For over 150 years, The New York Foundling has worked in partnership with our neighbors to ensure that everyone can meet their full potential when facing challenging situations. This hasn’t changed, and our staff continue to provide life-changing and meaningful support in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This series shares how The Foundling’s many programs are responding to the needs of their community.

While some adults with developmental disabilities are able to live independently or in the care of a close family member, others require more intensive round-the-clock services tailored to their level of independence. For these people, many of whom have complex medical needs, The Foundling provides supportive and nurturing housing that is fully integrated into the surrounding community. The Foundling provides residential services for people with developmental disabilities in all five boroughs of New York City and in Westchester, Rockland, and Orange Counties.

We support the people in our residential programs as they work to engage with their community, gain more autonomy, and participate in gainful activities – from day programs to volunteer work and employment.

On any given day, hundreds of staff from The Foundling’s Developmental Disabilities Division are reporting to work at 104 separate supportive residences across the New York metropolitan area. Each home houses several individuals, and is staffed by direct care workers and nurses. With so many in people in every home, the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak among our staff and the people we serve has been a critical focus of The Foundling since the onset of the pandemic, especially as many of these residents live with complex pre-existing conditions or are otherwise immunocompromised.

The dedicated nurses who work with our residents have fought tirelessly since March to keep their community healthy. They rely on the incredible perseverance and commitment of the direct care staff in every home to ensure that the residents – many of whom have suffered trauma from isolation and abuse – are comfortable and happy at home, despite these challenging times. Our Developmental Disabilities division staff members have faced incredible challenges and heartbreaks over the last two months, but they, have and continue to go above and beyond to bring joy and hope to the residents in their care.

There are hundreds of stories of perseverance and compassion from our many residences for people with development disabilities.

When our residents could no longer visit the barbershop or salon for a haircut, staff from The Bronx to Staten Island stepped in – including Ricardo Wright, Jeremiah Harris, and Okechukwu “Stanley” Nwanyanwu – and established makeshift barbershops, cutting residents hair for both hygiene and fun.

Elsewhere, staff members went above the call of duty in efforts to fill in for staff who were sick, taking care of a loved one, or unable to come to work. Their colleagues took on additional shifts and worked non-stop with no questions asked, knowing that their clients needed them. Nichole Guions took on extra shifts and stayed late even while caring for her fiancé, who was ill with the virus at home. Randy Brown, meanwhile, even slept at the residence where he was assigned, to be sure he would be there if any of the residents needed him.

With the return of warm weather, our residential staff have sought to comfort residents by planning barbecues and cookouts.

There are countless stories like these to share, but Renee Pili, Assistant Vice President of Residential Services, summarized the sentiment best:

“In times like these, it is very easy to succumb to frustration, anxiety, and fear. The easy way out would be to run, hide, and leave the worrying to other people. But that has not been the case for our residential managers and staff.”

Renee elaborated that despite incredible personal challenges, staff have risen above the call of duty, “Many have endured illnesses and passings, have embraced new roles as teachers for their children, or are living separately from their families, because they work with sick residents and do not want to risk bringing the virus home.

“They have faced crisis after crisis, and yet our people remain united and strong. They keep persevering—not only adapting to challenging new work routines but offering support to the individuals in our residences in new and creative ways. They are valuable team members, and I cannot express my gratitude enough.”

We are humbled daily by the care that our team gives to make others’ lives better. Thank you to all of our residential staff. Stay tuned next week for more updates from our Developmental Disabilities Division.

To learn more about how The New York Foundling is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, visit our emergency response page. Stay tuned for more stories from the frontlines as we continue to support our neighbors on paths to stability and strength.

For over 150 years, The New York Foundling has worked in partnership with our neighbors to ensure that everyone can meet their full potential when facing challenging situations. This hasn’t changed, and our staff continue to provide life-changing and meaningful support in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This series shares how The Foundling’s many programs are responding to the needs of their community.

The Foundling’s Day Habilitation programs for people with developmental disabilities are based in the community and give participants an opportunity to connect with others through social, volunteer, and work-related activities. Such personalized activities help participants experience new things, get to know their likes and dislikes, and create rich experiences shaped by their preferences. These programs are offered to people living both in the community and in Foundling residences across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and surrounding counties.

Our dedicated Day Habilitation staff continues to provide meaningful engagement and support to individuals with developmental disabilities both in and out of The Foundling’s residences.

For people living with developmental disabilities, confinement can quickly become a serious emotional burden. That’s why our Day Habilitation Specialists continue to provide meaningful daily services and programs, despite the limitations of social distancing. Instead of picking participants up and bringing them to program or classroom sites as they normally would, staff members have now donned their personal protective gear and signed on to their laptops to bring the programs to them.

For about eight hours each day, Monday through Friday, Day Habilitation Specialists are spending in-person time with program participants living in Foundling group residences, keeping their spirits up while guiding them through various academic and social activities to keep their minds occupied and engaged.

As much as possible, staff and participants are maintaining six feet of distance from each other. In cases where individuals are focusing on building their fine motor skills, like handwashing, staff are wearing masks and gloves to protect themselves and our clients as they complete the tasks at hand.

For program participants living at home, however, Day Habilitation staff like Monee Smith are forced to stay in touch by phone. “We’d do basic math skills over the phone or work on vocabulary,” Monee says.

Recently, she’s been transitioning participants to live video chatting. While technology accessibility was an issue for many at the beginning of the outbreak, The Foundling’s programs have worked to distribute tablets, Monee says.

The plan is to hold two-hour sessions with each group of participants every day. “Some will be able to join the sessions on their own, but for those that need help, a parent, guardian, or in-house staff member will help them log on.”

The ability to share screens, show videos, and see familiar faces makes the day’s lessons and activities so much more engaging. “And it’s teaching them how to use modern technology,” explains Monee.

“We want to make sure that those who don’t live in our residences are not forgotten,” said Ashley Gibbs, Coordinator for The Foundling’s Day Habilitation Services, highlighting the importance of engaging with home participants.

Whether staff meet participants in-person or virtually, many of the day-to-day activities remain the same – and there have been some special surprises as well. When our programs shifted the delivery of services from community-based to home-based, all participants received personalized care packages with materials like worksheets, crayons, and construction paper. Some participants work on their math, writing, and reading skills, while others are guided through sensory and motor skill-building activities. Additionally, there’s also time allocated during the day for puzzles, games, art, and crafting projects like Mother’s Day cards.

Unfortunately, staff can no longer take participants on recreational field trips. Steven Moore used to take his group to the beach or the pier for fishing. Stephanie Tauly took her group to the movies every Tuesday.

But staff have been creative in finding special ways for participants to feel engaged. Movie day still happens, only now through streaming services. YouTube videos guide groups through stretches, yoga poses, and simple exercises. And others have taken virtual museum tours together.

Program participants often like routines, and COVID-19 has unfortunately disrupted them. “I try to redirect them when they are feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or frustrated,” Monee relates, “They miss peer-to-peer contact, going outside, going on trips, socializing, just being out and about.”

“I find ways to keep them productive. When they’re inside their homes, they get very comfortable and sometimes lose focus,” KiAndre Caldwell, a Day Habilitation Specialist in the Bronx, says. “When that happens, I give them an activity to do that teaches them something new. Or we’ll stop and talk about what they’re feeling, what’s going on in their lives, and what they want to do instead.”

Seeing participants in their homes has some upsides. “We get to know them better. We see them cook, clean, do laundry, use the buses and trains to go to the store, and other things that demonstrate their level of independence that we otherwise may never have seen,” KiAndre notes, adding that everyone exercises utmost safety. “Whenever we go out, they’ll grab their gloves and masks. They know how far away to walk from other people, when to wash their hands and for how long—it’s a new routine.”

Despite the many struggles and challenges the pandemic has wrought, our Day Habilitation Specialists are thankful to be able to continue working with the people in their care. “They’ve become my family, too,” says Odessa Forde, a Day Habilitation Specialist in Brooklyn.

“Our staff has been doing a wonderful job working through this difficult time,” Ashley Gibbs expresses. “I’m proud of how creative they’ve been to overcome the many challenges this pandemic has thrown our way.”

To learn more about how The New York Foundling is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, visit our emergency response page. Stay tuned for more stories from the frontlines as we continue to support our neighbors on paths to stability and strength.