A Successful Day Treatment Program at Young Adult institute (YAI)
By Stephen E. Freeman

One only had to step outside YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities’ Manhattan Day Treatment Program on West 13^th Street and look downtown to see the devastation at the World Trade Center. From the facility, less than a mile away, some staff and clients witnessed the second plane crashing into a tower.

“Everybody all around us was evacuating their buildings,” said Karen Abbe, YAI’s senior supervisor at the program. “But as primary care givers, we couldn’t just leave our clients. We had a job to do.”

Setting their own fears aside, YAI’s staff managed to assure more than 220 clients, assuring them they were secure at the program.

“Our staff displayed tremendous courage and compassion, putting the needs of our clients above all,” said Gary Milchman, Manhattan Day’s Coordinator. “They take care of other people, no matter what the situation.”

Many clients, who were accustomed to the daily routine of the program were quite aware of the crisis.

“There’s a tendency to overlook the reaction people with mental retardation have to stress and trauma,” said Paul Smoller, Director of YAI’s Day Services Programs. “In truth, so many clients were asking, ‘Who did this? Why did they do this?’ They wanted to know just like everyone else.”

Anticipating that many of the clients would have to stay in the program longer than usual, some staff went to a nearby grocery store to ensure there was adequate food on hand to feed the clients.

“Families of participants were calling in and we told them if we needed to, we were prepared to keep their children overnight and stay with them until we could be sure they could get home safely,” Gary said.

Some staff walked clients across the city to reunite them with their families. A few families were able to pick up their children. However, there were several, who lived in Brooklyn, lower Manhattan and a state-run group residence near the World Trade Center, who had no way of getting home.

The staff and clients shared a spaghetti dinner in the dining room. The novelty of being served dinner at a day program helped distract from the horrible events of the day.

Later that evening, transportation was arranged for the remaining clients to return home. “We were not going to abandon our clients” Karen said. “We love them.”#

Stephen E. Freeman, C.S.W., is Associate Executive Director of YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities.

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