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Home for Life dedicated near campus

The two-story house, near Ritter Lane just off the UD campus, was paid for by the Homes For Life Foundation, which raises money to build group homes for adults with developmental disabilities.
2:03 p.m., June 10, 2004--A new house on South College Avenue was formally dedicated Tuesday evening, June 8, marking both the start of a more independent life for the four men who will live there and a continuing partnership between the University and numerous community agencies that serve the needs of adults with disabilities.

The brick-front, two-story house, near Ritter Lane just off the UD campus, was paid for by the Homes For Life Foundation, which raises money to build group homes for adults with developmental disabilities. With construction now complete, the foundation has turned over ownership to The Arc of Delaware, a nonprofit agency that is an advocate for persons with cognitive disabilities. The Arc’s Housing Program maintains and operates about 70 group homes throughout the state, with round-the-clock staffing contracted through a specialized provider agency.

The new house is the 12th residence built by Homes For Life, a foundation that was established by Micki Edelsohn and her husband, Wilmington neurologist Lanny Edelsohn. The Edelsohns also have obtained $1 million in donations to endow a chair in the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy (CHEP) for the study of services for adults with disabilities. The Robert Edelsohn Chair, part of CHEP’s Department of Individual and Family Studies, is named for the couple’s son, who lives in a similar group home in Wilmington.

“The new Robert Edelsohn Chair will prepare the University’s undergraduate and graduate students to work professionally with adults who have disabilities, and it also will generate serious scholarship in this area,” President David P. Roselle said at the open house ceremony. “This house represents a partnership to benefit not only the residents of this beautiful new home but also our students.”

With the group home located close to campus, and the University’s enhanced focus on the study of issues concerning adults with disabilities, the house is expected to serve as “a natural placement for students to do practicums and for researchers to do pilot projects,” according to Michael Gamel-McCormick, associate professor of individual and family studies and director of UD’s Center for Disabilities Studies.

“We really feel that as a university, one of our responsibilities is to work in the community and to be a part of the community,” Gamel-McCormick, who also is a neighbor of the new home, said. “This house represents a set of services that adults with disabilities need, and the University creates all sorts of additional opportunities for the residents. That includes the opportunity to teach our students how to work with adults with disabilities.”

Jay Weist, one of four residents of the new group home
Penny Deiner, chairperson of the Department of Individual and Family Studies, said the creation of the Edelsohn Chair will allow the department to expand its disabilities studies program to encompass adults as well as children.

“The adult service system in the United States has not had the academic attention it needs,” Deiner said. “That really is the gift that Micki Edelsohn is giving us—the ability to take a look at the full lifespan and quality of life for people with disabilities.”

A national search will be undertaken to select the first Edelsohn Chair. Both Gamel-McCormick, who chairs the search committee, and Deiner have said that the individual hired will be an academic researcher, as well as someone who inspires enthusiasm for the study of disabilities and is skilled at building partnerships with the community.

In his remarks at the open house, Gamel-McCormick also noted the importance of focusing research and training on meeting the needs of adults. One of those key needs, he said, is for adults with disabilities to have social relationships as part of the community. “With a home like this, that becomes a reality,” he said.

The house, constructed by Ryan Homes, is a four-bedroom design that was modified to accommodate four residents and a live-in staff member. The bedrooms are of equal size and located on the second floor, which also includes two full bathrooms, a laundry room and a den. The shared kitchen, dining room and living room are on the first floor, along with a small apartment—housed in the part of the building that resembles an attached garage from the outside—for the staff member whose job is to assist the residents and ensure that the house runs smoothly.

Homes for Life Foundation cofounder Micki Eldelson with her father, Joseph Labovski
Ryan Bell, who expects to move in with his three housemates this summer, attended the open house and was able to see the completed and furnished residence for the first time. “I like it,” Bell said. “It’s going to be a good place to live.”

“We’re all very pleased,” his mother, Janis Bell, said. “I think the partnership with the University is amazing and will be beneficial for everyone. They’re real pioneers in having this kind of partnership.” She said she welcomes the opportunity for her son, who works full time for MBNA—as does Robert Edelsohn—to live more independently.

Janis Bell also praised Bancroft NeuroHealth, the agency that will staff the home, calling its employees “experienced and professional.”

The Bancroft program manager who will oversee the new group home is Katie Sheridan, CHEP ’02, who graduated from the individual and family studies program with a minor in disabilities studies. Sheridan also attended the open house, helping to welcome the four future residents and their families to the home.

Another University connection evident at the gathering was the presence of Timothy F. Brooks, who is the president of The Arc of Delaware and UD’s former dean of students.

Wilmington neurologist Lanny Edelsohn and his wife, Micki, have have obtained $1 million in donations to endow a chair in the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy for the study of services for adults with disabilities.
In his welcoming remarks at the open house, Roselle also noted other projects in which the University is involved in the study of issues related to disabilities. The Center for Disabilities Studies, for example, operates a variety of programs, including a federally funded project to improve staffing in programs that serve people with disabilities and an initiative to teach new behavioral techniques to those who work with children.

The center also administers the Transition Partnership Program in collaboration with the Red Clay Consolidated School District. Using two rented apartments near campus, the program assists young adults, aged 18-21, learn independent living skills in order to make the transition from school to their adult life in the community.

Additionally, Roselle said, such University departments as nursing, physical therapy and health, nutrition and exercise sciences also conduct related scholarly and service-oriented work.

With the new group home near campus and the Edelsohn Chair on campus, Micki Edelsohn said she foresees initiatives that will serve as “a model for the kinds of things that can be accomplished through a university partnership.”

Article by Ann Manser
Photos by Danielle Quigley

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