While the Center for Life Management (CLM) will close its group residence in Derry by early March, it has not ruled out establishing another group home, but will first concentrate on resettling the residents of the Beaver Lake Lodge.
An aging building is the reason behind the closure of the 15-bed community group home operated since 1988 by the Center for Life Management, a non-profit community mental health organization. The building at 38 North Shore Road has served as a group home for seniors with mental illness diagnoses.
Its closure was approved by the organization’s Board of Directors, Vic Topo, president and chief executive officer of CLM, said in a phone interview last week.
The agency also operated a group home on Howard Street in Salem that was closed for different reasons, Topo said.
Topo explained that the residences were originally established to help people with mental illness return to the community. “Some of them have been institutionalized,” Topo said. “They live there and learn to manage their conditions.”
Topo said the former residents will continue to receive the ongoing support of the full spectrum of services from CLM, including clinical services, community-based case management and functional support services and 24/7 emergency support.
Topo said the Beaver Lake Lodge building is about 100 years old. “The facility could no longer meet the needs of the residents,” he said. “The program is housed in an aging building that has and would continue to require significant and costly improvements in order to maintain the quality and safety of living conditions for the residents. The financial impact of adequately maintaining the facility simply has become too costly to justify and we made the difficult decision that these consumers will be best served in alternative community settings.”
The agency has already started to make arrangements for the residents, Topo said, noting, “Ever since we’ve started talking with the board, we’ve always had a plan. We are assessing their individual needs, person to person, and contacting possible locations for them.
“We are making good progress,” Topo added, “and I’m optimistic about the relocation of our residents.”
The facility houses older adults, he said, and for some the best fit will be a nursing home. Others have progressed so well, they can now live independently, he said.
He’s been asked whether the agency will establish another residence, and his answer has been, “We are focusing on what we need to do now.”
The closure of the building will require layoffs of employees and Topo said the staff is working to help them find other jobs. Some already have full-time jobs and were working at Beaver Lake on a part-time basis, he said.
Topo said one option for the residents is the Supportive Housing program, which is continuing to gain strength in the region. CLM was the first mental health center in the state to work with Supportive Housing, which is funded by a Federal Shelter Plus grant. The grant allows agencies to establish and sustain programs where people with mental health issues can live independently with the help of vouchers. The vouchers are similar to Federal Section 8 vouchers, Topo said, and CLM started the program with 28 to 30 clients. Since 2004, that number has grown to 50, he said.
“We are committed to housing,” Topo said.
Kathleen D. Bailey
While the Center for Life Management (CLM) will close its group residence in Derry by early March, it has not ruled out establishing another group home, but will first concentrate on resettling the residents of the Beaver Lake Lodge.
An aging building is the reason behind the closure of the 15-bed community group home operated since 1988 by the Center for Life Management, a non-profit community mental health organization. The building at 38 North Shore Road has served as a group home for seniors with mental illness diagnoses.
Its closure was approved by the organization’s Board of Directors, Vic Topo, president and chief executive officer of CLM, said in a phone interview last week.
The agency also operated a group home on Howard Street in Salem that was closed for different reasons, Topo said.
Topo explained that the residences were originally established to help people with mental illness return to the community. “Some of them have been institutionalized,” Topo said. “They live there and learn to manage their conditions.”
Topo said the former residents will continue to receive the ongoing support of the full spectrum of services from CLM, including clinical services, community-based case management and functional support services and 24/7 emergency support.
Topo said the Beaver Lake Lodge building is about 100 years old. “The facility could no longer meet the needs of the residents,” he said. “The program is housed in an aging building that has and would continue to require significant and costly improvements in order to maintain the quality and safety of living conditions for the residents. The financial impact of adequately maintaining the facility simply has become too costly to justify and we made the difficult decision that these consumers will be best served in alternative community settings.”
The agency has already started to make arrangements for the residents, Topo said, noting, “Ever since we’ve started talking with the board, we’ve always had a plan. We are assessing their individual needs, person to person, and contacting possible locations for them.
“We are making good progress,” Topo added, “and I’m optimistic about the relocation of our residents.”
The facility houses older adults, he said, and for some the best fit will be a nursing home. Others have progressed so well, they can now live independently, he said.
He’s been asked whether the agency will establish another residence, and his answer has been, “We are focusing on what we need to do now.”
The closure of the building will require layoffs of employees and Topo said the staff is working to help them find other jobs. Some already have full-time jobs and were working at Beaver Lake on a part-time basis, he said.
Topo said one option for the residents is the Supportive Housing program, which is continuing to gain strength in the region. CLM was the first mental health center in the state to work with Supportive Housing, which is funded by a Federal Shelter Plus grant. The grant allows agencies to establish and sustain programs where people with mental health issues can live independently with the help of vouchers. The vouchers are similar to Federal Section 8 vouchers, Topo said, and CLM started the program with 28 to 30 clients. Since 2004, that number has grown to 50, he said.
“We are committed to housing,” Topo said.
