Adults who call Graceworks Enhanced Living home now have more ways to gather together, thanks to two managers who decided to help people reconnect with one another and strengthen social bonds lost during the pandemic.
Stephanie Childress, senior home manager of Dionne Home, and Kel Clutter, home manager of Concept Court, recently launched the Graceworks Action Club (GAC). The idea started with a bowling league between two group homes – which has now grown to include people from eight homes.
“We were looking for ways to bridge our communities and find common interests,” Stephanie said, adding that they began building off the enthusiasm of the bowling league by inviting other homes to join in the fun with regular, seasonal activities.
Many of the people living in Graceworks’ Dionne and Concept homes are busy, working jobs in the community or attending day programs. Still others are not as comfortable participating in activities with strangers in the community. “They want to do something with people they know,” Stephanie noticed. All these factors made using the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities’ recreation programs difficult.
When the county announced it would significantly reduce its activity offerings due to budget constraints, the timing was both “bittersweet and serendipitous,” according to Kel.
Over the summer, he and Stephanie began brainstorming activities for the people who live in their group homes that other managers could organize and execute on their own — and that they knew people would enjoy, like going bowling or out for mini-golf.
Although consistent, bi-monthly events would be the club’s mainstay, Stephanie and Kel also mapped out bigger events to host once every few months. These “experience events” would include activities like the LM&M Railroad’s North Pole Express, attending a Cincinnati Reds game, or going to Kings Island for the day.
The goal of the GAC is to create opportunities for connection among residents and staff across homes while carrying out Graceworks’ values — specifically Quality of Service and Wholeness of Life.
“We’re still working out all the bumps, but it’s ignited our innate interests to fine-tune things. Honestly…I’ve been absolutely floored with the reception we’ve seen. It’s been a really heartening process.”
