Shore Community Services Receives $125,000 Grant From The Coleman Foundation

Shore Community Services Receives $125,000
Grant From The Coleman Foundation

Shore Community Services, a non-profit based in Skokie, IL offering programs and services to children and adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, is the recipient of a $125,000 grant from The Coleman Foundation to support the New Life in Motion Choice Program.

The redesigning and rebuilding of the community day program, which is housed in the Lois Lloyd Center on the first floor of Shore’s main building, is crucial and necessary as brought upon by the Covid-19 shelter-in-place mandates in 2020. The Shore community quickly realized that individuals served were severely limited, and in some cases, experienced regression in development from the tight restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 restrictions. Programming that is a crucial lifeline for clients became unavailable or non-accessible.

“Quarantine affected the mental and developmental well-being of our clients, and independent skills were restricted,” says India Ehioba, CEO. “Video programming and Zoom meetings didn’t work for our clients. Our residents couldn’t go into public communities like they were accustomed to. People with developmental disabilities need stimulation to progress. So, we took that time to evaluate the programming to fit circumstances such as those brought upon us by the pandemic to continue building development for our clients, regardless of restrictions.”

The main structural component of the New Life in Motion Program will be themed rooms designed on the interests of clients such as Literature, Art/ Music, Cooking, Computer/ Internet, Science/Horticulture and Cultural/Current Events. Clients can choose schedules that will change 4-5 times per day, every day. Expected program outcomes are that 80% of enrolled clients will improve their expressive language skills; 88% will participate in at least 10 center-based enrichment activities monthly and 85%
will improve their appropriate community behavior skills.

“The program is designed to offer our clients opportunities
and choices to develop the ability for them to make informed choices for new experiences,” says Ms. Ehioba. “The objective
is to expand experiential learning by providing community integration opportunities with individual and group activities,
in both community and facility- based settings. To maintain
and improve activities of daily living and social skills.”

Funds from The Coleman Foundation grant will mainly go toward: 1) replacing doors with window doors to let in light, openness and safety 2) adapting rooms to add windows 3) direct care staffing support for hiring and training staff 4) IT services and software development for individual client schedules.

“We are optimistic and envision our future offerings to be more person-centered,” says Ms. Ehioba. We’re all excited about having our individuals served, be the key focus in implementing programs schedules that reflect their desired activities.

This transition will be a dramatic but necessary change to give our clients a fulfilling day that increases their independence and improves their quality of live, which has been our mission for 70 years.”


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