One of the biggest changes at Joytown since Bethany has become involved is the therapy available to the students. As I noted in an earlier post, the last time I was here there was one therapist who later quit leaving the school without one for an entire year. One therapist for over 300 very high needs children is simply not enough. To make matters worse, when the therapists were government appointed as in the past, Joytown was a place where not many wanted to be. As you can tell from my stories and the photos, it takes very special people to work there. Now that the therapy department has been completely taken over by Bethany and all staff are paid by Bethany Kids, not the government, the result is caring, passionate OTs, PTs, and assistants who really care about the children and are committed to their success.
The change in attitude and the optimistic, caring atmosphere is obvious. The staff are very engaged with the students and with each other, making for a positive place for the children to be. These photos are of Francesca (who I introduced to you in an earlier post) who is a mentor and counselor, Carol, Janet, and Carlton. They are energetic and full of optimism, a huge change - perhaps even a 180 degree about face - from the situation when I was here last time. I felt so good about being there with them today that I wanted to write this special post about them particularly and make sure I posted some photos of them for you to see.
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