Chapel Haven

Saturday, May 18 brought sunshine and a drove of busy residential students and community members outside to help beautify the Chapel Haven campus for Green Up Clean-Up Day.

Armed with rakes, mulch, brooms and shovels, dozens of volunteers and Chapel Haven staff worked hard through the morning, placing mulch around the flowering shrubs and plantings that dot the courtyard and the campus. In a special feature, Debbie Edwards and the New Haven Garden Club brought three American elm trees to campus to be planted as part of the City of New Haven’s 375th birthday, and the marking of the New Haven Garden Club’s centennial.

Click here to see New Haven Register coverage of the tree donation. Chapel Haven is grateful to Tucker Trimble, mother of community member James Trimble, for recommending Chapel Haven get the new trees through her Garden Club connections in New Jersey.

Thank you to all the community members, staff and students who raked and cleaned their way around campus. To see a photo album from the day, click here

Chapel Haven’s popular Family Brunch drew a crowd of 470 to Woodwinds on Sunday, April 28, 2013 and carried the theme, “What Chapel Haven Means to Me.”

To see a photo album of pictures from the event, click here. Thanks to Ron Guerrucci from the Supported Living program for taking such fabulous pix.

The annual event is a chance for families from the REACH, ASAT and Supported Living programs to mingle and celebrate the strength of Chapel Haven, an agency dedicated to helping adults with a variety of disabilities learn to live independently. Chapel Haven, founded in 1972, marked its 40th anniversary in 2012.

The event included a silent auction that raised in excess of $20,000, including funds to go toward campus improvements.

Michael Storz, President of Chapel Haven, gave a very personal speech about Chapel Haven’s significance to him. “Each day when I pull into our parking lot, I am thronged by high energy – smiling, excited faces. I am surrounded by passionate people – students, community members and staff – who look at the prospect of having a successful, independent adult and think not about limitations or impediments, but instead, about opportunity. Our adults are living the dream of independence each and every day, and that is an intoxicating mission to be around!”

John Bilezekian, chair of Chapel Haven’s board of directors and parent of Diane Bilezekian, longstanding Chapel Haven community member, gave the welcome and also introduced Chapel Haven’s new video, created when Chapel Haven was chosen a best-practice program through the national Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism. To see the video, click here. To read more about Chapel Haven’s prestigious designation, click here.

Student speakers at the brunch were John Orr, Katy Balog and Jeff Blattmachr.

John Orr graduated from REACH in 1989.  He is employed by Chapel Haven managing a cleaning crew of 3 employees.  He is an avid artist; painting birds and landscapes in
acrylic and oil.  He remains active at Chapel Haven attending classes both as a student and mentor.

Jeff Blattmachr entered Chapel Haven’s Bridge Program nearly five  years ago before quickly transitioning into Supported Living.  Despite being relatively “new” on the scene, Jeff is at the hub of Chapel Haven’s social network-always volunteering to host parties at
his apartment.

Katy Balog came to the Asperger Syndrome Adult Transition (ASAT) program in the summer of 2012 with the ambition of pursuing a career in the arts. In just two short years, Katy has accomplished so much, from gallery internships to working at the International
Festival of Arts and Ideas to her current position at Hull’s Art Shop in the
heart of New Haven. Katy is graduating the ASAT residential program this June
and will move into the Supported Living community.

Chapel Haven also took time at the brunch to recognize its many Student Ambassadors, who are selected by the Admissions Office to help give tours to prospective families and take the time to talk about their experiences at Chapel Haven at conferences and other special events. The Admissions Office look forward to honoring its Student Ambassadors
later in May.

And four staff members who have hit the milestone of having worked at Chapel Haven for 20-plus years were presented with special awards. “Talk about passion and purpose, our hats are off to these individuals,” Mike said in presenting them with their plaques.

Congratulations to Sunny Richards, Deborah Elliott, Linda Evans-Willis and Joanne Roberts-Sims.

On Sunday, March 24, Chapel Haven was awash with artists!

For the first time, Chapel Haven hosted an Art Day on campus, giving students and community members the chance to participate in a day of creating artwork to celebrate Autism Awareness Day (April 2) on the campus of Yale.  

Their creations will be displayed in Woolsey Hall at Yale University on April 2 in celebration of Autism Awareness Day.

Art Teacher Tina Menchetti said Yale graduate student Andrew Sotiriou, who has interned with Tina’s Out to Art classes, secured grant funds to help Chapel Haven purchase art supplies. Students from Yale and staff from the Yale Center for British Art were on hand Sunday to help the students with their creations. The group created paintings, drawings, collage, and sculptures.

The New Haven Register sent photographer Melanie Stengel to photograph. Click here to view her incredible slide show:

The transition from high school to college is tricky for most students, and for those on the Autism Spectrum, there are added and unique challenges.

But the college environment in many ways is also ideal for those on the spectrum, because of factors like scheduling flexibility, more choices and a diverse student population that may be more accepting of quirks.

It’s all about the right supports and preparation, said Ginny Hodge, Director of Chapel Haven’s  Asperger Syndrome Adult Transition (ASAT) Program.  “Students on the spectrum can soar,” she said.

Hodge recently addressed parents and educators at a Chapel Haven workshop focused on how a student on the spectrum can meet with success in the college or other post-secondary education setting. The room was packed with families nervously considering the transition to college.

Hodge, a certified speech-language pathologist who also is Chapel Haven’s Vice President of Autism Spectrum Programs, explored the differences between high school and college, presented a “Big Six” checklist of skills students face in a more challenging college environment and concluded on an up note: college can be just right for many adults.

“She nailed everything,” educational consultant Daria M. Rockholz said of Hodge’s presentation. “People who read of the triumphs don’t see all the blood, sweat and tears.”

First, Explore Expectations

Hodge said the first important step is for parents to talk to the student about expectations, asking them directly, “Do you want to go to college?” and “Why do you want to go to college?”

Hodge said don’t be shocked by answers like, “That’s what I’m supposed to do,” or even “I’ve heard there are a lot of parties.”

Everyone needs to be on the same page, Hodge said. Continue reading →

Six female students and graduates of Chapel Haven’s Asperger Syndrome Adult Transition Program were busy this fall writing their own songs through an innovative “class” offered by the Neighborhood Music School.

Entitled, “NoteAble Women,” the program gave each individual the chance to create an original song with help from the school’s renowned music faculty. For two hours every Friday, the students, accompanied by ASAT Student Advisor Gina Apicella, went to the Neighborhood Music School to study songs they liked, to write lyrics and then to try out their creations with the help of faculty assisting on keyboards, a loog guitar and drums.
Their songs will be performed in a special concert during the ASAT family weekend April 27 at the Neighborhood Music School. They will be assisted by NMS faculty members.

Congratulations to Sarah W., Jennica, Katy B., Maria R., Sarah A. and Ariana H. for participating. We can’t wait to hear their songs!

“The idea was to bring these women together to write an original song that reflects on their collaboration with our faculty members – Sarah Lamieux and David Mills – and to reflect on their own lives – to get in touch with feelings they might otherwise not share,” said Gretchen Hary, Director of Special Needs at the school and on the percussion faculty.

“Not being a big songwriter myself I wondered how we would take these women with no songwriting experience and come away with a song. I was a little skeptical at first. But I was just amazed, and the women were too, at the songs they created with the help of these facilitators.’

Among the topics of the songs? First love, what else?

Gina, who is a point staffer for Chapel Haven’s ASAT program, likewise said the program helped the students “enjoy music as a universal language. There were no constraints.”

“The sense of accomplishment is awesome,” Gina said. “They are proud of what they’ve worked on.”

NoteAble Women was made possible after Alice Ann Harwood, development director at the Neighborhood Music School, applied for and received a grant from the Community Foundation’s Women and Girls Foundation. The school already offers a drum circle class for ASAT students and the grant was another way for the school to further one of its goals: to serve youngsters and adults on the spectrum through the medium of music. Continue reading →

Rabbi Hesch Sommer of Jewish Family Service stood at the white board in Chapel Haven’s library, posing a question to students and community members: “You just got back from break. Did your Jewishness go on vacation?” For student Andy Hausler, who led a Shabbat service on a cruise, and Liora Steinschriber, who led two shabbatons or celebrations, it was an obvious, “no.”
But for a couple of others in the meeting of Chapel Haven’s Jewish Students Organization, it took a little drawing out by Sommer to realize their Jewishness didn’t go on vacation either. “I played with my dog,” David Schleifer said, after telling the Rabbi he didn’t do anything Jewish.

 To which Rabbi said, “Taking care of pets is a very Jewish thing to do. It’s a mitzvah (good deed)…We learn in the Torah that God gives us the responsibility to take care and responsibility.” Eric Kay said he went to “synagogue” over vacation, then changed it to, “Let’s say we went to Temple.” He also helped his grandmother put on her seatbelt. “You didn’t let your Jewishness go on vacation,” Sommer said. “The Jewish part to us isn’t a separate part, it’s within us.”
Sommer, Director of Jewish Wellness and Healing Center at Jewish Family Service, said the student group at Chapel Haven was begun about two years ago, an extension of work JFS was already doing with the Chapel Haven community. Continue reading →

Programs in CA, CT, NJ, NY Selected as National Models

NEW YORK, NY. (January 29, 2013) – Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA) has selected the inaugural winners of AFAA Applauds, a national initiative recognizing innovative, high-quality support programs for adults living with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

AFAA will promote the winning programs as cutting-edge models for other organizations across the country to replicate. The goal is to meet the increased demand for effective services, provide accurate information on promising practices and generate awareness about ASDs and adult concerns. 

Through a competitive application process, AFAA selected six organizations for exemplary results-oriented employment, residential support and community life programs. Community life includes social skills, transportation, recreational, safety, spirituality or other categories of service that improve life experiences and outcomes for those living with autism. 

The winners:

Chapel Haven, Connecticut

Chapel Haven’s supported living program assists individuals with autism as they obtain jobs, gain a network of friends and participate in a vibrant community life. Chapel Haven’s program sets a high standard for excellence. Continue reading →

The January/April edition of the Yale Center for British Art’s journal devotes a section to Chapel Haven’s popular “Out to Art” program. Click here Yale Center for British Art and Chapel Haven’s Out to Art to see the story. The actual feature on Chapel Haven starts on the second page. Enjoy the photos of our students and community members too!

Thanks to the leadership of Tina Menchetti, Chapel Haven’s art teacher, students and community members have enjoyed the renowned collections at the Yale Center for British Art, but the program goes well beyond just a museum visit.

As noted in the journal, Chapel Haven’s Out to Art class since 2009 has developed cutting-edge museum educaitonal program with the REACH program. Students enrolled in Chapel Haven’s 24-month REACH program take part in a wide range of museum activities and sensory learning. They enjoy beyind-the-scene tours, close looking at works of art and studio activities. Participants are able to build life skills while also developing theory of mind, memory and interpersonal connections. Continue reading →