Whether attending Melmark’s day programs, living in a program-setting residence, or a community-based setting, all of the adults served by Melmark have regular access to innovative health, social, vocational, educational, and recreational services designed to promote individual confidence, independence, and community integration. Community inclusion is a key goal of the program.
Program Highlights
Enrichment Activities
- Program setting and community job training opportunities
- Volunteer opportunities in the local community
- Service-learning projects
- Community outings to local shopping, recreational and cultural centers
- Paid employment
- Participation in Special Olympics
For adults with lower cognitive levels or who are non-ambulatory
- Multi-sensory stimulation
- Hand-over-hand training
- Massage therapy
- Personal assistance
For adults with more significant support needs
- Appropriate community outings
- Program room activities that enrich each person’s environment based on personal interests
- Wellness activities
- Personal assistance
- Life-skills training
Adult Day Programs - PA
The Anne and Brutus Kenan Center for Adult Services
The Anne and Brutus Kenan Center for Adult Services provides day services for adults with moderate-to-profound intellectual and physical disabilities. Program rooms emphasize pre-vocational, wellness, daily living, social, and communication skills.
The Chris Maurer Adult Day Community Program
The overall goal of the Adult Day Community Program is to assist each individual in identifying job opportunities that allow them to grow and enjoy their work and become as independent as possible within their local communities. The program includes job training, supported and customized employment, and community-based instruction.
Program components include:
- Employment training (job sampling and shadowing)
- Community-based work assessment
- Service-learning projects
- Volunteer opportunities
- Life-skills training (safety, travel, personal finances, self-care)
- Independence
- Decision making
After assessing skills and interest, adults are provided with a variety of work and instructional experiences ranging from training programs at our campus setting, to community-based instruction, to paid employment opportunities in the community. Job training and employment opportunities are based on the individual’s skills and interests, and the types of jobs that can be supported are endless. Melmark Pennsylvania works with a number of community-based employers and organizations and looks forward to expanding its present partnerships in the community.
The Meadows
Established in 1976, the Meadows Program at Melmark Pennsylvania is a day program for young and older adults with autism and intellectual disabilities. The Meadows serves up to 60 adults, combining employment activities and creative arts, which provides meaningful work for adults. Many of the opportunities provided at the Meadows include training for the adults to learn the skills necessary to obtain community-integrated, competitive employment.
Some participants in the Meadows Program are members of the Country Garden Guild and share in the overall profits from sales of their handmade products. The Meadows creative program rooms include horticulture and flowers; fiber and art; wood, ceramic, and stencils; and hospitality services. Items produced by the partners of the Country Garden Guild are sold at The Meadows building, located on Melmark Pennsylvania’s program setting, as well as craft fairs throughout the region.
The Melmark Players
The Melmark Players theatre group is composed of over 40 adults from Melmark’s Meadows Program who enjoy acting and musical theatre. The group offered their first production in 1998, with the debut of “Grease.” Since then, the Melmark Players have delighted audiences with two performances a year. The Players have enjoyed sold-out crowds, enthusiastic applause, and standing ovations. Melmark Pennsylvania’s talented director, lighting specialists, costumers, and crew make each show a delight.
Adult Day Programs - NE
The Cancro Center for Adult Services
In response to an overwhelming demand for appropriate adult day services, and with strong encouragement from current and former MNE families and the MA Department of Developmental Services, we established a habilitation and vocational day program in November 2015. The first of its kind in the Merrimack Valley, the program is specifically designed to address the unique needs of adults severely affected by autism and other diagnoses leading to challenging behaviors.
Now known as The Cancro Center for Adult Services, Melmark New England continues to provide an exceptional quality of care utilizing highly trained staff and Applied Behavior Analysis as the clinical model. Our adults continue to learn and demonstrate a variety of skills to meet the demands of an ever-changing workforce. Their skills include, but are not limited to: performing maintenance activities to manage office settings and related areas, office support in medical and dental practices, food service support at local restaurants, cashier duties in the Melmark Café, and supporting warehouse distribution centers.
Our individuals are currently engaged in part-time paid jobs or volunteer services for the following community businesses:
- Hampton Inn
- 99 Restaurants
- A private dental practice
- Lowe’s
- Jackson Lumber
- The Claddagh Pub
- West Congregational Church
- Salvatore’s Restaurant at The Riverwalk
- Melmark Café
- Konjoian’s Greenhouse
The adults served by Melmark enjoy ongoing and consistent access to innovative vocational, social, and recreational services to achieve their highest potential. These services and programs are designed to promote their sense of well-being, personal independence, and community integration.
Funding sources for Melmark’s Adult Day Programs include county agencies and private pay funds.