Devereux helping "sandwiched" families

Newfoundland - Families in the Pocono Northeast caring for a disabled relative or friend juggle a wide range of responsibilities. They care for their disabled friend or relative. They work and care for their other family members. Without caregiver support, the impact of chronic caregiving can severely affect physical and emotional health, affect “day” job performance, and erode the care of the disabled person. America’s Baby Boomer generation is now faced with “Dependent Care” needs (in this instance, care for adults and not children) for their parents’ generation. The impact of Alzheimer’s on spouses, children, and traditional human welfare agencies is significant. The impact to employers is overwhelming. Stressed family caregivers generate high costs in absenteeism, lost productivity, and increased health care costs to business. For a relatively modest employee benefit offering adult day care and overnight respite care to the employee, employers in the long run face substantially less workforce expenses. The Devereux Foundation’s non-profit relief care programs bring support to the families in the Pocono Northeast and help disabled persons remain socially active in the community. Devereux’s Newfoundland, PA-based Adult Day Center serves persons with special needs, including geriatric challenges, such as stroke, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, emotional challenges, and developmental disabilities. Devereux also offers a continuum of residential and training services throughout the Pocono/Northeast. Devereux provides relief to families in their homes, at Devereux’s Pocono Adult Day Care Center and within Devereux’s residential programs. The Devereux programs maintain, revitalize, and enhance the challenged individual’s independence and well-being. Devereux also provides vocational and life skills training for persons age 21 through the life span with special needs. Devereux’s Pocono Adult Day Care Center offers a range of social, recreational, and therapeutic activities along with nutritious meals and snacks. Devereux can provide transportation to and from the client’s homes. Devereux programs are licensed by the Pennsylvania Departments of Public Welfare and of Aging. Devereux reflects the vision of its founder, Helena Devereux, a Philadelphia special educator who believed that each child in her care had a set of innate abilities, distinctive potential, and unique needs. She made it her purpose to aid each in becoming a contributing and valued member of the community and of the larger society. Helena Devereux paid unusual attention to children who had failed in other classes, and they began to thrive under her individualized care and innovative teaching methods. Miss Devereux began devising ways and means to teach each child on an individualized basis, with materials, designed by her, appropriate to each of their functional levels. In 1912, she opened her home to three young children who were “slow learners” and began her search for the keys that would unlock their potential and that of others assumed to have no meaningful future. To find out more about Devereux’s services, call 570-676-3237 or visit www.devereuxpocono.org.