The Village Provides ‘Day Habilitation’ for Adults

BOARDMAN, Ohio – The Village by Gateways, a day program for adults with developmental disabilities, is the newest facility in the Gateways to Better Living Inc. system.

Located at 1275 Tiffany South, The Village is a place where clients of Gateway and other providers can visit for activities such as art, gardening, games and socializing.

In 2019, Gateways purchased the 18,000 square foot building – formerly The Moonraker Restaurant, and more recently, a banking facility – for nearly $1 million and spent another $1 million renovating it, said Gail Riess, executive director.

It has a capacity of 100, and is divided into multiple rooms, including a small theater, sensory room, computer stations, atrium, therapy area, art area and a library. Painted in soothing colors and with comfortable furnishings, The Village has a relaxed atmosphere.

The art room, theater room and sensory room at The Village by Gateways.

Riess explained how the program takes an updated approach to serving clients.

“In yesteryear, everything looked like a big workshop,” she said. “It was metal and loud and everybody was in one big room. What we’re trying to do here is day habilitation for people who cannot do production work but need a place to go every single day.

“It should be a calming place,” Riess continued. “If you want to do crafts, if you want to do technology, you can roam around and find the place you want to be.”

On-site activities to be offered at The Village by Gateways include yoga and art instruction, gardening, visual art and dance, creative writing, sewing, jewelry making, outdoor games and more.

The Villages will also serve as a gathering place for clients, where they can meet friends or make new friends, she said. Clients who are not under the care of Gateways can also come to the facility.

Gateways to Better Living Inc. now owns and operates three facilities. Its main campus on West Rayen Avenue in Youngstown offers day and vocational habilitation services, while The Galleria in Niles offers day habilitation experiences.

The agency, which is headquartered in Austintown, also operates 14 group homes, and 25 “waiver“ sites in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Waivers are ways to pay for services that support developmentally disabled persons living on their own, with family, with a roommate, or with a provider through Ohio Shared Living, a service under the oversight of Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.