Angelwood

The Angelwood group homes continued to care for the individuals living in our 5 group homes 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. The people we serve are more medically vulnerable than the general public. Our group homes are more than a place to live. We help individuals living there to become part of the community by participating in activities in the city and accessing services as needed. Each person living in the home, works on daily living skills to help them gain greater independence Angelwood's commitment to advocacy is ongoing as we speak with families to help them connect with services for their loved one. There are 2 areas where we specifically help families. The first was our assisting with the set up of pre-need funeral plans. We did this through a partnership with a local funeral company. The other area was assisting people with their money management. We are the representative payee for approximately 30 people. We pay their bills and guide them as they access their funds for personal needs. In some cases, we support families in their quest to set up a pooled trust through a partnership with a legal firm and trust. Enrollment in the Angelwood career development & education center programs began to rise this last year so that we are close our to pre-pandemic census. In 2022 Angelwood launched a developmental basketball team in partnership with special olympics and a local volunteer who was a former college basketball player. This group learned new skills that support eye hand coordination, gross motor skills, teamwork and healthy exercise. The bells of Angelwood is a performing musical ensemble that offers participants opportunities to learn valuable skills such as eye hand coordination, following directions and listening to other ensemble members. It also gives people who are often disregarded in our community an opportunity to highlight what they are able to do rather than what they cannot do. They experience the joy of performance and the ability to help others experience some of that joy. The group begun performs publicly with most recent offerings at the corporate headquarters of a large company, brooks rehab and their Angelwood peers. The Angelwood behavior department provides positive behavior strategies and training to help individuals minimize behaviors that cause problems for themselves or others in their lives. Behaviorists are available to train family members or Angelwood employees to reach the best results. This service was also effected due to the pandemic. Approximately 30 individuals received behavior services this last year. Recently, Angelwood has trainers to teach first aid/cpr and professional crisis management (pcm). Our initial goal was to be able to train our own employees in a cost-effective way. What we also learned is that we have the capacity to assist other organizations in our city with this required training. The impact that Angelwood has in the community reaches beyond the specific individuals directly receiving services. As our mission states, we are available to support, not only the children and adults who are physically present with us for services but their families who love them.