April 30, 2003
Center marks 25th anniversary
Community Living Center holds celebration this Sunday
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Celebrating a 25th birthday in grand fashion, residents, staff and board members of the Community Living Center - past and present - will gather on Sunday, May 4 for festivities featuring food, laughter and fun.
The assembled will be commemorating the maturity of a vision - helping developmentally disabled people live as independently as possible - that in 1978 seemed little more than fantasy. Twenty-five years later, the Community Living Management Corporation includes the original 16-person building as well as community living apartments, three living centers and an assisted independent living program.
All these facilities allow developmentally disabled adults to live, work, volunteer and play in the community at large.
"I am surprised to see how integrated they are," said Mary Jean Brick, founder of the original Community Living Center in Traverse City. "If I go to the mall on Saturday I see 10-15 of them having lunch there or see them at church functions or working. They're out there, just a part of the community."
Brick's involvement in the lives of developmentally disabled people stemmed from a sister and her son. She began the project in the 1970s during the era of sweeping changes in mental health care. As state mental hospitals and institutions shut their doors, then-Governor Bill Milliken earmarked funds for a series of Community Living Centers for the developmentally disabled.
These group homes would provide a transition between dependence and independence. They would teach independent living skills ranging from finance to job skills to grocery shopping that would enable adult developmentally disabled people to gain confidence and some level of autonomy.
"The funds were first made available in 1972 from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority," recalled Brick, who is now director of endowment for the Community Living Management Corporation. "We formed a board and got our grant in 1978."
Brick's mother inspired her advocacy and energy for the developmentally disabled. While growing up, Brick's sister, Hermine, was raised as part of the family despite her developmental handicaps. This was an unusual approach for that era, where families of the developmentally disabled either hid them away or warehoused them in an institution.
Instead, Brick's sister Hermine accompanied her sisters and brothers to school for years, repeating kindergarten time after time as each new sibling reached the age of five. A special teacher at the Boardman School, Miss Kayselka, facilitated her inclusion with the school, Brick said.
"Hermine was the social director of the class," Brick recalled. "There were no special programs back then. She was taught living skills through her mother who had the foresight to do so."
Hermine happily lived out the last years of her life at the Community Living Center, achieving a much-loved piece of independence. Brick's son, John, spent a short time there but eventually moved to a facility in Escanaba that was better suited to his needs; he is now deceased.
As the concept of the Community Living Center spread, Brick said it has become an inspiration to the younger developmentally disabled and their families.
"I think the change is in the concept of acceptance in the community and the schools, who primarily tell them if you learn your basic skills, maybe you can go to the CLC," she said.
Keeping programs going is always a challenge financially, even more so as state budgets are cut to the bone. Brick and David Sterzik, the Community Living Centers' executive director, said making ends meet is a constant struggle.
"Our strategy is not to have any beds empty, and it's not that there are too few people it's the cost of the service for Community Mental Health," Sterzik said. "That's where most of our funding comes from."
"If we don't have funding, the person stays home or goes to more restrictive housing like regular adult foster care," he noted. "They wouldn't be emphasizing the independence there."
Another issue faced by administrators of the Community Living Center and its affiliated living facilities is advocating for the rights of developmentally disabled people.
"A challenge is parental concerts versus recipients' rights," noted Juanita Cole, the manager of the Community Living Center for 21 years. "We're working on this all the time."
Reflecting on the programs' successes and growth, Brick credits a dedicated staff and motivated residents. She also holds special accolades to two other groups.
"We have had very dedicated members who have been with us for 20 years," Brick said. "And the community has been very good to us overall."