Jespy House

Programs: The day habilitation program the day habilitation program provides a structured daily schedule of activities for clients who are new to jespy and clients who are not involved full-time in volunteer or paid employment. The program operates daily from 9 am to 3 pm. Scheduled groups include: building confidence and social skills; health and safety; critical thinking; music relaxation therapy; dance and aerobics; job skills; money skills; coping skills; recreational and physical fitness activities and a life skills program. This fiscal year, group offerings in behavioral supports, social wellness and expressive arts were far more robust and increased over 25%. Clients exercised their independence by choosing from several group activities scheduled each hour. In addition, an emphasis was placed on community inclusion through extensive exposure within our local and surrounding communities. Some of the specific activities clients engaged in within the previously listed groups include: gardening, book clubs, journaling, technology experiences, arts and crafts, cooking, poetry, creative writing, movies, photography club, healthy living education, yoga, meditation, pursuit of individual hobbies, and more. New concepts in the delivery of clinical and behavioral health services were initiated impacting all client services, including the day habilitation program. As a result, each client in the day habilitation program participates in a formalized annual case evaluation where the client, family and staff identify the client's achievements and develop target goals for the coming year. Also, clients benefit from men's and women's groups where relevant social and inter-personal topics are addressed and discussed. Collaborations with local universities were expanded and included multiple occupational and physical therapy and social work interns at both the bachelor's and master's levels, which benefitted the clients, the staff and the college students.

the community-based supports program the community-based supports program is key to helping many of our clients live independently in south orange. (approximately 120 clients live independently in privately leased apartments or privately-owned condominiums, most within walking distance to jespy facilities. ) typically, clients are visited at home by their case managers one or two times a week. Case managers provide comprehensive supervision, overseeing that the client's needs are being met and that they are working toward their individual goals. Our case managers serve as the liaison to the client's family. S/he works with the client on securing and setting up an apartment, and provides the client with encouragement and support to advocate for themselves in all aspects of life and work. Daily living skills counselors provide clients with hands-on training based on the client's individual needs, such as meal planning, budgeting and money management, cleaning and organizing. To enhance service delivery to clients, jespy merged the staffing of the residence and community based supports. The staff in these departments were cross-trained to provide seamless, more efficient delivery of services. Direct support staff receives and is continually encouraged to participate in professional development and training in best practices. The community based supports staff coordinates with our clinical and behavioral health services staff to offer clients a variety of services including short-term or long-term counseling, crisis intervention, behavioral intervention, family counseling, and monitoring of medication. Group workshops are held to assess, engage and support clients in important areas including social connections, communication skills, self-esteem and anger management/conflict resolution.

residential servicesjespy offers progressive housing options and individualized supports to match the varied needs of each client. Level 1-supervised apartment- "the residence" - most clients accepted into jespy's residential program start their life of independence in this semi-structured supervised apartment setting which is staffed with case managers and daily living skills counselors. Clients have support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Here they learn all about caring for themselves and their living space - they learn to shop, to plan and prepare meals, to do laundry and to clean their apartment. They also learn good safety habits, how to use public transportation, how to socialize with jespy peers, how to behave in the community with neighbors and businesses, etc. Level 2-shared housing-jespy's five shared houses are located within walking distance to jespy programs and services. Clients graduate from the residence to shared housing once they have mastered the skills taught at the residence and have demonstrated the desire for greater independence and choice. In this setting clients live with house-mates. Each client has his or her own bedroom and shares living and kitchen space. They prepare meals together and share responsibilities of a household like a family. Each shared house has a house manager who serves as the case manager to the clients in that house. Clients who require daily living skills training still receive those hands-on services. Most clients who live in shared housing are employed or involved in volunteer work. Clients receive overnight and weekend support in this setting. Level 3-independent living arrangement- most clients who reside in the jespy community live on their own in their own apartments or condominiums with community-based supports. These clients have transitioned from one of the previously mentioned living arrangements, having demonstrated that they are ready for this big step forward. Each client receives services through jespy's community-based supports program and is assigned a case manager to oversee and coordinate care. Clients receive daily living skills training and support as needed.

this year jespy launched its new aging in place initiative to address the changing health and wellness needs as well as the cognitive development of our clients as they age. Forty percent of our clients are age 45-70, and 2/3 have been at jespy for 15+ years. Our clinical and behavioral health services department is conducting an accurate and comprehensive assessment of our clients to determine the nature and course of helping interventions and achieving goals that improve the quality of life for older clients. Using proven assessment tools, they will be able to differentiate between typical aging and atypical aging and will assess anxiety, depression, and other clinical areas. These tools allow us to establish baselines for each older client so we can track and assess their individual changes and provide them with appropriate treatment plans. Our clinical department is also selecting and enrolling staff in training that will provide our team with the expertise they need to identify issues related to aging and work with the client and his or her family to address the issues and provided necessary support. Our team is also planning and offering targeted health and wellness education programs and support services to help clients to maintain optimum health and the highest possible quality of life. In addition, jespy is currently evaluating its need to provide additional housing options to accommodate clients with mobility issues.