ADVOCATE IS THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF AIM HOUSE WHERE ACTIONS AND INTENTIONS MERGE Introducing Shannon s House by Wendy S. Meyer Sitting with Danny Conroy in the Castle, the mid-morning sun filters in through the leafy exterior of the historic Boulder residence where the young men of AIM House live. He talks about his philosophy of the organization he founded 18 years ago, We are not afraid to change, because communities are living organisms. ADVOCATE INSIDE A letter from Danny pg 2 The change Conroy refers to is the creation of Shannon s House, the new women s residence on University Hill, next to the Castle. The new women s dwelling has a very intimate feel and enables AIM House staff to operate out of a single location. Conroy named the new residence Shannon s House in honor of his sister who lost a long and hard-fought battle with cancer almost two years ago. Naming the house in her honor is a daily reminder of her legacy and a way for her to live on, Conroy says. She would have loved this. Driving the change was also a desire to simplify and streamline operations. The opening of a new women s residence also grew out of a need for greater access to the individualized community services of AIM House, which will now be offered out of the Earl House location. Participants who graduate from the AIM House residences move into a phase called Manifest where individuals gain greater degrees of independence and responsibility. However, they may still require support and guidance in particular areas of their lives. As a result, those in Manifest can still access mentors, therapists and the groups and activities with others in this phase. And because of a growing demand from the community at large, AIM House will now offer these individualized community services to a broader population through Evolve Community Programming. (See From Manifest to Evolve on p. 6-7) Five Questions with Julie Randall pg 3 Photo Spread pg 4-5 From Manifest to Evolve pg 6-7 The result is a smaller women s community that feels safe and supportive. (Conroy insists there will always be some groups and programs only for women.) But with Shannon s House being located next to the men s program, the participants at Shannon s House can participate in activities, eat and socialize in mixed gender groups. The change is also a nod toward more gender neutrality overall and integration between the two groups. The request for services has tripled in the last couple of years, says AIM House Executive Director Kelly Corn. Few programs exist that can provide a full complement of services outside the structure of a residence. Corn says the expanded services are just part of the evolution of AIM House. ADVOCATE Chief Editor: Laura Scheele Writers/Editors: Wendy S. Meyer Gabrielle Haag Tucker Wrenn Nicole Rovine AIM HOUSE, LLC WWW.AIMHOUSE.COM
2 Advocate A Letter From Danny by Daniel Conroy A Letter from Daniel Conroy Dear Friends, I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones enjoying the summer. As you read the articles in this newsletter, you can see that it has been quite an eventful summer here at AIM House. As our community continues to evolve and grow, so does our vision to adapt and create to meet the needs of clients and families where they are at. AIM House s Evolve Community Programming is officially a program now and accepting admissions. Evolve is designed to accommodate mentoring, therapeutic, academic, vocational and the creative needs of clients who do not require a fully supervised residential milieu. Many of these participants are involved with our Creative Accelerator Program at Madelife, which is a creative vocational option. Others find jobs or internships in their fields of interest and many decide to attend one of the several amazing schools in the area. The Evolve program is completely customized for the individual client s needs. Participants live independently in apartments and sometimes in our community housing. No program is a one size fits all. We have been tailoring customized programs for years but the need has grown exponentially over the past couple of years. Don Thompson, longtime AIM House Manifest Director and mentor extraordinaire, is heading up the Evolve program as well. Manifest and Evolve services will be run out of our Earl House location. Therapy sessions, therapy groups and mentor meetings are just a few of the services that will take place there. Feel free to contact our admissions department if you would like to learn more. Overall it is a very exciting and vibrant time here in our 18th year of AIM House. Many of you have asked, so I will include a picture of the most recent addition to our executive team! Please welcome Hugo our Chief Cuddle Officer! He is undergoing an intensive onboarding corporate training program (after he is fully potty trained) and will be showing up at Madelife and AIM House regularly this fall! Thank you all for your continued support and collaboration! With love and respect, Danny
Five Questions with Julie Randall by Wendy S. Meyer Julie Randall Director of Operations What do you love about your job? I love this particular age group that we serve at AIM House. I can relate to them because I have one biological son in his 20s and three step children in their 20s. I think there is something that seems magical about turning 18. The participants are ready to be adults, yet their brains are still in the formative stages of development. It can be a really difficult time and I love being part of an organization that is able to offer support for them while they are going through that transition, and watch them as they blossom into young adults. It s fascinating and gratifying. 3 Tell us about your history at AIM House? I was the third employee of AIM House 18 years ago! I came on to do the accounting and administration, and had interactions with the families and participants because we were smaller then. My role evolved and I became the Assistant Executive Director. After three to four years in that role, I left for new opportunities including work in this field and starting my own business in strategic business planning. I came back to AIM House last year to do some project-based consulting work. Then in January of 2017, I officially took the role of Director of Operations. What is your role as Director of Operations? At AIM House, the primary focus is on clinical and programs, as it should be. However, all the other departments that are integral to our business, such as accounting, administration, HR, culinary and facilities are under my purview. I make sure that all of these departments have a voice at the executive level. And I try to help with everything that has to do with the operations of the business. My role is to make sure all the systems that support AIM operations are truly in the background so all of the services a business is run on--hr, adequate staffing, good training, good morale--are happening seamlessly. If I am doing my job well, participants have no idea what is going on in the behind the scenes. It is like a background app that is running all the time. As a longtime AIM House employee and mother of four adult children, what wisdom can you pass on to parents? One of the biggest lessons I ve learned is about allowing your children to grow into the people they are: resisting that urge to helicopter over them and protect them from difficult emotions they may have, and to just let them experience it for themselves. I would say, allow them to feel some of those natural consequences, so that experience can be something they learn from. And yet I know as a parent, it s difficult to walk that line. What is the most gratifying thing about your role? Anybody that works in this field knows it can be really difficult at times. But it truly is a calling. I think that everybody that works here feels that to a degree. It is not just a job. When a participant that you worked with years ago reaches out to you as an adult just to say hi and tell you where they are at in their lives, it is so meaningful. Some I worked with 15 years ago, and now they have careers and kids of their own. To know that in some small way you had an impact in their life, that is an amazing feeling.
4 Advocate Photos
Photos 5
6 Advocate From Manifest to Evolve: Expanding Program Options by Wendy S. Meyer Manifest to Evolve Don Thompson is the director of both programs. He says AIM House has witnessed a growing need for supportive programs for individuals who did not come from an AIM House residence. As a result, AIM House has worked to meet that need. Participants come from a variety of circumstances. Thompson says, We work with people from other residential treatment centers who are moving back to Boulder to go to school. We work with high schools in Boulder County. We even work with people that are coming from a treatment background that are looking for some extra support while getting a job or figuring out their next steps in life. AIM House is built on a structure of five phases that participants work through as they strive to meet their goals and transition into adulthood. The phases are Intentions, Actions, Merge, Manifest and Evolve. Participants who transition into the Manifest phase of the program have graduated from living in one of the AIM House residences. In this phase, they may choose to plug into the many therapeutic programs and the community of support that Manifest has to offer while living independently in the community. With the opening of the new women s residence, Shannon s House, the Earl House property has now become the hub of both Manifest programming as well as a new set of offerings called Evolve Community Programming.
7 Each person who participates in either Manifest or Evolve signs a contract for a unique program they help to design. Participants are paired with a community mentor that best fits them and are from a handpicked group of experienced and talented AIM House staff. Programs are made up of offerings that run the gamut from group therapy to recovery coaching and even group social activities. Thompson says what he values about both programs is the connection he feels with those he serves. One of the reasons I am in the position I am in, and love it, is that we [the staff ] can relate to the participants in a meaningful way. He says that one of the things he was missing in his own life, when he was 19, was an adult he could relate to and learn from. Someone who could meet me where I was, and help me move in the direction I wanted to go, he says. He believes that young people have a need and a want for connection with an adult who will do everything from hold them accountable, be truthful and real with them, and in the best of times, share some real life experiences with them. Thompson thinks that success comes for participants when they get to a point where they can maintain a forward momentum in their lives for some that means holding down a job, paying rent or making consistent academic progress. For others, it may mean forging stronger and positive social connections or not using drugs or alcohol. I love my job because it is fun to connect with the participants, Thompson says. It s great to see them make changes and move in a positive direction.