Read and - Specialized Housing, Inc.

SHInsider
winter, 2015
volume vi
www.specializedhousing.org
SHI INSIDER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome New SHI Staff!
Lauren Cowan, relief staff
Sakle Howell, house manager
Joslyn Vendola, live-in
Max Bulger, live-in
Meg Valentine, house manager
Carolyn Treat, relief staff
Cassandra Frayer, relief staff
Elizabeth Taylor, relief staff
LAKE AVENUE HOUSE OPENS IN NEWTON HIGHLANDS
NEWT O N, M A — Specialized Housing is
pleased to announce the opening of the
Lake Avenue house in Newton Highlands,
the second house in Newton and SHI’s
twelfth location. The opening was official
on September 25th, 2014 when Nate Orlov
moved in, as the house’s first member. Since
then, the house has had four additional
residents move in, with a sixth person joining
the group in January. The goal is to complete
the move-in with the remaining housemates
sometime in the spring of 2015.
House manager Meg Valentine reports
that residents are already quite busy,
establishing individual routines, getting to
worksites, socializing with other housemates
and Best Buddies, and enjoying the
surrounding neighborhood. Members of the
Lincoln Street household are frequent and
welcome visitors. Meg adds that the current
house members are very enthusiastic to be
part of the dinner menu selections, with
favorite items such as lamb dishes and
panko-crusted chicken!
Look for an Insider update on the Lake
Ave group once everyone has completed the
move-in process. Congratulations to all on a
successful opening!
Please contact Michael Caballero at mike@
specializedhousing.org for more information
about these openings or other Specialized
Housing inquiries.
New Housing Developments
Family groups in the Portsmouth NH/
Seacoast area and Maine are gathering to
discuss development opportunities in their
communities.
For more information, please contact Mary
Chris Semrow at [email protected].
Have you seen many changes over the
years?
There have been some changes over the years.
The kitchen was remodeled several years
ago and they put a speed bump in front of
the house on the street. Former housemates
have left and new people have come in.
Neighborhood shops in Coolidge Corner have
changed too.
WINCHESTER STREET
CELEBRATES 20 YEARS!
By Carolina Forero
Twenty years ago, Specialized Housing opened
a new house on Winchester Street in Brookline.
The house manager, Carolina Forero, takes
a moment to reflect on the opening with an
original resident, Matthew Gwirtzman.
So it’s been 20 years since the house here
at 67 Winchester Street opened its doors,
and you are one of the original members.
Congratulations!
Thanks. Move in date for me was July, 1994.
I remember when I first moved in here; it
was daunting.
Current Openings
SHI currently has five openings throughout the
greater Boston area:
~Brookline house (male or female)
~Brookline house (female)
~Arlington house (male or female)
~Cambridge Co-housing location (male)
~Newton Highlands house (female)
Daunting?
Yes, getting adjusted to a new place, being
with new people and the fact that you’re
owning your own unit. It’s a lot to take in.
Once I got use to it and adjusted, it felt just
fine. I really like the convenient location, and
I can walk to different places and get around.
Any plans for the future here at 67
Winchester St?
I plan to continue to work at my job downtown
and travel when I have the chance. I’m happy
with my current housemates. For the most
part, it’s a stable group with not too much
drama, which suits me just fine. I have a good
connection with everyone so after twenty
years of living here I can’t imagine living
anywhere else.
www.specializedhousing.org
SHInsider
Lincoln Street artists and poets
NATURE’S SILHOUETTES AND HOME
Descriptions by Laurie Zallen
and Leslie Ross-Degnan
NE WT O N, M A — A group show, featuring
paintings, poetry, and photography by the
folks who live at the Lincoln Street house
(a.k.a. the 173ers), had its opening on
October 22nd, 2014 at the White Hall gallery,
located at the Newton YMCA on Church
Street. Below are the process and instruction
descriptions.
During the course of our art workshops,
in preparation for our show at the YMCA,
we were instructed to paint a canvas any
color or colors that made us feel good or
reminded us about something or someone
that made us feel good. While the paint was
drying on our canvases, we collected leaves,
flowers, pebbles, and even trash that blew
out of our garbage bag! Everything collected
had to be from our yard. We then arranged
these “findings” any way we wanted atop our
canvases — the next step was to spray black
paint over the configuration we had just
designed. The final step, and best part, was
to remove and/or peel off each element we
sprayed the black paint on and see the image
left behind on our canvas. The remaining
images revealed were always a big surprise…
they were kind of mysterious. They seem to
convey different things to different people…
dreams, dogs, flying, holes in space, ghosts
dancing. What do you see? [Continued on
next page]
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www.specializedhousing.org
[“Nature’s Silhouettes and Home,” continued]
In addition to the paintings, Leslie RossDegnan (a resident’s parent) spent a couple
of Sunday afternoons shooting black and
white photos and brainstorming a list
of words and phrases, and collectively
acrostic poems and haikus were written
about HOME. Leslie’s beautiful black and
white shots were included to make for an
illustrated poem, entitled “HOME,” shown
alongside the 16 paintings. The following
are excerpts from the poems:
Hanging on the hammock
Outside with my roommates
Music on the radio
Exploding hearts
Haiku:
Bagels for breakfast,
Packing my own lunch for work,
Breakfast for dinner?
THE INSIDER KITCHEN
By Michael Caballero
M A — White chocolatecovered pretzels with sprinkles, pecan
fingers with powdered sugar, little
shortbread cookies, chocolate-covered
caramels, and those peanut butter cookies
with a Hershey Kiss in the middle are
just a few examples of the sweet treats
that crossed my path this holiday season.
It is awfully challenging to stay focused
on eating healthy when we are forever
confronted with such tasty goodies. It is also
easy to justify testing each offering by saying
that everything is homemade, from quality
ingredients, so it’s not that bad, right? I’m
doing my best to maintain the mantra of
“everything in moderation.”
One way I’m trying to have more balance
in my diet is by making new choices or
substitutions. I understand that substitutions
can be disappointing and short-term, but
that’s why we call them substitutions. I keep
substituting until I find one that earns a
permanent position in my cupboard. The
product must have some significant healthy
aspects to it and have some decent flavor.
Recently, I’ve been eating a new food product
with some regularity that I think deserves
recognition and a permanent place in
the cupboard.
Tolerant brand pastas offer a variety of
pasta types made with legumes. For those
who are not entirely familiar with legumes,
I’ll use the company’s definition: “Legumes
are known as the magical fruit, and they
come in various forms such as beans, lentils,
BR O O KLI NE,
SHInsider
3
Hello, I’m happy to
Open the door to
Mother’s visitors –
Everyone is welcome.
Brendan Bartczak, Elycia Bourque, Rosie
Degnan, Gabi Fridman, Zohar Ben-Gai, Stefi
Lister, Andrew Riedel, Julia Mansfield, Jay
Shatz, and Meredith Williamson.
Hall-dryer buzzing
Texting, talking from our rooms.
Weekend, Skid-Bo-Fun.
A very special thank you to Laurie and Leslie
for coordinating this amazing event and to
everyone else who helped make the event
possible, including our amazing artists and
poets from Lincoln Street!
Eleanor Ellein, fiber artist, YMCA liaison,
and White Hall Gallery curator, invited us
to do this show. Leslie Ross-Degnan, Rosie’s
mom, shot and framed all of the photography
and led all the poetry workshops. Laurie
Zallen, art educator and the program
manager at 173 Lincoln Street in Newton
oversaw the production. Our outstanding
waitresses for the evening were the Misses
Cowan and Fortier.
Over the course of ten months, all the folks
who live at Lincoln Street created a painting
for the show. The artists are:
peas, and garbanzos.” A box of the red lentil
penne pasta appeared in our cupboard one
day. Clearly, someone else in the household
had gone shopping the past weekend. I
was in a pinch one late morning, trying
to determine my boys’ lunch before the
babysitter arrived. I didn’t think it was fair
to use my two young boys as guinea pigs,
but I figured that they are young and won’t
remember if it’s a negative experience. I
remembered that we had a jar of marinara
sauce in the fridge, and it was official: Red
lentil pasta with marinara sauce.
During college, and a few years beyond,
I worked in a nice restaurant as a line cook.
With all my training in the kitchen, I felt
embarrassed having the thought that the
pasta would lose its form and melt into
mush if I cooked it for one minute longer
than directed. Nonetheless, I followed the
directions exactly, a rare thing for a former
line cook. To my sincere surprise, the pasta
held shape. I rinsed it and tasted it. It was
good, al dente with a subtle lentil flavor. I
would even go as far to say that it was tasty,
as is. I was shocked. I added the marinara
sauce and had a bowl right there, standing in
the kitchen. I was excited for my boys, and I
didn’t feel guilty anymore about serving them
lentil pasta.
The babysitter gave a good report (both
of the boys ate their lunch) and that was all
I needed for confirmation that this healthysubstitution product would get a second
chance. I must disclose that I still check the
ingredients and Google the product from
time-to-time to make sure this is legit. But I
can honestly say that this product is still in
our cupboard.
Mya, Lilli, Laney and Abby
Many of you are probably familiar with
this or similar products. I apologize for my
ignorance. However, I challenge the rest of
you to give this product a try. Let me know
what you think, compared to whole-wheat
pasta (another substitute). I think after you
review all of the amazing benefits of eating
this product, my hope is that many of you will
agree that it’s a quality and tasty, traditional
pasta substitute. Here is a quick list of some
healthy benefits from eating Tolerant red
lentil penne pasta: high in fiber (13g!), high
in protein (21g!), low glycemic, organic, and
gluten-free!
Managers and families, please send
feedback to [email protected].
I’d be happy to drop off some boxes at SHI
houses so that everyone can give it a try!
www.specializedhousing.org
MEET MICHAEL FROM SOUTH
PORTLAND, MAINE
SHInsider
HALLOWEEN FUN
By Michael Lavalle
I have lived at E Street since the house opened
in 2010.
I enjoy living here. It is near the beaches
where I can walk or ride my bike. Also, it has
great views of Portland. It is very convenient
to taking the bus to work at Rite Aid once a
week and to my day program, Creative Trails,
three times a week.
During the summer Maine is a great place
to be and at Creative Trails I get outside and
go hiking and enjoy the great weather.
Gully) made an appearance at the Arlington
house for Halloween.
BETH RECOGNIZED
By Trevor Meek
A GREAT EXAMPLE
OF SELF-ADVOCACY!
By Michael Caballero
AR LINGTON, M A — John Gerstenfeld from
the Arlington house said that he had never
voted before and told staff that he wanted
to vote this year. The house manager, Jackie
Clayburgh, heard the request and decided
it was an opportunity to see if others were
interested in voting. She held meetings for
interested house members and provided
them with un-biased literature about the
various political races and stances. Here is
a picture of John at the polls, with his ballot
in hand!
MASS ADVOCATES
STANDING STRONG CONFERENCE
By David Wizansky
ARL ING T O N, M A — Edgar Allen Poe (Mark
PO RT LAND, M E — My name is Michael, and
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The Mass Advocates Standing Strong 17th
annual conference was on October 18th in
Marlboro, MA. Similar to the past many years,
I rented a van and drove fourteen Specialized
Housing residents who have been active
in self-advocacy within their homes and
community. This year, among the speakers
were the DDS Commissioner, members of
the legislature, and gubernatorial candidates.
Our group attended sessions that ranged
in topics from the meaning of diversity,
the importance of voting and voter rights,
to developing friendships and many other
important topics related to self-advocacy.
The conference was thought provoking, and
a few of the adults I was with commented
on their experience on the ride home. One
of our attendees expressed, “We are special
needs, but we are not stupid. It is okay to ask
for help if we need it.” When discussing the
idea of diversity, one group member said, “If
you don’t respect people, they won’t respect
you.” Another group member commented,
“Everybody is important.”
CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS
AT LINCOLN STREET
B R O O K LI N E, M A — Beth Glasky is wearing
her Lifetime Achievement Award, which
she received from her teammates for her
many years spent on the Massachusetts
Property Insurance Underwriting Association
(MPIUA) softball team. This year was Beth’s
final season with that team. She will be
joining the Brookline Recreation league next
year and looks forward to playing alongside
some of her housemates and friends from
Specialized Housing.
A POEM
By Abigail Miller
Abigail Miller, who has been part of Specialized
Housing apartment program since 1999,
submitted a poem for the newsletter, entitled
“Waste of Time.”
Calling costs a dime.
It is not worth my time.
There is not reason to waste my dime.
Please break the telephone line.
N EW TO N, M A — This time of year is
often a time when families, staff, and
housemates come together and celebrate
their relationship by enjoying some good
food and traditions. Jemima King, live-in at
Lincoln Street in Newton, took advantage
of the season and organized a gingerbread
house competition for the household and
families to kick off the holidays together.
All of the families were represented at the
gingerbread house competition. Awards were
given for most creative, most colorful, and
overall winner. Congratulations to all who
participated and had fun!