The Supported Independent Living (SIL) program is a vital service provided by Mind Forward. It assists clients with gaining the skills needful to live as independently as their individual abilities allow.
A day in the life of SIL is as varied as the support needs of our clients.
“Today I visit with Sara whom I have been working with for the past three years. Following a stroke, Sara lived in assisted living where supports for ADL/IADL’s were offered up to four times daily. Sara progressed and has now successfully transitioned into an apartment of her own. Sara also works two days per week and following a period where SIL staff accompanied her – to provide support with integration into the workforce/on the job – today Sara functions competently within the role and such accommodations are no longer needful.
Today I complete an Independent Living Assessment (ILA) with Sara, which she passes with flying colors. Sara now discusses her future goals. The next challenge she wishes to take on is to begin work on getting her driver’s license. Sara is motivated, however, the encouragement and accountability from SIL staff facilitate her goals to come to fruition.
On this positive note, I leave Sara and head over to the home of Ron, the next client of the day.
Ron is a tenacious elderly gentleman, who, following his accident, maintains a keen interest in global events and how it all impacts the financial markets. Today I work with Ron to provide a tutorial on how to use the iPad. Ron is a little apprehensive at first, however, quickly discovers how user-friendly the device is. By the end of the visit, Ron is having fun utilizing the voice control feature to ask Google a myriad of questions, such as “how old is President Biden?”, he adds – as I think he’s older than me – and “What is Tesla trading at today?”. I complete the online daily data form and checks Ron’s medication dosette to ensure that he has remembered to adhere to his specific administration times. I also wish his daughter a good day – as she has been busy in the background helping her Dad with some housekeeping tasks.
My last client of the day recently moved into a semi-assisted living building after living in a fully staffed residential site. Nigel receives ADL support at select times throughout the day due to being visually challenged. On this visit, I am working with Nigel to make a meal and evaluate his kitchen competency following adjustments made by staff from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). Nigel decides to make a cultural dish – butter chicken – one of his favorites, however, as he is an adventurous cook, he also decides to add his own twist. Nigel reports with a smile that ‘it tasted quite nice actually’ and said he’ll add it to the repertoire of dishes he’ll make from time to time.
My shift ends with documentation to record the events of the day.
For more information on Mind Forward’s SIL program, please see “Programs & Services” on our website:.