each client, the staff assigns each in
dividual five goals to work on perti
nent to his problem areas.
Eight house managers help the
residents work on their targeted
areas. Each house manager is re
sponsible for several goals. For in
stance, House Manager Lisa Ogerro
teaches meal preparation skills to
two of the clients and kitchen main
tenance to another.
"In meal preparation the goal is
that they can plan the meal, get all
the stuff together that they need to
make it, prepare it correctly and
serve it all without any assistance
from me or any of the other house
managers," Ogerro says. "Because
there's not going to be anyone
watching them when they finally get
out."
The senior psychology major has
been working at Family Tree since
January. Before that Ogerro worked
at Mary Lake, a Bryan MHMR fa
cility for emotionally disturbed men
and women. Ogerro started out at
Mary Lake through a work-in-the-
field program at Texas A&M. Even
tually, she wants to work with autis
tic children.
Gisela Dellmeier is another house
manager who has been working at
Family Tree since January. She is re
sponsible for teaching independent
travel. This covers, for example,
when to cross the street, where the
crosswalks are — in other words
walking and traveling indepen
dently. She says the clients enter at
all different levels — "no two are al
ike. "
"A lot of the guys here are already
at the stage where they can take a
bus alone," Dellmeier says. "They
know where to go, they know how to
read a schedule and they know how
to buy a ticket."
She got involved with the facility
because of her interest in thera
peutic horseback riding. A friend of
hers works at Family Tree and the
two of them want to start a riding
program for the clients.
But Dellmeier and her friend have
been unable to start a program be
cause this area lacks the facilities.
They have taken the clients riding
on private horses on privately
owned land and the men loved it,
Dellmeier says.
"It would be wonderful if we had
land where we could have modern,
safe facilities," she says. "I wish
someone would donate us the land.
If we had the land we could
scrounge up the labor to put a fence
up and all that."
Dellmeier, an animal science ma
jor specializing in behavior modifi
cation, says her major has helped
prepare her for her job.
"Behavior modification is the
same — it doesn't matter which spe
cies you're dealing with," she says.
"If you're going to teach something
you're going to use the same kind of
learning techniques and behavior
modification.
"I'm used to dealing with animals
of a completely different species.
Species which definitely perceive
differently than I do and which defi
nitely learn in a different way than I
do.
"So maybe, to me, these guys
aren't as different as they might be
to someone else."
Dellmeier and Ogerro say Family
Tree has both its positive and neg
ative points.
"No system's ever perfect and I've
seen a lot of things that could be im
proved," Ogerro says. "It's not a bad
place really, it's just that every place
could use some improvement."
They both agree that Family Tree
needs more room.
"I personally would like to see
them have a place where they had a
little bit more land — where they
could play or have a garden," Del
lmeier says. "It would be really nice
if they could have a place in the
country."
Ogerro thinks the best aspects of
Family Tree are that such a facility
even exists and that the clients are
not held back in any way.
"They're all learning the skills
they're going to need to go on their
own," she says. "I think getting out
on their own is healing to them in a
way — it's good for them."
Dellmeier likes the optimistic at
mosphere at the house.
"One of the things I like best about
this place," Dellmeier says, "is that I
can't really think of anytime that I've
worked at a place where everyone,
all the employees, were so sincere
about what they're doing and so
consistently enthusiastic about their
job." -
MHMR from p. 1
costs less to deliver the service and it
does more good," he says.
To take care of someone in a state
hospital costs about $100 per day per
person. A residential facility costs
less than half that. In addition to
community centers saving money,
Page says people are happier closer
to their friends and family.
MHMR offers other services in ad
dition to Family Tree. The Authori
ty's brochure advertises that its pro
grams can help a person effectively
handle such problems as a new job
or retirement, divorce, remarriage,
family problems, birth of a child,
death of a loved one, alcohol or
drug dependency, fears and anxie
ties, the behavior problems of chil
dren, the stormy emotions of adoles
cence, and worries about one's own
value to others.
Other services can help devel-
opmentally delayed children
achieve skills permitting them to at
tend public schools and can assist
mentally retarded individuals in the
learning of daily living skills.
Mental health programs offered
by MHMR are: screening and emer
gency services, outpatient services,
inpatient services, aftercare serv
ices, medication clinic services,
mental health residential services,
drug dependence services, alcohol
counseling services, aging services
and social development services.
The mental retardation programs
offered are: diagnosis and evalua
tion, outpatient services, residential
services and vocational training
centers.
Family resource services are also
available which help parents with
children with mild to severe disabili
ties and provide genetic screening
and counseling.
All these programs add up to total
budget of about $2 million. Family
Tree costs about $100,000 per year to
operate. The Department of Health
and Human Services funds Family
Tree through an Intermediate Care
Facility program. These facilities
serve people who have a diagnosis
of mental retardation.
Family Tree gets referrals from
two major sources: state schools and
community centers across the state.
"The decision to take that person
into the facility and the decision to
discharge that person is a team de
cision," Page says. "The team is
made up of direct care staff who
work at the facility.
"They come in — we look at their
needs, we develop a program for
those needs and then, when the
team feels comfortable with dis
charging that person, we discharge
them.
"And you've got to realize that this
is a heavy responsibility — you're
placing someone out into indepen
dent living — it's like a kid leaving
home."
Family Tree is a training program
for the residents, a facility social
worker says.
"We train people to do household
chores — to cook, to clean, to do the
things they would need to do if they
lived in apartments, or wherever,"
Sandy Thomas says.
Once a resident is discharged, a
case manager (the person who does
the follow-up) helps the resident find
housing, employment and social ac
tivities.
"For instance, if they expressed a
religious preference, they would be
introduced to a local minister," Page
says.
How successful the program is de
pends on your definition of success,
Thomas says. Though the program
takes time, none of the men placed
so far have returned.
"Folks are usually here for about
two years," she says. "Last year,
there were five folks that were
placed in apartments from the Fam
ily Tree. So about half of the people
that we had here two years ago are
now living independently.
"One of the five is competitively
employed by the city of Bryan, two
continue to work through the shel
tered workshop (another MHMR pro
gram) and the other two are living
on their social security benefits.
"And I think that's a pretty signifi
cant number that have been placed
and are doing real well."