Buoyed by their own determination and support from the Upper Pinellas Association for Retarded Citizens, two longtime friends are learning to live active, productive, independent lives.
By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published February 6, 2005
[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]
Stephanie Dean and Jennifer Hayes carve a squash as independent living coach Christine Morse watches. Morse spends five hours a week with the roommates.
CLEARWATER - Jennifer Hayes and Stephanie Dean stumble out of bed at 6 a.m.
Carefully, they pick out their outfits, prepare their breakfasts, take their vitamins and pack their lunches.
It's a well-timed routine. Quick but meticulous.
Jennifer complains that she's not awake yet, but she won't let that slow her down.
"We have to be fast for the bus," she says.
They tie their matching blue sneakers and head down the street to the bus stop, making sure to lock the door behind them.
Bus No. 82 won't arrive for 30 minutes. But Jennifer and Stephanie don't mind waiting. They're proud that they do it every day, and they do it on their own.
For several years, Jennifer, 44, and Stephanie, 52, lived together in a group home for the developmentally disabled. For decades, they lived at home with their parents.
Since June, they have been living on their own in a two-bedroom apartment in Clearwater.
They are part of the supported-living program of the Upper Pinellas Association for Retarded Citizens. Two dozen people have joined the program in the last year, UPARC program director Donna Bowman said.
The association decided to expand the program last year after nearly $2-million in state budget cuts forced them to close and sell eight group homes.
Jennifer and Stephanie were prime candidates, because they had expressed interest in living on their own.
Their parents weren't convinced.
"I was totally against it to start with," says Jennifer's mother, Mary Hayes, 75, of Belleair Beach.
She was afraid her daughter would get hurt, afraid someone would take advantage of her.
Stephanie's father, Leslie Dean, 79, says he was hesitant, but "decided to roll with it."
Now both families say they're glad they gave their daughters a chance to strike out on their own.
Mary Hayes now realizes she was holding her daughter back.
"I've seen Jennifer blossom and have so much fun," Mary Hayes says. "They're like teenagers gone loose."
Step by step
Jennifer and Stephanie are best friends. They've known each other for more than 20 years.
They love shopping, stuffed animals and Disney movies like Lilo and Stitch.
"Where one has strengths, the other one has weaknesses. They just complement each other so well," Bowman says. "They really do take care of one another."
When Jennifer can't find her glasses, Stephanie finds them. When they're grocery shopping, Jennifer offers to carry the basket so Stephanie can pick out the fresh vegetables she likes.
At UPARC, they often work together in an assembly line. On Wednesday and Friday nights, they go together to the Handicapable Ministry at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Largo.
At the group home, they let others make decisions for them.
"We didn't do too much. We didn't go out too much," Stephanie says. "We stayed in."
Jennifer nods and picks up where Stephanie left off.
"That was boring," she says.
Now, they decide how to spend their time - when they go shopping and what they want to eat for dinner.
Some simple tasks, like chopping up a watermelon or slicing spaghetti squash, are still a struggle.
But with the help of life coach Christine Morse, Stephanie and Jennifer are learning to live independently.
Morse spends five hours with them every week helping them sort out their finances, taking them to doctors' appointments and guiding them through the vegetable market.
She goes over basic safety with them, reminding them to buckle their seat belts, turn off the stove and lock the door.
As Jennifer, Stephanie and Christine pick out vegetables to prepare one recent Wednesday evening, someone knocks at the door.
"Who is it?" Jennifer and Stephanie call out in unison. They know not to open the door for strangers.
"It's me," a voice replies.
"Me who?" Jennifer asks before peering through the peephole.
The muffled voice on the other side of the door is Kim Farrar, who provides in-home support for Jennifer and Stephanie. She helps them every weekday from 5 to 9 p.m. And when they have the urge to shop, she takes them wherever they want to go.
"You couldn't ask for a better part-time job," she says.
Bowman says Jennifer and Stephanie have adapted to supported living faster than most participants in the program.
"They're getting very independent very quickly," she says.
About 4,000 of the 32,000 Floridians served by the state Department for Persons with Disabilities are either in supported living or living on their own, says director Shelly Brantley.
"Persons with disabilities are no different than everybody else," she says. "They want to be valued, contributing members of society, and they want to live the American dream. They want a job, and they want their own home."
In Florida, supported-living programs are funded by a Medicaid waiver operated by the department. Brantley says she hopes to see such programs expand.
And UPARC officials also say they'd like to increase participation in the program.
"As long as they have the desire and we can provide the support, then they're ready for supported living," Bowman says.
On Feb. 16, the organization will host a fashion show fundraiser at Westin Innisbrook Golf Resort. Proceeds will go to UPARC programs, including supported living, employment training, life skills training and day programs that help 500 people with developmental disabilities each day.
Home, sweet home
Eight months after supported living changed their lives, Jennifer and Stephanie have settled into apartment life.
A "Welcome" sign hangs on their front door. A "Home Sweet Home" sign sits perched in the corner of a window that overlooks their patio.
They love to sautevegetables and use their George Foreman grill. Soon after moving into their apartment, they made lasagna and invited several friends from UPARC over for dinner. They hosted a Christmas party and went to a neighborhood crime watch meeting.
They're planning to plant rose bushes and vegetables around their patio and hang a wind chime.
On a recent visit to their apartment, Bowman tells them she is impressed by how far they've come.
"Maybe someday you guys will buy your own house," she says.
Jennifer replies with a playful smile and a shrug. "Maybe, but we like it here."
Times photographer Carrie Pratt contributed to this story. Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 727 445-4170.
IF YOU GO
The Open Your Heart for UPARC Fashion Show, including fashions and boutique items from Georgette's, a floor show and a Chinese raffle, will be at 10 a.m. Feb. 16 at the Westin Innisbrook Golf Resort. Tickets are $50. For tickets or further information, contact Pam Miller at (727) 797-8712.
