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| A community of HOPE By Stacy Trevenon--[ stacy@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 2:44 PM PST Marlene Gomez speaks slowly and carefully, but there is great warmth in her voice. "I'm doing everything I always wanted to do," she said softly. "Before, when I graduated from Half Moon Bay High School, I didn't do anything much," the dark-haired young woman said. "I was at the house. Sad, boring. "When I heard about HOPE, I was so happy. It changed my life. Now I'm busy." That hardly describes it. She takes classes in Dance Without Limits and adaptive P.E. at the College of San Mateo. She also studies American Sign Language at Skyline College. One afternoon a week, she volunteers at Coastside Hope, formerly the Coastside Opportunity Center, as a receptionist, and also fills in there when needed at other times. She spends Friday mornings at the Half Moon Bay Library, where she studies to reach a big dream - getting her driver's license. She is a client of HOPE Services: Coastside Peninsula Diversified Network (not to be confused with Coastside Hope), a nonprofit with offices in Half Moon Bay. HOPE assists young Coastside adults with congenital conditions such as Down syndrome or developmental disabilities, to integrate into their community and lead meaningful lives, including work, based on interests and skills. "A program without walls" is what Program Coordinator Connie Fortino, of Pescadero, calls it. "It's a program on the leading edge of what people are doing with the disabled." HOPE is one of three similar community-based services on the Peninsula. It does not offer in-house workshops or children's or senior services. Instead, it steps in where high school leaves off. "I see our service connecting their lives to the community," Fortino said. Key to that process is what Fortino describes as "job carving," or matching clients to employers based on clients' interests and abilities and the needs of employers or volunteer situations. "If you carve the right thing out, if you find these folks a niche, they'll become successful and feel accomplished," she said. "To me, these are people first. I think we all have some form of disability. These are just young people wanting to have purpose in their lives." Also key is HOPE's small army of Community Support Facilitators - CSFs for short - who provide support on a one-to-three ratio. Not social workers or professionals, these are community members who go with clients to job sites or on HOPE cultural or recreational outings. They provide discreet guidance with a goal of normal life and work experience - and emphasis on clients leading their own lives. "We try to empower them," said CSF Frank Guarino of Half Moon Bay, a friendly bear of a man who helped found the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastside. "We take a step back and allow them to go through that process." Intrinsic in all this is eradication of stereotypes. "I see it as getting away from warehousing these individuals," Guarino said. "What I try to do, knowing you can't remove stigma overnight, is through involvement in the community, increase the exposure of the Coastside to these clients." Besides Guarino, facilitators include Josh Pniower and Greg Virgen of Half Moon Bay. "I see them building confidence as they get successful," said head CSF Deb Pyper of South San Francisco. "I see them happy and their self-esteem is higher." In the Half Moon Bay office, she and Fortino navigate an enormous grid that covers one wall. Marked off by weeks, covered by a blizzard of colorful Post-It notes, it is a nerve center for HOPE. It's low-tech - but it's balanced out by Fortino, a common sight in the community as she bustles from site to site murmuring into her Bluetooth. "The community is our world," Fortino said. Friday is busy for HOPE clients. At Kelly Street Laundry, Mike Pisani, Alex Palmer and Sean Settles do their laundry, neatly fold their clothes and pack them in plastic bags. While they're busy, a delivery of cheese arrives for Pisani from Harley Farms in Pescadero. His job is to deliver it to various Coastside restaurants and shops. Harley Farms is a hub for HOPE. One day a week, a handful of clients go there with a facilitator to put together the small boxes in which cheeses are shipped. "They're proud they make close to 200 boxes in two hours," Fortino said. The Half Moon Bay Library is also buzzing on Friday for HOPE clients On Friday mornings, Gomez is joined there by client Sean Whelen, working on computer and Internet skills. "I like to go places," Whelen said. Other HOPE clients volunteer over the hill at the Peninsula Humane Society, in socialization programs for dogs and cats. "They're so proud of themselves" for the work they do, Fortino said. But it's not all work. On Fridays, there are also the regular "lunch out" outings, in which one group goes to Tres Amigos and another goes to Round Table Pizza, for lunch and socialization. Those aren't the only outings that HOPE clients get. Program facilitators take clients to places like the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley or the Monterey Aquarium. On their travels, they are accompanied by CSFs whose job it is to offer guidance as they structure their days. "We're not mother ducks," Fortino said. "These folks are taking charge of their lives." HOPE goes back to February 1952, when HOPE Rehabilitation Services was recognized in Santa Clara County. It started as a preschool center, and began serving adults with developmental disabilities in 1957. The organization spread to Monterey and finally to San Mateo County. Currently, Pacifica is its farthest northern point, and it serves some 2,500 clients. It is funded by the Golden Gate Regional Center for people with developmental disabilities, which is funded in turn through the state Department of Developmental Services. The local HOPE also receives funds through the Cabrillo Unified School District to cover those clients still in high school, and by its own foundation which does fund-raising. Local clients are referred to HOPE through the Golden Gate center or directly. Qualified students stay in the school system until age 22 - and then HOPE steps in. "Families watch age 22 approach like a cliff," said Ruth Palmer, whose son, Alex, was helped by HOPE to transition from structured school to independence. "For special needs, that's a big deal. HOPE Services fills that." Her son became involved with HOPE at 20, and now takes adaptive P.E. classes at CSM, goes to the YMCA on the Peninsula for more physical honing through swimming, and works at Harley Farms and Elkus Ranch. "To me, that's one of the real huge values - seeing him have normal relationships," Ruth Palmer said. The next fund-raiser, "An Evening with HOPE Services Coastside," is scheduled for October in Half Moon Bay. This will offer a one-hour program about HOPE and its services, and invite guests to partner with HOPE. The location is to be determined. Fortino nurses hopes of expanding resources and involving the community with her clientele. One level of expansion would be transportation: Though HOPE now works with Redi-Coast, she and staff would love to have a van with a wheelchair lift that would transport clients unobtrusively. "We kind of want to be incognito," she said, "Here comes the van and all those special needs - we kind of stick out like a sore thumb. By working with a small vehicle, we get to blend in." Fortino would also like to see more community businesses and employers open their doors. "We've got a work force here and we're real creative," she said, "We're not looking for charity. We're looking for them to hire directly." Contact HOPE and Fortino at 712-4476. |