Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 24, 1993 TAG: 9306240419
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In Salem, Betty Burris is waiting, too. She is hoping, however, she'll still have a place for the man at a new cottage for developmentally disabled adults at Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services.
The problem, Burris said, is the mother does not want to send her son to the Salem center until she dies so he won't have to make a double adjustment - to a strange place now and later to his mother's death.
Meanwhile, the center has space for only two more adult men.
The situation was different a year ago before Virginia Baptists opened a new cottage. For 102 years, only children who were temporarily or permanently deprived of a stable home lived on the North Salem campus. Now, four men whose mental age is less than the age of many of the younger residents live in the Ruth Camp Campbell Cottage.
"This program is very much needed by families," said Burris, who joined the Salem staff a year ago.
She notes that anxiety always dogs the parents of mentally retarded children. Though many of the children can now learn enough to work in sheltered settings or even qualify for simple jobs in the business world, they remain emotionally dependent on one or more parents, brothers or sisters, she said.
But there are now fewer family members to depend on.
The four men who have moved into the cottage, which faces Red Lane on the northern boundary of the home, are assisted by a staff member.
To observe confidentially, Burris gave them fictitious names.
Jack and David both are from the Richmond area. David, who in his 40s is the oldest of the quartet, came to Salem from a nursing home, the only place his elderly aunts and uncles could find for him after his parents died. With Jack, he recently has entered a training program at Goodwill Industries Tinker Mountain in Troutville and, according to Burris, "is excited at his new home. He was much too young to wait out years with feeble older people."
Jack, an only child of parents now in poor health, was sent to Salem because he needed more independence.
The two youngest residents, John and Mark, both work at Hardee's restaurants.
John, who goes in early on his day shift in the Hardee's kitchen, actually was able to get a transfer to a Salem Hardee's from a similar restaurant in his home town of Petersburg. A natural entertainer, according to Burris, he has found that attending a Sunday class that Melrose Baptist members conduct weekly for mentally handicapped adults has helped him over his homesickness.
Mark is from Covington. At 36, he had worked in a sheltered industry. Though his mother still could care for him at home, they agreed that he needed to widen his horizons.
All the men enjoy such amenities as their own rooms and baths, TV lounge, a van for transportation and dining room with a view of the scenic campus.
All four participated in Special Olympics. They enjoy bowling, occasional movies and attending concerts and sports events at the Salem Civic Center.
A spare room in their cottage, Burris said, can be used for respite care or for relatives who come to visit.
More people need such care today, Burris surmised, because they - as well as their parents - are living longer. At one time, most Down syndrome children died from physical problems by the time they were 30. Today these problems often are remedied.
And there is an acute shortage of safe and comfortable places for mentally retarded adults in Virginia, says Burris. She blames much of that on fiscal conservatism of the state's leaders.
Southern Baptists in Virginia wanted to do more for the developmentally disabled 20 years ago, Burris says. The Salem project was shelved when a financial crisis in denominational nursing homes had to be overcome.
Two years ago when state Southern Baptist leaders again tackled the problem, a church in Fredericksburg joined with the Salem staff. The church is building its own home, similar to the Salem cottage for men, for mentally retarded women.
For more information about the Developmental Disabilities Ministry of Baptist Family Services, call Burris at 389-5468. Financial support comes from individuals, churches and groups with funding separate from that of Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services.
by CNB