Barring a late reprieve, the Westwood Respite Center will shut down after this weekend - no longer providing fun for developmentally disabled adults and much-needed caregiving breaks for their families.
The center is a victim of the poor economy and state budget cuts.
The imminent closing has a particular meaning for Ray Jackman, 47, of Westwood. His sister Marianne, who has Down syndrome, is 46, but she functions at the level of a 3- to 5-year-old, and requires constant care.
For the past year and a half, Marianne has been able to go to the nearby Respite Center for a weekend nearly every month. The free time allowed Ray and his wife, Meesha, 37, and their daughters, Payten, 9, and Taylor, 7, to go for bike rides or to the beach.
"We knew they were there. They were a safety net for us. They were there, and we knew we could count on them," Ray says. But with the center's closing, he says, "We can't do spontaneous things with our kids now."
Director Linda Norton says the center, inconspicuously housed in a Victorian on Carroll Avenue across from the Islington train station, hosts six adults with developmental disabilities each weekend. The center's guests, such as Marianne Jackman, go to museums, restaurants, movies, and the like. They also get to socialize with their peers - something that is difficult for the developmentally delayed, who often become isolated once they grow too old for school settings.
"We're supporting the families by allowing a break for the families who are responsible for their 24-hour-a-day care, and for the individuals who need a chance to go out and be with other people," Norton says.
The families pay $40 a weekend.
She says the center serves about 65 families - some who have been using the center practically since it opened in 1988. The center serves nearly three dozen towns - including Dedham, Norwood, Westwood and Walpole - across a wide area of Boston's southern and western suburbs.
Norton says the center was open 7 days a week until 2004, when budget cuts reduced it to half-time, so it's open from Friday at 3 p.m. until Sunday at 7 p.m. The center is run by Toward Independent Living and Learning Inc. of Dedham, a nonprofit organization that received about $172,000 from the state Department of Developmental Services to provide family respite services in Westwood last fiscal year.
For the dire fiscal year that has just begun, the department says it had to reduce its budget for so-called "family supports" by $10 million - and as a result was unable to renew its contract with Independent Living and Learning.
"It's been quite an institution for many people, and it will be no longer," says Dafna Krouk-Gordon, the founder and president of Independent Living.
Jennifer Kritz, the deputy communications director for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, says the Department of Developmental Services has had to make "some very difficult budget decision in light of significant reductions in state revenues."
"We are committed to working closely with (clients) and their families to minimize the impact of any budget reductions," Kritz said in an e-mail. "Our highest priority is continuing to deliver essential residential and rehabilitative services, and we are working hard to balance our fiscal realities with what we recognize is a very real human impact behind each decision."
Dedham resident Linda Delendeck, 49, says the Westwood Respite Center gave her 21-year-old son Michael a chance to make some friends and "made him feel almost grown-up."
Michael, who is mentally handicapped, attends a program of The Education Cooperative at Dedham High School, but does not socialize other than talking frequently on the phone to the one friend he has.
"This was such a big deal for him," says his mother. "There is such a need for this. It's not like normal 21-year-olds. They can come and go as they please, but these kinds of kids can't. It provides them with something to do."
Norton emphasizes that the Respite Center also expands people's horizons. Its guests room together - in men's and women's bedrooms - and consequently learn how to respect each other's space, belongings, and privacy. There are many conversations every weekend about that sort of thing, "because living at home with mom and dad is a whole different ballgame than living with your peers," she says.
Because guests typically only visit every two to three months, Norton and her staffers do their best to make every weekend special, and make the center a home away from home. "We're not just providing care - we really care about the people," she says.
Ray Jackman loves his sister, who he took into his home in August 2007, after their parents died. Marianne is a fan of necklaces, Coke, and Elvis. She comes up with creative names for things - calling her pajamas her "bathing suit," for example. She used to call Taylor "Baby" and Payten "Dina," but has since learned their names.
Caring for Marianne has really taken up a lot of his daughters' time with their mother, Ray says, but they have handled it well.
Now, the family will need to adjust to life without the Westwood Respite Center.
"This was her chance away from us as well," Ray says. "It's sad that she doesn't have that program anymore."
Daily News staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.
