Voices For Independence
Title: A Musical Spectrum
Student Interns:
Bryce Patterson
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Randy Kulesza, PhD
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Community Preceptor:
Tiffany Frey
Voices For Independence
Community Site:
Voices For Independence (VFI) is a center for independent living dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to have control of their lives and to supporting them in becoming active members within their community. The activities department engages the consumers daily in the community center, both mentally and physically. Activities such as Bingo, cooking, karaoke, group fitness, and yoga are a few of the many ways VFI strives to fulfill its mission. In addition to the activities department, VFI has several other departments, including home care, nursing home transition (NHT) services, deinstitutionalization, home modifications, peer support, advocacy, and wellness. NHT focuses on providing choices and tools for consumers to help them determine where they want to live and to inform them about the options available. The home modifications department ensures that consumers have homes that are accessible according to their disability. It also advocates on behalf of consumers who are renting by informing landlords that they are required by law to allow tenants with disabilities to make modifications to their rental units.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps student intern’s project focused on coordinating and ensuring the future implementation of a music therapy program to be included in the weekly activities schedule for consumers at the site. Many consumers at Voices For Independence fall somewhere on the autism spectrum, and music therapy has been shown to help improve their behaviors and functioning. The goal was to coordinate with local resources like Lake Erie Music Therapy and Mercyhurst University’s music therapy program to implement a sustainable music therapy program at VFI. A program is set to begin in the fall with Mercyhurst University’s music therapy program. Students enrolled in the program will be able to gain experience with VFI consumers while providing them with music therapy.
Reflections
“The time that I have been able to spend with the consumers here at Voices For Independence has truly changed my perception of people with disabilities permanently and for the best. When I first arrived at my site, I was unsure how to communicate with all the consumers here, and I assumed that they wouldn’t be able to understand me because of their intellectual disabilities. The more time that I spent with them, though, I learned to see past their diagnosis and start seeing them as people, and when I began doing this, it opened my eyes to how complex and remarkable everyone here was. The experiences and what I have learned from Bridging the Gaps is something that I will carry on with me for the rest of my career, and it taught me things that will help me to better serve my future patients.”
Bryce Patterson