DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED ADULTS FIND A HOME

By STEPHEN HAMMILL

For the seven residents of 4041 Stall Road in Carrollwood, life goes on just as it does in other families. They get up in the morning. They go to work. They go on walks. They eat meals together.

Perhaps here, it’s more exceptional than typical.

The McClain house on Stall Road is an assisted living facility that has been around for more than a generation, becoming part of fabric of Carrollwood Village.
McClain Incorporated is a nonprofit ecumenical organization founded in 1977 through the joint efforts of parents and members of St. John’s Presbyterian Church in an effort to build a group home for adults with developmental disabilities.

There are three McClain group homes in Tampa: the Carrollwood house on Stall Road, a men’s home and two women’s homes, one located on Emerald Avenue near Jesuit High School and another on Woodlawn Avenue close to St. John’s Presbyterian Church.

Timeka Caleb has been on staff at the McClain house on Stall Road since 2001, and became resident manager this year. Caleb previously worked for Hillsborough County schools. Her motivation for working with the developmentally disabled is simple.

“It’s probably the residents that keep you here,” she said. “Seeing them happy and the progress they make – it’s inspiring.”

“They have a good rapport with her,” said Faye Gordon, program director for McClain Inc. “She’s like a member of their family.”

“We provide residential habilitation services for them – transportation services. We take them to their medical providers,” said Gordon, who has been providing services to less-heralded segments of society for years. She worked with abused and neglected children as a caseworker in New York City. After Sept. 11, commuting from her home in New Jersey to the city became too hectic.

“I encountered families with children with disabilities in that job, and it provided me with the groundwork to do this,” she said.

She sees it as her mission to go beyond basic services, to help integrate the residents of the homes into the community and enable them to function in the real world.

The hopes for the men and women of the McClain houses is independence. Gordon recalled a recent resident of the Stall Road house who, after years there, left to live alone.

“When you see a resident move out on his own, that makes you feel good,” she said. “It makes the staff feel good – that you can make a difference.”
The large house at Stall Road features a common area, with a television and a pool table. The dining room is big enough for everyone to eat together. The staff prepares meals from the kitchen every day. Most dinners at the McClain house are shared meals, according to Gordon. It is not an enforced rule, but a habit the residents embrace.

There are seven residents living there now, with room for one more. Each bedroom houses two residents. Jason Roche currently has a room to himself while the home looks to fill the vacancy.

“I’m looking forward to a roommate – I think I’d like to have that,” said Roche, who graduated from Gaither High School.

Resident Chris Spaulding is another Gaither graduate. He’s been going to work at the McDonalds in Northdale for 18 years now, Mondays through Saturdays. Spaulding likes to get his exercise, taking walks during the day. He also enjoys catching movies with his buddies.

“I like it here, it’s nice,” he said. Spaulding is a big Florida State University Seminoles fan, and his room is decorated with sports memorabilia. The residents of McClain house are encouraged to decorate the rooms to their liking.

Daniel Shanahan has been living at the McClain house since it opened. He’s a baseball fan, and an avid bowler, having competed in the Special Olympics.
Shanahan recognizes the challenges of trying to attain independence.

“I know that it’s hard outside. You have to pay the bills,” he said.

There are always staff on hand at the McClain house. They aim to do more than provide comfort for these men. They want to make them more self-reliant, and that means sending them out into the world every day.

“They either go to a day program or they go to a job – they all do something in the community,” Caleb said. “They’re working towards independent living skills.”

Whether or not each of them reaches that goal is less important to the staff than the journey they take toward it, incrementally gaining responsibility and some sense of independence.

The money they make from the jobs is theirs to spend, Gordon said, and they can do with it what they like. Gordon stressed that McClain focuses on assimilating residents into society, not in shielding them from it.

“You have to remember, we’re preparing them to become more involved in their own lives,” Gordon said. “Every one at our home during the day is off at work or an activity, not at the home.”

Paolo Guida is a full-time staff member at the Stall Road house. He moved here from Italy four years ago, where he served as a policeman. Now he’s a student learning English, and serving others once again. 

“In Italy I helped people – I do the same here,” Guida said. “It’s very fulfilling.”

Hilda Abreu works part time at the McClain Woodlawn Avenue women’s house. She moved here four years ago from New York.

“I have a history working with the disabled and homeless,” she said. “This is a passion. It’s something to do because you like it.”
The house on Stall Road shares property with St. Paul’s Church, and Gordon said the church has been actively involved in its upkeep. The donations they receive from it and various other private sources help keep the home going.

The homes exist on funding from the state, from community support and from personal donations.

McClain Inc.’s history dates back to 1977, when church members of St. John’s Presbyterian with developmentally disabled children of their own were asked by their pastor what provisions they were making for their children as they grew older. The organization was born that year, and some of those same children reside at McClain house to this day.

There is a feel of a close family in the house, with communal dinners and group activities. The residents involve themselves in each others’ lives, sharing experiences over the course of years, all the while becoming a recognized part of the community.

The home is involved with the Best Buddies program. Over the holidays last year, the residents celebrated Christmas by opening gifts that came from private donations.

“In the past it was stigmatized; there were no services for them in place,” said Gordon. Residents of McClain houses now work in Publix Supermarkets, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A, while others train in area programs teaching computer and financial skills.

McClain Inc. is monitored by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities in Florida. In 2004, APD became a state agency separate from the Department of Children and Families. Prior to that time, it existed as the Developmental Disabilities Program.

Gordon said Social Security payments to the residents often cover their room and board, while private donations help with the home’s upkeep and secondary costs.

McClain’s board of directors is responsible for fundraising. Some of the board members are parents of residents.

“It’s a very small agency, but we have a lot of family involvement and support,” said Gordon.

Applicants to McClain houses often come to McClain Inc. through the APD.

“Then, we meet with the family and see if that person is a good fit for our home,” Gordon said.

“We take pride in our homes,” Gordon said. “We want to make a difference.”

The Stall Road home for men, along with the home on Woodlawn Avenue for women, can each house eight residents. Both currently have a vacancy. Gordon said anyone looking for a home for their developmentally disabled family member could contact her directly about McClain house.

Donations can be made to McClain Inc. by calling 930-0088 or via e-mail to .