Billy Schulz Shovels Snow for His Mother

The bad weather we have had recently requires determination and courage and extra hard work for many of us. Billy’s service to me inspired his sister, Mary de Wit, to compose this poem for us.

My Brother’s Courage

My brother’s courage grips my heart these ways:
He concentrates on lacing tight his boots,
Assembles hat and gloves and arctic suit,
And with resolve, he steps into the haze.
His mission is to fetch the frozen news,
(This, after warming Mother’s shoulder pad,
Insuring she her phone and coffee had.)
He, cautiously, his icy way pursues.
His life is full of fear. Afraid to fall
On snow — or tumbling from a vista deck—
Offending, being dumb, bouncing a check…
Still every day he faces: smiling, tall.
From his perspective he might call us this:
Retarded, learning slowly who he is.

© 2011 Mary de Wit

Billy Schulz Welcomes You to Food City, Colonial Heights!

Billy has worked at Food City for more than nine years. There are two stores, one on Eastman Road down town and one in Colonial Heights, where we live. Billy started at the Eastman Road store because that’s where he was placed and trained by Good Will. A few years ago, when they built a new store on Eastman Road, he worked at Colonial Heights during the building process. At that time I thought he might stay at Colonial Heights, but no, he wanted to be at the new store! And of course he wanted to work with his dear friend Jonathan.

This summer two things changed. The Colonial Heights store was enlarged and improved and, most meaningful, Jonathan moved away. Billy grieved when Jonathan left and felt a tremendous loss. He began to consider moving to the Colonial Heights store.

We talked with the  manager at Eastman Road, Ed Moore. If you have seen the interview with Ed on our website you know what a remarkable person he is. He agreed to allow Billy to relocate and we talked with the manager at Colonial Heights, who said he would have a place for Billy.

A very positive factor was the presence of Sue, an assistant manager at Colonial Heights, who had worked previously with Billy at Eastman Road, and had wanted Billy to join her. One day Billy said, “Mom, I ready to move to Colonial Heights.” I was delighted at the prospects of having him closer to home, about a five minute drive away, and just hoped he would not be lonely without the friends he had worked with for so long.

Sue and Billy Get Ready for the Day

One day last week, as I drove by to pick Billy up from his new store, one of the young women, a cashier, ran out of the store, calling “Hey, Billy, you forgot to hug me!”

Once again we have a happy man.

With the growing dissatisfaction with large state institutions, there has been a vast depopulation of large state facilities between 1990 and the present time. Several states (Alaska, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia) closed all their large state facilities for persons with developmental disabilities. In addition, 27 other states reduced their large state facility populations by more than 50% over this time period.

While there are a number of alternate living situations which we will explore, there is still a need for residential placement for some persons, and for many this is a good solution. Let me give you an example.

Frances lives at Annandale Village near Atlanta Georgia. Her mother, a widow, lives about an hour away. Frances has an intellectual disability and requires close supervision. Her mother realizes that this will be a lifelong condition for Frances, and she wants to be sure that her daughter will have a good life even after her mother dies. They investigated a number of living situations and found that Annandale would meet their needs.

The slogan for Annandale is: “Their community..with our help.” The residents (referred to as “villagers”) form a family-like community engaged in work and play in a safe, sheltered home. Begun in 1969 with 8 residents and a staff of 4, it now has 95 villagers with a staff  of 88, with 15 residents in a special care unit and 15 in day care. The community is comprised of 10 residences, with choices of private apartments, semi-individual apartments, cottages and a 24 hour special care facility.

Annandale has 3 program tracts, based on individual needs. The programs include vocational opportunities, both on campus and in outside business organizations. The villagers market art work, have regular exercise and activities, and cultural opportunities in the area.

Frances visits her mother from time to time, but calls Annandale home. Her mother also visits Frances and has the peace of mind in knowing that she will have that home as long as she lives. You can see pictures of Annandale on their web site: www.Annandale Village.com.

There are a number of good residential facilities throughout the states. I don’t know the cost of the care but feel sure that this is a good solution for some families.

In future blogs we will discover how other families and agencies provide independent living for persons with developmental disabilities.

Let us know what you think and share your discoveries.

Jonathan is my best friend. When I started my job at Food City, I was so confused. Jonathan was my helper. He showed me how to pack bags. Put the cans on the bottom. Put the eggs on top. Put the pie by itself in a bag.

Jonathan showed me how to bring in the carts. He got in front. I got in back. We pushed the buggies together. We had fun doing that. He teased me and I teased him. We laughed a lot. In the winter we put on gloves and jackets. One time I fell down. He helped me up and I was all right. What I like best is parking the buggie cars. It’s like driving a car. Jonathan said take it slow and be careful. He told me to help Martha in the video shop. I help check out the DVDs.

He told me not to take too long at breaks. He said if the groceries go too fast I ask the cashier to help. He said don’t fool around when it’s busy. Be nice to the customers.

Now Jonathan is gone. He and his wife moved to Alabama. He left last Saturday. Me and my mom took Jonathan to lunch one day last week. Mom went home. Jonathan and I hung out at the mall. We went to FYE and I got him a DVD of The Lone Ranger. He liked that. Then he brought me home. We hung out at my partment. I cried when he left.

We had a party for Jonathan at Food City. Courtney brought freshments and everybody came. Ed said Jonathan will be back but Jonathan said nothing.

I miss Jonathan. He is like my big brother and my best friend. I hope he is happy in Alabama. I try to get over it but I do miss him. It’s breaking my heart.

Have you had to say goodbye to a good friend? How do you deal with the loss? How can we help Billy?