Stanton Home Shared-living

CODE: VFP-MTV03

Work:

The vibrancy of our community and scope of volunteering are reflected in both our Residential Homes and our Day Program. Stanton Home has a team of 70+ dedicated professionals who partner with and provide support to over 20 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These adults live in residential homes in the Berkshires and come together for an active Day Program with on-site activities including organic gardening, composting, music, yoga, hiking, weaving, culinary arts, and various activities throughout the local community including horseback riding, swimming and pottery.

Stanton Home has been providing care for adults with diverse needs since 1986. Volunteers serve as a part of the Residential Life at Stanton Home as well as in our Day Program. Volunteers assist with daily living activities and the direct care necessary for the health, safety, and well-being of the people we support.

Stanton Home has six residential homes. Each home is unique to the individuals who live there. Volunteers play an active role in the rhythms and routines of residential daily life. There are things to be done from dawn to bedtime.

Volunteers are an important part of each residential team (along with house managers, case managers and staff) that supports the day-to-day household operations and plans together to best balance the contributions and needs of everyone. A volunteer’s residential duties and responsibilities support individual needs and encourage individual independence:

● Companionship - As companions, volunteers build relationships by living together in the house and sharing day-to-day lived experiences. To enrich relationships, volunteers engage in hobbies and activities based on residents’ interests. Volunteers are encouraged to share their own talents with residents as well. As a group, households attend cultural events, potlucks and other planned gatherings to join and celebrate as a community.
● Direct Care - Volunteers assist with the daily living activities which support the day to day activities of the residents of the house as well as the overall running of the household (for example doing laundry, dusting and cleaning, shopping, preparing meals and baking, providing rides to appointments).
● Personal care - Volunteers support the personal care of our residents. Personal care means assisting with the health and hygiene of individuals (for example dressing, washing, bathing, brushing teeth, and mobility support). The level of personal care required depends upon the unique needs of each resident.

Day Program

Day Program duties and responsibilities focus on building occupational and social skills. The Day Program supports the interests of a wide range of individuals, both from Stanton Home and the extended special needs community. Day Program activities include hiking, gardening, culinary, weaving, music and other activities such as swimming, therapeutic horseback riding and therapeutic art and dance classes held at community partnership organizations. A focus is on supporting individuals in achieving goals and building positive social relationships.
Training: Volunteers receive support and supervision from the Volunteer Coordinator, House Managers, Case Managers, staff and other administrative staff. Additionally, the Volunteer Coordinator may act as on-site mentor and inter-cultural liaison. Volunteers participate in the following mandatory trainings:
● Orientation - to become familiar with procedures, key properties and complete necessary paperwork.
● Initial Training - to learn about the history of Stanton Home, mission and values; to understand regulations, policies and protocols including: HIPAA, professional boundaries, medical and behavioral emergencies, fire safety, incident reporting, minor injury protocol, health observation guidelines, mandated reporting, etc.
● Residential Training - shadowing House Manager and staff in residential life including: schedules, routines, meals, activities, general household rules, personal care, medicine distribution (if applicable), safety and documentation.
● Certifications - online training and certifications for First Aid, CPR and bloodborne pathogens.
Schedule: Volunteers are scheduled for approximately 40 hours per week, as outlined in the volunteer contract. This schedule includes both Residential hours and Day Program hours, morning, afternoon, evening, overnight shifts weekdays and weekends. Volunteers receive 2 days off each week and accrue 2 days of vacation for each month of volunteer service completed. Vacation requires prior approval.

Important Qualities: A caring mindset, empathy and compassion. Enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. A team oriented approach and the commitment to developing positive relationships with residents, program participants, staff and other volunteers. Dependable, professional and task-oriented.
Requirements: Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, speak at least intermediate English and have a valid driver's license permitting driving in the US is required. Volunteers need to have a phone with an active plan to make and receive calls within the United States. The cost of maintaining a calling plan is a volunteer's responsibility.
Additional Information: English Language tutoring is available locally.
Pocket Money: A set monthly stipend is provided to volunteers to help cover personal and incidental expenses.

Accomodation and food

Accommodation and Food: Food is provided. Local, fresh meals are made during volunteer shifts, with ingredients often from the Stanton Home biodynamic farm. A private or shared bedroom and shared bath are provided in one of the residential houses, our volunteer house or at the farm.

Location and leisure

Stanton Home is located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in the western most part of the state. Great Barrington is a small rural town, nestled in the Berkshire Mountains. The area is a popular vacation destination, known for outdoor activities, fall-foliage-viewing, farm-to-table food scene and thriving arts institutions. Great Barrington is a creative hub with a Main Street and side streets packed with shops, theaters, and restaurants. Located approximately 140 miles north of New York City and 120 miles west of Boston, Great Barrington and the whole of Berkshire County is known for its natural beauty, importance in American history, and is considered a traditional picturesque New England town.

Project hosted by

Host Organization: Stanton Home
Address: 205 North Plain Road
Location: Great Barrington, MA, USA
Project Language: English
Volunteer Length: minimum 3 month
Visa Info: Stanton Home will provide documents for the volunteer's Visa if needed. International Volunteers may be eligible for the Visa Waiver Program if certain requirements are met.
Hosting Site Contact:
Sandra Schilling - Volunteer Coordinator
sandra@stantonhome.org
WhatsApp: +1 413 281 0193
Stanton Home is a shared-living community, which acts with the intention to create healthy and joyful interdependence through day-to-day experiences.
What is shared-living? Shared-living is an approach to communal living that partners people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the people who support them. Shared-living means living together with a conscious awareness in all daily activities and life events with the goal of personal growth and building mutually meaningful relationships.
Our Mission - To partner with adults with diverse abilities to actively pursue healthy, self-determined lives.
Our Core Values
● We believe in the potential of every person to contribute and find joy in their productivity and relationships, independent of their abilities and disabilities
● We share our lives with people with special needs and they with us
● We are bound together by mutual respect
● The most important thing in life is relationships - everything else is how we put substance and value around those relationships

Website: https://www.stantonhome.org
To find out more about who we are, watch this video:
https://youtu.be/wIMUyaPNkPo

Directions to meeting point

If traveling by plane, there are several airport options. There are two smaller airports (Albany, NY or Hartford, CT) that are one hour from our location and we will pick you up from there. If you fly into the larger airports (Boston, MA, Newark, NJ or New York City) you will have to take public transportation to arrive closer to our location for pick up. The host site coordinator will provide additional information regarding public transportation options if necessary.
Smaller airports (we can pick you up directly at these airports)
● Albany International Airport - Albany, NY (ALB)
● Bradley International Airport - Hartford, CT (BDL)

Larger Airports (you must take public transportation to arrive closer to Stanton Home)
● Boston Logan International Airport - Boston, MA (BOS)
● John F. Kennedy International Airport - New York, NY (JFK)
● LaGuardia International Airport - New York, NY (LGA)
● Newark Liberty International Airport - Newark, NJ (EWR)

We ask that you try to arrive at Stanton Home during business hours or late afternoon/early evening so that transition into the house where you will be staying flows smoothly. Please send a copy of your itinerary and arrival details to sandra@stantonhome.org when confirmed.

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