The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lucy Idol Center continues its mission
The Lucy Idol Center, 435 Nicholson Road in Vermilion, is a day habilitation center for adults with disabilities, aimed at preparing them for real-life situations through activities, events and other means.
Using individualized service plans, each client has personal goals and lesson plans that staff use to help everyone achieve goals and become more independent, according to Tammy Strieter, associate director.
“Our staff, their job is actually to help provide them with the tools to help them become as independent as they can so they can be out in the community with confidence and with the skills necessary,” she said.
“The spectrum of challenges that our folks face are pretty broad; some are a lot more independent than others.”
At the center, Strieter said there are six different rooms clients have access to and where classes and activities take place, like a workout room with equipment, as well as a large community room with tables, chairs and a TV.
Activities include arts, crafts, board games, music therapy, lessons in coping skills and decision-making, mental stimulation activities, financial life skill preparation and much more, the website states.
“Our job is to give them the confidence and the skills to be as independent as they can be wherever they are,” said Strieter.
Adults at the center also have the choice to register for monthly outings, where staff members take small groups out using company vans, Strieter said.
Though the group frequents Rebman Recreation in Lorain, they can also be spotted at many places in Vermilion such as Brewed Awakening, Ritter Public Library, Big Ed’s Soda Grill and Main Street Beach.
“They love, love, love to go bowling. They’ve had the opportunity to make friends with some of the staff there or some of the other bowlers that are there,” she said.
“They can be seen just about anywhere; they just do whatever they can think of.”
Aside from day habilitation services, the facility also loans medical equipment, like walkers and shower chairs, free of charge.
In 1954, Lucy Idol was hired as the first kindergarten teacher in Vermilion and became frustrated that students with disabilities were not taught in schools. She took a young boy, Bobby, under her wing to teach him, Strieter said, and eventually Idol had a list of clients.
Ultimately, laws were changed and students with disabilities were required to go to school, leaving Idol with the adults with disabilities. Thanks to Richard Konik’s land donation, a center was built with donated time and material and turned into an adult day habilitation center.
Idol was a pioneer in what she did at the time by taking so many under her wing to teach them, often time in rented space around Vermilion, Strieter said.
“Her passion was with the children with disabilities,” said Strieter
“Vermilionites that have lived here their whole lives still are really generally not clear on what we are, who we serve and what goes on here.”
Today, the mission of the Lucy Idol Center remains the same and serves as a place for adults with disabilities to go post-high school where they can still learn valuable lessons for life success.
“Employment doesn’t work for everybody, so they need a day hab facility to give them some skills and maybe that’s potentially what they choose down the road, but it’s not necessarily for everyone,” said Strieter.
“Lucy said if they can learn, why wouldn’t you teach them, and everyone should have that opportunity to be as independent as they can.”