By John H. Trumbo for TCAJOB
When Modern Living Services puts on its Jingle & Jazz Dessert Rush at the end of this month, Andrea Mallonee will be beaming with excitement.
Proud, not just because the organization plans to build a $3 million residential project in Kennewick for the developmentally disabled, but because she, as president of MLS, and a handful of other mothers who labored with her, endured the pains of birthing the project.
Ten years ago, Mallonee was at her wits? end, the emotionally-crushed mother of a 5-year-old daughter who couldn?t be normal.
That?s not how motherhood began for her.
Initially, her daughter, Lindsey, now 19, was a delightful, active infant, who won the baby derby at the Benton Franklin Fair in 1994 ? bagging a six-months? supply of diapers.
But as Mallonee watched Lindsey go through toddler years, she saw the youngster struggling first with motor skills, then tantrums.
Lindsey was 5 and attending Keewaydin Discovery Center when repeated outbursts at the preschool prompted Mallonee to consult a behavioral scientist, who advised that Lindsey had ?auditory perception disorder.?
Mallonee took no solace in the prognosis.
?When I came to the realization something was wrong with her, I had a complete meltdown,? she siad. ?I collapsed in the hallway and just cried, probably for two hours.?
For the following decade, Mallonee?s sole quest was to find educational resourses for her daughter. Mallonee said at times she felt she was at the mercy of professionals, medications and even her own daughter, whose aggressive behavior could turn threatening.
?A family trip to Disney World was horrible,? Mallonee said, noting that nothing seemed to assuage Lindsey?s unpredictable aggressive behaviors.
It wasn?t until Mallonee found respite help through the state that she felt some relief in dealing with her daughter?s behaviors.
Today, Lindsey lives in independent housing in the Tri-Cities with 24-hour care assistance, thanks to special state-sponsored assistance called the Waiver Program that provides 80 hours of respite and personal relief for families dealing with issues like those Lindsay has. Mallonee said she feels fortunate to have the help because the Waiver Program?s waiting list is so long, opportunities occur usually only after a client dies.
Terry Buck, case resource manager for the Washington State Division of Development Disabilities, says MLS? vision to provide affordable independent residential services for the developmentally disabled adult population in the Tri-Cities addresses a huge problem.
?It is the biggest concern I have,? said Buck, who has nearly 13 years experience as a case manager, and 27 years in public education in the Pacific Northwest, most of it in special education.
Buck said his 67 clients on ?no-paid services? range from 15 years old to more than 60. Most of them are on their own, many without a caregiver or support system.
One, a man in his mid-40s from Finley, lost his support when his elderly father died a couple of years ago, leaving the son no daily care provider, no social contact, no transportation and no place to call home.
?He is still struggling,? Buck said. ?He has had four different residences and is currently couch surfing. The man, who Buck declines to identify for privacy reasons, has no one to help him with personal and financial issues, either.
?He?s a vulnerable guy and his story can be duplicated so many times it breaks my heart,? said Buck.
Buck said there is help for developmentally disabled students in public schools, but once they reach 21 years, the services end.
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?These kids graduate to very limited services,? he said. ?Most of them spend much of their days watching TV, and that?s not right. They absolutely desire the same things as the average Joe. If we would only provide a few opportunities it would make such a difference in their lives.?
Buck said providing independent residential facilities with 24-hour managed care for developmentally disabled adults in the Tri-Cities also will address another even more invisible issue ? that being the aging parents of the developmentally disabled.
?The strain on an aging parent/care provider is real. These parents are fragile and they can?t do it forever,? said Buck, who added that the best answer is to encourage and support nonprofit groups like MLS and SEC.
?I would like to see what our community can provide without relying on government monies or political decisions. As our developmentally disable folks get older, their needs don?t go away. MLS is stepping up to help these people have the tools to be successful.?
MLS was created by mothers like Mallonee, who want to see developmentally disabled individuals have a meaningful and safe future where they will live, work and enjoy life in independent housing without having to be dependent on their aging parents.
The MLS story shows just how much a group of motivated moms can do. From being a support group meeting monthly in homes to meeting weekly at a pizza parlor only four years ago, MLS plans to break ground in April in Kennewick on a 14-unit residential complex.
The Kennewick Perry Suites on about two acres at Kennewick Avenue and Perry Street will consist of four buildings for a total of just under 10,000 square feet of living area. Each 650 sq.-ft. unit will provide a bath, kitchen, living and dining area and one bedroom. There also will be a common area for residents to share, and 24-hour on-site residential care.
The nearly $3 million project has $1.9 million in U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds, plus a $200,000 grant from Benton County and two grants from the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, said Sherry Erickson, who is MLS? treasurer.
The project is a virtual carbon copy of a residential complex called Edison Terrace South in Kennewick that was built by the Shalom Ecumenical Council, based in Richland.
Erickson said SEC ?held our hand? in bringing the Kennewick Perry Suites through the HUD application process. In addition to offering their building design, SEC connected MLS to a financing consultant, Goodale and Barbieri of Spokane, which shepherded completion of the 1,000-page application to HUD and invited their architect, Stenkamp Architecture of Richland, to join the project.
?SEC?s mentoring was extremely important to us. I don?t think we could?ve done as much as we did without them. It was vital to getting this to happen,? Mallonee said.
Erickson noted it all started four years ago with a chance encounter between two moms, herself and Mallonee, who was making a sales call at a business where Erickson was the general manager.
A phone call from Erickson?s developmentally disabled teenage daughter interrupted their business meeting. As Mallonee waited, hearing one side of the phone call, she noticed Erickson trying to calm her daughter.
?The way she talked was the way I talked to Lindsay,? Mallonee said.
Erickson apologized about the ?special circumstances at home,? and Mallonee said she could understand because of having a similar problem at her home.
?We had coffee. It was a great exchange and we totally related. We laughed together. It was a true bond,? Mallonee said.
That happenchance meeting led to forming a support group with moms of other developmentally disabled children being invited. Eventually, the group brainstormed about what they could envision for their children?s future.
The original vision was for a university campus-like place with residential, employment and recreational, and educational opportunities, a full spectrum of activities complemented with 24-hour supervision/assistance. In retrospect, Mallonee says she was overwhelmed with that vision. The current housing project is a scaled-down approach.
?It was too much,? she said.
But now that HUD funding is secure, land, an architect and design are in hand, Mallonee is excited about the future.
Once the project is built, a separate board of directors and a hired property manager will decide how the facility is operated and who will live there, Mallonee said.
Mallonee and Erickson said although their own daughters are not likely to end up at Kennewick Perry Suites, others will benefit.
Kennewick Perry Suites will serve a higher functioning level of developmentally disabled residents and for individuals with other types of disabilities, Erickson said.
?There are other models and levels of services needed. Once we get the bricks and mortar done (for Kennewick Perry Suites) we aren?t stopping, but will begin formulating our next project,? Mallonee said. ?In a sense, I feel like I?m back to where I started 15 years ago (with Lindsey). It?s like being on an endless wheel, back to the beginning again,? she said.
The Jingle & Jazz Dessert Rush in an invitation-only event, with most of the tables already reserved. But last-minute inquiries may be made to 947-0704. Or donations may be made directly to MLS regarding the Kennewick Perry Suites project at any branch of the Key Bank in the Tri-Cities.
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by Mary Hopkin
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
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