April 14, 2021
Mountain Shadows Outreach Continues to Thrive with Alternative Day Programs
by Sheryl Wilde
Leah and Claire, 31-year-old identical twins with Mowat-Wilson Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, attended Mountain Shadows Outreach Day Program 5 days a week – until March 2020, when the pandemic began.
“They LOVED going to Day Program,” says Andrea Harper, Leah and Claire’s mom. “They were always excited to see everyone. Whenever they went to Mountain Shadows Outreach, HAPPY would be written on their faces. And they would always be laughing when they got home and got out of the car. They just loved it!
“Then COVID hit. They were both so sad. They missed the staff, their friends and all of the fun activities so much. Thankfully, Mountain Shadows wasted no time in creating new ways to continue serving the clients.
“It started with Zoom visits. Jeff Helmkamp, the Program Supervisor, comes on the screen during the Zoom calls and greets everyone. Claire and Leah get to see all the people they love. They say ‘Hi!’ They laugh and giggle. It’s always a happy time.
“Now, as soon as Leah sees me getting her iPad ready for a Zoom visit, she starts laughing, because she knows she’s going to see all of her favorite people.
“It has really been wonderful. The Mountain Shadows staff works so hard. Jeff takes all the clients on virtual train rides. They’ve gone to the Grand Canyon and Switzerland. They’ve taken underwater tours – Leah and Claire really enjoyed that.
“They also do Zoom calls now just for Claire and Leah. They sing, and listen to music. They are so happy to have that personal interaction.
“I have a friend who has a disabled child. I told her that Mountain Shadows is what you always hope it will be like for your child. At Mountain Shadows, everyone greets everyone by name. No one is overlooked. Everyone says ‘Hi!’ It’s wonderful. But for my friend – her daughter sits alone with a sad look on her face.”
“We’ve been providing Alternative Day Program Services for 30 weeks now,” says Flor Angel, Program Director.
“We try to make everything person-centered,” says Jeff. “The staff has done their best to make sure Outreach is still happening, even if the participants aren’t physically at Outreach Services. The staff has done an amazing job at making it happen.
“At first, the participants missed coming to Day Program. They really missed being here and seeing everyone. Now I think everyone has settled in to a new routine, but they do still miss coming to Outreach.
“On Mondays, we do Zoom mindfulness and meditation classes. We focus on breathing, positivity, inner peace. We want it to be a relaxing experience. We talk about mental health.
“On Tuesdays, we do a group Zoom class. We get to see everyone and socialize. We do a yoga pose of the week. We talk about the health benefits and do the pose together in Zoom class.”
Says Flor, “The Zoom class uses lots of live cam. We’ve had Zoom in Ireland and the North Pole; we’ve gone to a zoo in Europe and much more.
“The participants all love karaoke, so they end most classes with that. They send us songs they want to sing at the end of class. It’s really fun for everyone.
“We also send weekly packages to all the families and houses. The packages include three craft projects for the week. We send all the supplies and materials they need for each project.”
“We deliver the activity packets to almost all of our participants. Two staff members put together 97 packets, with three crafts in each packet, each week. That is almost 7,000 crafts so far. We also have a YouTube channel with videos, in English and Spanish, showing how to do all of the projects we’ve sent out.
“We also have staff that do one-on-one Zoom meetings with participants every day. Two staff members in San Marcos do up to 12 Zoom calls per day. The families and participants love it! They are not just chatting, they are learning.”
On Wednesdays, we have a teacher and we do artwork,” adds Jeff. “Students from Cal State San Marcos join on Zoom. They do virtual painting and have virtual drumming sessions.”
“On Wednesdays we also have the “Let’s Get Crafty with Martha” class where we do arts and crafts and we have participants from the New Beginnings program, MSCH residents from Escondido and Riverside, and Outreach Participants,” says Flor.
“The families appreciate it when we reach out,” adds Jeff. “They appreciate the extra care we take in reaching out and asking, ‘How can we make this special for you and your children?’”
“We greatly appreciate the extensive and creative art work and the written lessons sent from our special day program each week by our wonderful staff members,” says Portia Bibb, mother of Stacy, Mountain Shadows resident and Day Program participant.
“Our absolute favorite activity, that we look so forward to each week, is the personal interaction between staff member Anne and Stacy. Anne teaches Stacy about a new classical composer, from Mozart, to Beethoven, to Clara Schumann, each week. We have studied around 15 composers thus far.
“Anne also requests from Stacy one of his all-time favorite rock idols, then she combines the backgrounds of a classical artist with a rock legend. We listen to a favorite song from each artist.
“The 45-minute lessons fly by, with stimulating conversation, and brand-new music, which helps Stacy develop a new appreciation for a new music genre. We love our time with Anne.
“We are especially blessed to have the Day Program during these challenging times.”
Brinda Rao, mother of Program participant Deepak, agrees. “Deepak is quadriplegic and needs total care. He’s physically not able to do anything, but Mountain Shadows caters to his mind. They give him challenging programs to use his mind.
“At first, Deepak really missed being in the company of everyone at Day Program, but Jeff’s Tuesday calls helped him feel part of the group again. It’s a very good program. Deepak sees all the other participants and feels like he’s with everybody.
“Tom Krause, Direct Support Staff, also does two one-on-one classes with Deepak every week. Deepak likes space and all the planets and wants to know about everything concerning space. He also likes reading comprehension. They teach him spelling. He has no real tools for communication, so spelling is a very big help for him. He is verbal and he can be understood well if someone is with him for a while. If he uses a new word, he gives them a basic spelling using consonants to help them understand.
“Deepak was the one who chose Mountain Shadows, over three other day programs, five years ago. He’s been very happy since then. And my husband and I are also very pleased with the program.”
Elizabeth’s daughter Denise is also a participant in Mountain Shadows Outreach Day program. “Elizabeth is participating four days a week now. She does Tuesdays group Zoom class and she has one-on-one classes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“She just loves it. She loves the interaction with her friends. She loves talking and will tell you her life story!
“Mountain Shadows takes good care of her.”
While navigating during the pandemic has been challenging, Jeff looks to the positive. “This has given us a chance to step back and reflect on how we provide services. It has given us new insight into what a good program can be. It has made us think creatively in different ways. It has given us the opportunity to see what’s out there, to scour the community to see what’s available, and amass a new library of meaningful activities that benefit our participants.”
For art projects and more view the Mountain Shadows Day Program Youtube page!