A Special place 4 A Special Adult
Donation protected
I have a special needs sister Michele. She is 51 but looks a few decades younger! Last Sep. 2014 I moved my mom who has dementia and my mentally handicapped sister from AL. to Yuma, AZ where I live with my husband and our 15 year old son. For almost a year they lived in a facility about 2 miles from our house so that I could care for them more easily. I also wanted to make sure my sister was ok, because my mom has frontal lobe dementia and her behavior was very bossy and mean towards my sister. My sister had always lived with my mom and she was not ready to live somewhere else. Michele ended up in the hospital with cellulitis at Easter. She spent one night at our house and the light bulb finally started to come on that maybe living with mom was not a good idea. The end of July my mom ended up in the hospital and than she needed 24 hour care and so the natural transition, until we could find a place was for my sister to live with us. We are not able to take care of my sister for the long term. The group homes in Yuma are all full and have been full since last spring. My husband and I will probably leave Yuma when our son graduates in 3 years from High School. If we moved away and my sister was living in a group home here, I would worry about her well being. If she lived in one of the several christian facilities I have found on line that have been started by the parents of special needs indidviduals to give them opportunities to grow in their education and talents and abilities in a safe and loving enviroment. I have been praying and searching for a place that could be a "forever" home for Michele. A place where she could blossom and succeed with people just like her. My sister was not treated well the last several years with my mom. Michele loves to work and stay active and be with people. My mom kept her home most of the time. I have found a wonderful place called Rainbow Acres in Camp Verde, AZ. It was started by a Pastor for his mentally handicapped son in the 70's. The residents love it there. The staff love it too. There is only a 5% turn over rate, so it shows that people love their job. My sister would be in a christian facility with loving people, have her own room and lots of activities to engage body, mind, and spirit! In addition to her own money she will need $2958 a month. I talked with someone who does trusts for special needs families and she says that I need to plan for the next 30 years of Michele's life. She said I would need to plan on a million dollars to cover her care for the next 30 years. Right now, Michele gets SSI every month and $700 of that would go to pay for her part of Rainbow acres. The total cost of Rainbow Acres is $3658 a month. This pays her room and board and the activities and her care by the staff. We need to move Michele as soon as possible so she can start her new life and we really don't have the proper room for her.
She can do the basic stuff to take care of herself, but like a 5 year old child she has to be reminded about her daily hygiene. Did you brush your teeth? She also could not live alone as she does not know about stranger danger or how to cook or use a stove. I have talked personally with 2 people that have been to Rainbow Acres. One is a young man in our small group at church. His aunt lived there and he said it was a great place! I thank you for letting me share the story about my sister Michele. I thank you for your prayers and any gift you feel led to give for her. God bless!
She can do the basic stuff to take care of herself, but like a 5 year old child she has to be reminded about her daily hygiene. Did you brush your teeth? She also could not live alone as she does not know about stranger danger or how to cook or use a stove. I have talked personally with 2 people that have been to Rainbow Acres. One is a young man in our small group at church. His aunt lived there and he said it was a great place! I thank you for letting me share the story about my sister Michele. I thank you for your prayers and any gift you feel led to give for her. God bless!
Organizer
Tracy Clayton
Organizer
Yuma, AZ