Isolation is one of the biggest challenges people living with developmental disabilities or mental illness face. To help address this, the SAJD Supported Living Program hosts a weekly leisure activity for adults with mental illness or developmental disabilities. The outing changes from week to week, but the goal is always the same – to get out into the community for an enjoyable afternoon spent with friends. To learn more, we sat down with Instruction and Support Specialist Jill Ruder.
What drew you to this kind of work?
I wanted to make a tangible difference in peoples’ lives. A large part of my job is teaching practical life skills necessary to live alone. These types of skills include grocery shopping, cooking, banking, housecleaning, exercising and going out into the community. It’s amazing to watch my clients grow and succeed. I love that my job and the SAJD Supported Living Program help people live independently, at the highest possible quality of life. Getting them into the community for a leisure activity is part of that.
How do you choose activities for the group?
I comb through the event listings, looking for activities that are specific, seasonal and special. As much as possible, I try to incorporate exercise. In October, we went to the Parrot Expo and saw all types of beautiful and entertaining birds. One client still talks about it every time I see him.
What are you guys up to this month?
We’ll be visiting the Frye Art Museum, attending a kids’ theater performance of “The Wizard of Oz”, going bowling and attending the Japanese New Year/Winter Festival at the Crossroads Mall.
What do you find the most meaningful part of this work?
I love that I facilitate leisure activities for adults with mental illness or developmental disabilities. Free time and recreational activities are something that most of us take for granted. But when you don’t have transportation or the ability to look up events, it becomes more challenging. Many of my clients would be at home watching TV alone, so it’s really meaningful for me to bring them together and out into the community to have fun experiences they likely wouldn’t have otherwise.
What feedback do you hear from the group?
The members are good cheerleaders for the group. One man tells me he looks forward to it every week, as do I. It’s lovely and heartwarming to talk to them. They are really grateful.
By Jenelle Birnbaum
Violinist, hiker and all-around arts nerd Jenelle Birnbaum is the Marketing Coordinator at JFS. Outside of that, she enjoys speaking French and vegan cooking.
Feature image by D Coetzee.
