This is not my life....
Hello everyone! Now that I have made it safely to Long Beach, Mississippi, I've decided that it's about time to update my lj. The team arrived on Tuesday and we've now been through 3 of our five days of training. Our training has covered everything from the sexuality of disabled people (which is as robust as our own and we are almost guaranteed to walk in on someone masturbating before we leave...hmm) to the proper way to change "incontinence briefs" to using mechanical lifts and proper handwashing techniques. Everyone here has some kind of mental disability and some have physical disabilities as well and live in the multi-handicap buildings, Bayview and Seacrest. There are buildings for people with behavioral issues as well, the female building is called Cypress Cottage and the male cottage is called Gulf Oaks. I have been seriously considering where I would be best utilized, especially since doing all of the personal care stuff scares the bejeezus out of me...I mean you are dealing with life and death issues...it's a scary thought considering that I am quite a klutz. I am worried about being able to communicate with the residents here as many are non-verbal and some of those who are are difficult to understand. So, basically it's a toss up as to where I would best be suited, although right now I am leaning towards working with the ladies in Cypress Cottage. They may be more challenging in some ways, but they also are pretty mobile and some are quite verbal. Apparently there are some people with autism in the building who can tell me what day of the week my birthday will fall on in 2080. Luckily after our classroom training we will get the opportunity to work with the programmers in each of the buildings so we can better determine which building best suits us after working with the residents a bit more. In some ways I am very excited to start working as I meet all of their smiling faces. We also found out from our sponsor, John, that we are not necessarily going to be doing all of what the basic staff does and deal a lot with the personal care needs, but instead we'll be taking up the slack a bit and helping with leisure activities, their programs (most of which teach them life skills so that they can become as independent as possible...they're really neat!) which have been put on the back burner since Katrina has limited their staff to where they are pretty much only taking care of the personal care stuff. So, that is really exciting as we can plan some activities for them. We heard that they used to have date night between the male and female buildings where they get together and have music and dancing, so we'd like to start that tradition again. So, all in all I am less nervous than I was coming into this ordeal and can even say that I am excited to start working with the residents.
As for the rest of my stay so far, can I just say that the people here at the SMRC and in the area in general are SO NICE!!! They are so appreciative of our help down here and they truly know the meaning of southern hospitality. Upon our arrival, we were set up with fruit baskets, magazines, snacks and pops galore! We also have AMAZING housing where we all get our own room (a few of us, including myself are sharing, but I don't mind a bit) with a bed and a TV with cable and a bathroom that we share with the room next door. It's basically like staying at a very sterile and handicap accessible hotel! We're also only 1/4 mile from the beach which is for the most part all clean now. We can't swim in the water because it still has a lot of debris, but I can even tell that it has become much cleaner in the past few months. There is still tons of debris around and the entire coastline has been demolished, but I can tell that the area has come a long way.
Well...I better go pick up Twyla from the airport. Hope everything is well with y'all!
As for the rest of my stay so far, can I just say that the people here at the SMRC and in the area in general are SO NICE!!! They are so appreciative of our help down here and they truly know the meaning of southern hospitality. Upon our arrival, we were set up with fruit baskets, magazines, snacks and pops galore! We also have AMAZING housing where we all get our own room (a few of us, including myself are sharing, but I don't mind a bit) with a bed and a TV with cable and a bathroom that we share with the room next door. It's basically like staying at a very sterile and handicap accessible hotel! We're also only 1/4 mile from the beach which is for the most part all clean now. We can't swim in the water because it still has a lot of debris, but I can even tell that it has become much cleaner in the past few months. There is still tons of debris around and the entire coastline has been demolished, but I can tell that the area has come a long way.
Well...I better go pick up Twyla from the airport. Hope everything is well with y'all!