Spring - Reena

Regina Avenue home re-opens for youth in transitionby James Sejjengo, Residential SupervisorIn response to the ever-growingneed to support young adults who aredevelopmentally challenged or duallydiagnosed, Reena re-opened its grouphome on Regina Avenue last November.The house is capable of accommodatingup to six clients.The young adults who will live in theRegina home are, for the most part, at aturning point, because they soon faceineligibility for school funding withinthe framework of the children’s supportservice. They range in age from 19 to 21years. Three youths at the home camefrom the Toronto Transitional Age Youthand one from York Region Transitional AgeYouth. To date, three of the four residentshave already moved into their new home.Two will finish school this June. As well,a 28-year-old male from within Reena hasmoved into the Regina Avenue home. Atthe end of June we expect the last youthto move in, bringing the total number ofclients to five.Reena and the families of these clientswork in partnership to address the varyingand challenging complexities of theirchildren’s needs in several ways. Forexample, one client visits with his familyevery other weekend while another visitsone weekend a month. Such visits meanthat Reena is able to reduce staffing costsor offer respite/support elsewhere in thesystem. Worthy of mention are the regularand fun family visits to the group home.Families have also contributed to furnishingthe house.Staff at this location are Reena’svanguards of transitional youth agesupport and have worked very hard tore-establish the Regina location intoReena’s portfolio of beautiful homes,which emphasize clients’ life-skillslearning, individuality and qualitysupport.Reena client onVision TVby Arlene Margolese, Manager,Volunteer Services andJudaic ProgrammingAnita Lipman, a Reena client inthe Supported Independent LivingProgram, is the star of an upcomingbroadcast of Vision TV’s human affairsprogram, Skylight, on Thur. Apr. 27,2000, at 7 p.m., and repeated at10.30 p.m.The episode relates to theimportance of rituals in the lives ofspecial-needs people. Anita speaksabout her life, her work and the greatjoy she experienced when she recentlycelebrated her Bat Mitzvah at the ageof 40.Anita learned flower-arranging skillsat Creations by Reena, the flower storeon Bathurst Street that some of you mayremember. You’ll be delighted to knowthat she uses these skills at Snow Florist,where she’s been a valuable staff memberfor 20 years.A Purim donationby Moshe Fleising, Student at Mir Yeshiva, JerusalemThe Jewish holidays of Purim andPassover comprise a season filled with joyand thanks to G-d. The Talmud says: “Hewho enters the Hebrew month of Adar, increaseshis joy and happiness.”The commentators say that joy increasesfrom the beginning of the month of Adarthrough to the end of the month of Nisan— the month of Passover — because of themiracles that took place on these holidays.In addition to our joy, we also rememberthose in greater need than ourselves.We give and collect charity during Purimand Passover, in recognition of the fact thatG-d helped and saved the Jewish nationwhen it was in need. Thus, giving charityPurim generositySpecial thanks to the members of ClubAviva of Na’amat Canada for theirgenerous gift of shalach monot baskets thatthey sent to Reena’s group homes.has become a central aspect of theseholidays.With this in mind, we’d like to recognizethe efforts of seven young men, all yeshivastudents, who collected contributions forReena during the recent holiday of Purim.Traditionally, people wear disguises onPurim, and these young men were attired inthe costumes of cartoon characters. Theyinvited themselves to several Purim seudahs(festive meals) where they enthusiasticallycollected more than $4,000 in a single day!Thank you to: Avishai Bernstein, YitziFried, Avram Lauterpacht, GabyLeventhal, Levy Michael, Ari Rabinowitzand Shmuel Wise.April 2000 KOLREENA • 7