By Wayne Smallwood, Executive Director of the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition
This week, the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition (AALC) along with Supportive Living communities throughout the State of Illinois joined together to celebrate Supportive Living Week 2011.
Our 4th Annual Supportive Living Week celebration provides a special opportunity to tell people the good news about Supportive Living.
The program is the best program for affordable assisted living in the country and should be a model for other states to follow.
The program is designed to serve older adults and disabled adults of all incomes who need some help to maintain their independence but do not require nursing home care. It especially benefits those who cannot afford private pay assisted living. Personal choice, dignity, privacy and individuality are emphasized.
Residents and their families as well as the State of Illinois benefit from the program.
Residents enjoy the opportunity to live in a wonderful residential environment while receiving the help with medications and personal assistance they need.
The State benefits because the cost of a resident with Medicaid support living in a Supportive Living community is 40% less than what it would cost the State for the person to live in a nursing home.
Since the first Supportive Living community began operating in the fall of 1999, the program has grown significantly. Today, there are 126 communities, housing more than 9,800 apartments, operating in 73 Counties in the State.
To help celebrate Supportive Living Week this year, the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition sponsored four major programs.
Art is Ageless
Many residents in Supportive Living communities have artistic talents that they have honed over the years and others have skill sets that they developed while living in our communities. This year, we created the “Art is Ageless” Contest as part our the celebration of Supportive Living Week as an opportunity for all artists – writers, crafters and visual artists alike – to share their passion for the arts.
Participants from throughout the state created and submitted 06 entries in the categories of prose, soft crafts, hard crafts and visual arts.
One of the artists noted that she started painting at 71 and still likes dabbling at it at 99. One of the winners took up wood carving when he was 92 and created his award-winning work at 96.
A panel of judges selected the winners. A complete list can be found below.
Winners were honored at our Awards Luncheon held earlier this week at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center in Springfield.
Scrapbooking
Communities throughout the state created scrapbooks about the engaging lifestyle that Supportive Living communities offer. With paper, photos and stickers, the scrapbooks depicted the “Care, Community and Comfort” that this affordable senior housing model offers.
A complete list of Scrapbook Award winners can be found below.
Wii Bowling
This year, we sponsored our second annual Wii Bowling Competition. Sixty teams of residents in Supportive Living communities throughout Illinois participated.
The competition culminated earlier this week with the “Final Four” in Springfield.
All four teams that rolled their way into the Final Four won their respective divisions during the seven-week regular season and won their divisional playoffs.
In the semi-finals on Tuesday afternoon, the Glenhaven Gardeners from Glenhaven Gardens in Alton, topped the Springfield Splitters from Springfield Supportive Living, and Wii Bowl Better from Eden Supportive Living in North Aurora out bowled the championship team from last year – the Silver Sliders from Cambridge House of Maryville.
On Wednesday morning, the Springfield Splitters won the battle for third place, with Jim Nyberg thrilling those in attendance and those watching on the Internet by bowling a 300 game.
Then, the Glenhaven Gardeners, which took home the third place trophy last year, topped Wii Bowl Better to take home the First Place Trophy.
Meet the Governor Day
AALC held our annual “Meet the Governor Day” at the State Capitol in Springfield on April 12, 2011. More than One hundred & fifty residents and staff members from Supportive Living communities traveled to the Capitol to meet Governor Patrick Quinn.
Many also were able to meet with their local State Senator and Representative.
We had on display all of the winning artwork and scrapbooks.
This year, they especially wanted to express concern about the Governor’s proposed 6% cut in state funding for the Supportive Living program.
After greeting residents at the Capitol, Gov. Quinn stated that “I have heard your call.”
Art is Ageless Awards
Hard Crafts
First Place
Rolland Hoehn
Cambridge House of Swansea
For his wood carving of “The Skibber Gee”
Second Place
Manny Shellist
Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook
For his wood carving of “Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg Address”
Third Place
Ruth Aquilina
Plum Creek Supportive Living
For her sculpture “Witch Doctor”
Honorable Mention
Marie French
Heritage Woods of Flora
For her “Hand-Woven Basket”
Honorable Mention
Vera Gunter
Heritage Woods of Benton
For her “Christmas Tree” made from old jewelry and Christmas lights
Prose
First Place
Elizabeth Rappa
Plum Creek Supportive Living
For “The Artist”
Second Place
Raymond Skelton
Heritage Woods of Moline
For “This is My Life More or Less”
Third Place
Oran Miller
John M. Evans Supportive Living
For “Ode to My Lovely Wife”
Honorable Mention
DeLois Nance
Victory Centre of River Oaks
For “Be Yourself”
Honorable Mention
Mary Jane Stanhouse
Supportive Living of Wabash
For “Will School Experience”
Honorable Mention
Betty Vock
Heritage Woods of Batavia
For “Heritage Woods Women”
Honorable Mention
Carolyn Chastain
Supportive Living of Wabash
For “SLOW”
Honorable Mention
Donna West
Heritage Woods of McLeansboro
For “Midnight Call”
Soft Crafts
First Place
Pat Culp
Cambridge House of Maryville
For “A June Day on an Amish Farm” (counted cross stitch)
Second Place
Patricia Tempel
Maple Point Supportive Living in Monticello
For “Patterns of My Past” (quilt)
Third Place
Elizabeth Montgomery
Manor at Mason Woods in Pinckneyville
For her “Crocheted Doily”
Honorable Mention
Marilyn Schultze
Heritage Woods of Batavia
For “Miss Hathaway’s Garden”
Honorable Mention
Mary Zada
Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook
For “Embroidery”
Visual Arts
First Place
Erladine Kanavos
Greenview Place in Chicago
For “Aunt Electa”
Second Place
George Hnatt
Alexian Village of Elk Grove
For “Waterfront”
Third Place
Millie Prange
Glenhaven Gardens of Alton
For “Stop Awhile”
Honorable Mention
David Full
Eden Supportive Living of Chicago
For “Springtime”
Honorable Mention
Justine Garner
Heritage Woods of Benton
For “Farmstead”
Honorable Mention
Norma Simone
Victory Centre of Bartlett
For “Downtown”
Honorable Mention
Rudolph Briggs
Dorchester Senior Living in Dalton
For “Moonbird”
Honorable Mention
Mary Jane Stanhouse
Supportive Living of Wabash
For “Grandpa’s House”
Scrapbooking Awards
First Place
Alexian Village of Elk Grove Village
Second Place
Heritage Woods of Flora
Third Place
Heritage Woods of DeKalb
Honorable Mention
Heritage Woods of Benton
Heritage Woods of Ottawa
Manor at Craig Farm in Chester
Cambridge House of O’Fallon
Heritage Woods of Aledo
Manor at Mason Woods in Pinckneyville
Wii Bowling Final Four
First Place
Glenhaven Gardeners from Glenhaven Gardens of Alton
Team Members
Peggy “Uptown” Brown • Carol “Shorty” Kuhlman • Sharon Reneau
Edna “The Enforcer” Mobley • Mille “The Hurricane” Prange
Second Place
Wii Bowl Better from Eden Supportive Living in North Aurora
Team Members:
Warren “Trouble” Yedlinski • Mike “Poker Face” Pennington
Art “Big Daddy” Auldmeyer • David “The Hunk” Kapp
Third Place
Springfield Splitters from Springfield Supportive Living
Team Members:
Freda Herman • Pearl Baker • Jim Nyberg
Matt Dolinar • Sharon Roberts • Rocky Horrighs
Fourth Place
Silver Sliders from Cambridge House of Maryville
Team Members:
Alla “Granny” Boyer • Lynda Leggett • P.J. Weihl
Chris “Skunkie” Garden • Rita Young • Arline White
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
If you think assisted living residents do nothing but sit around and play BINGO, you should have been at the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living community that we manage in 
