, Morrissette said they only had 60 days to find new housing. The caregiver made accommodations for Loni, having rails installed on the bathtub so Loni could get in and out safely.
“She’s a great lady and she’s doing everything she can for Loni, but it’s just not the same as having two or three staff, and means to go to the hospital if she has to go,” Morrissette said. Morrissette said Bramble Cottage was the only group home in the area that was closed down. Other residents of the home moved to group homes where there was space available. Stephanie Kleckner was the only resident besides Loni who moved in with a family by herself. She is living in a basement suite with a caregiver, who looks after another person in her home who isn’t as self-sufficient as Stephanie. Carol Kleckner, Stephanie’s mother, said she is lonely without her friends at Bramble Cottage. “The caregiver has done a lot in regards to making Stephanie feel comfortable and the whole thing, but Stephanie is just very lonely,” Kleckner said. “She doesn’t have all those people around and the activities they had there.” Kleckner said Stephanie and the girls in the house would spend much of their time together. “The girls used to get together and they’d do their hair and their nails, but that doesn’t happen anymore,” she said. “None of those types of socialization happen at all. They don’t prohibit Stephanie from having guests over, but she relied so much on the people from in the house and it’s not always easy to have the people come over to Stephanie’s house now.” Kleckner said the closest Bramble Cottage resident lives about 30 blocks away from Stephanie in Maple Ridge. “We’re trying to adapt,” Kleckner said. “We’re trying to work towards getting things better. I’ve had a couple meetings with the caregiver and the staff from the Ridge Meadows Association for Community Living and they’re doing their best, but under the circumstances it’s not an ideal situation for Stephanie.” Kleckner and her husband are looking for alternatives for Stephanie. She said they might resort to moving her closer to their home in Chilliwack, where they can take care of her more themselves.
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