Life Skills for disabled adults now open

Yarmouth Life Skills for disabled adults is located in a spacious room on the upper floor of the old warehouse on Hawthorne Street.

The operation functions on a shoestring budget with several volunteers and one employee, executive director Sherry Robertson. Merle Fevens is the unpaid secretary/treasurer and a parent to one of the clients.

“People have been very generous. Many have pitched in and donated the fridge and stove, couches,” said Robertson.

The program serves nine lower functioning clients at present.

Robertson thinks there are many other potential clients living at home that could benefit from the program. “When I talked to Darrell Foster at K Nickerson, he said he has a list of over 40 that he can’t accommodate,” she said.

“Right now we are the only program offering anything to clients that don’t need the woodworking setting,” she said.

Life Skills is open from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., from September to June.

Day-to-day skills are taught with some schooling, outings, music, and crafts classes as well as money skills, how to cope with emotions, occasional guest speakers, creative writing, hand-eye coordination with puzzles, and development of fine-motor skills.

Although the women have exciting plans to expand the program, lack of funds and staff are a barrier at the moment. The facility receives no government money and is totally funded by parents, who pay $450/month for each full time student and $250/month for part time students. The daily rate is $35.

Caretakers of intellectually challenged dependants do receive a disability pension from the government (which varys between clients) if they meet the requirements. Historically this has been used towards living costs.

In addition to teaching important skills, the program also serves an important need.

“Many of the parents have chosen to keep their children home. The day program gives caregivers respite on a daily basis,” said Robertson.

She’s witnessed impressive leaps in accomplishments including the first time a 40-year-old client completed a book and the sense of pride a bottle sorter took in teaching another how to perform a task.