On the Horizon

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4New Horizons New Dream HouseBy now many have heard of New Horizons future home forclients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Few knowthe story of how it actually came to be.New Horizons newest group home, which will be located inReseda California, is in actuality a “dream house.” But morethan that, it is the culmination of a long journey for ResidentialDirector Roschell Ashley, one which began long before she cameto work for the agency.Lorrie Sincock had been a resident of New Horizons grouphomes for some twenty five years. Everyone knew her for herstubborn, yet life of the party attitude. Lorrie was fully loud,all rambunctious and infectiously loveable. With a mind of herown, she could be seen dancing down the hall, urging others tojoin her, or running North up Haskell Avenue requiring staffto chase after her. Over the years most people got used to thisbehavior. This was just Lorrie…until suddenly it wasn’t.Lorrie became quiet and withdrawn. She had trouble walking,and could no longer stay focused at her work table in the Workshop.As if overnight she was diagnosed with a form of dementiaand would eventually leave New Horizons for a nursing homethat could better serve her changing needs.Jeanne Gredin’s story is a lot like Lorrie’s, except she had beenresident at one of New Horizons group homes for thirty yearswhen she experienced the on-set of Alzheimer’s. Resident DirectorRoschell Ashley still remembers the day she telephonedJeanne’s family to tell them of her condition.The response Roschell got from Jeanne’s family was, “Okay, whichNew Horizons home will she be moving into now?”Roschell explained that Jeanne would have to leave New Horizonsbecause there wasn’t a home at the agency that could give her thetwenty-four hour nursing care she now needed. Roschell says thatwhat happened next could only be described as “silent hysteria,”leaving her convinced when the call ended that New Horizonshad to do something. Most important, it had to do better.2009 was the first year the agency began to pursue grant moneythat would allow residents of New Horizons to live their entirelives with New Horizons. Roschell and her staff saw a true need asthe number of clients with Down syndrome now diagnosed withAlzheimer’s and dementia began to grow. The motivation wasto never have to have another Jeanne type phone call. Roschellworked tirelessly and tenaciously pulling in other New Horizondepartments to help.Roschell: “No one said no. Everyone was willing to help.”Help they did. And with City of Los Angeles CouncilmanDennis P. Zine’s assistance, in 2011 the Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD) made New Horizons one of its early grantrecipients; green lighting the agency to buy a plot of land andbegin plans on a six bedroom group home which is expected tobe completed in the fall of 2013. And so in preparing a placewith twenty-four hour professionally trained care, success washad for all the Lorries and Jeannes and their families who haveto face the dire changes that memory loss brings.Since its inception New Horizons mission has been to help itsclients fulfill their dreams while living lives of independence.Now for these same clients this newly funded project bringswith it the dream of that and so much more. For within itswalls will be the promise that they will have the opportunity tocontinue to experience a life of quality in the same place theyhave always called home.For more information on the Reseda home for clients withAlzheimer’s and dementia and its naming opportunitiescontact New Horizons at 818-894-9306.From left to right, Roschell Ashley with members of her staff, TetyanaSamoylenko and Terri Taylor.Lorrie Sincock sharing a holiday New Horizons celebration.
A Conversation with Gene SicilianoChairman, New Horizons Board of DirectorsGene Siciliano, a CertifiedPublic Accountant andcertified managementconsultant for WesternManagement Associates inLos Angeles, had a lot hewas hoping to accomplishwhen he took the role ofChairman of the NewHorizons Board of Directorsback in June 2011. Hisinitial goals were two-fold.He wanted to identifynew sources of incomefor the agency and updatethe board’s governancepractices in the hopes ofstrengthening New Horizons financially. These were high tasksin a questionable economic climate that could or could not beaided by the upcoming 2012 national elections. Siciliano wasup for the challenge.OTH: Let’s talk about your goals. How do you think you didthis past year?GS: Well in regards to finding new sources of income, I thinkas a board we did a good job in turning around what couldGene Siliciano with Board of Directors5have been a major loss of the $1.4 million LA Metro Grant.What many may not know is that we were initially awardedthe money, and then through circumstances beyond our controlwere told the grant would not be issued to New Horizons afterall. The board was able to turn the situation around because wedetermined to not take “no” for an answer. Working with CEOCynthia Sewell we reached out to those who could influence thedirection of the decision. I’m proud to say that today the MetroGrant belongs to New Horizons, and we are moving forwardwith plans for its use.OTH: And what of the governance practices?GS: Part of my focus was to strengthen the caliber of New Horizons’board. This past year we did just that by installing newmembers who are visibly strong in the community and possessthe ability to make quality decisions. It was important to do agood job in adding to our numbers before looking at any of ouroperating practices and making changes.OTH: So changes were made. How different are the board’spractices today than when you took office?GS: We still operate the same general way, but three significantchanges were voted on and passed by the board. First wechanged our name. Though we do business as New Horizons,our full name is now “New Horizons: Serving Individuals withSpecial Needs.” We kind of got ahead of California State bill that
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On the Horizon

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