Via West's Career Week in Cupertino caters to special needs campers
Updated: 07/13/2012 03:56:58 AM PDT
In a serene alcove of the winding Cupertino foothills, the Via
West campus, complete with a horse corral, two swimming pools and a hiking
trail, presents itself as a state-of-the-art summer camp facility.
But for the 82 developmentally disabled adults, their experience at the campus was much more than a chance to go swimming and ride horses. They attended the inaugural session of Via West's Career Week.
Although Via West hosts themed summer sessions and weekend respites throughout the year that teach life lessons to camp participants, Career Week marked the first time a session was devoted entirely to cultivating valuable skills that one day might grant them the ability to hold a job -- and attain some measure of independence.
Sandy Keefe has been working at the camp for 11 years after first taking her daughter, Allie, who has Down syndrome, for a weekend respite. In September, Keefe, longtime health care manager of Via West, was promoted to associate director. She thinks that these camp sessions have taught Allie, who is participating in Career Week, how to be a leader within this community.
"They come here and they develop leadership skills," she said. "It's really hard for our children and our young adults to develop leadership skills in the developing world, because they're almost always the followers, the ones who need support. When (Allie) comes here, she's a leader, and that's a really good feeling."
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During the session, attendees learned such skills as how to use public transit, handle money and read maps. Participants even prepared DVD introductions for potential employers in an effort to showcase their social skills. In the past, Via West campers have attained jobs at Starbucks and Safeway; one has even become a full-time counselor at the camp.
Via Services, the mother-organization of Via West, was established in 1945 as the Crippled Children's Society of Santa Clara County Inc. by a group of local women with the goal of improving the quality of life for special needs children. The program, which changed its name to Via in 1995, has expanded to include a multitude of resources to address developmental delays experienced by young children, as well as provide year-round outdoor education retreats, like "Career Week," for both children and adults.
While the camp caters to individuals with all sorts of conditions, the most common disabilities are autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. Since their ailments often prevent them from caring for themselves, participants have personal counselors.
According to Leslie Davis, the director of Via West, the main goal of the counselors and staff during Career Week is to teach campers how to cultivate necessary life skills so they can one day function semi-independently, if not independently, in the real world.
"You want them to be able to do as much as they can for themselves without assistance, without their parents, without their caregiver," she said. "You want them to be able to live their own lives."
Since Davis has taken the helm, the facilities have undergone major renovations, including installing a horse corral and a walk-in freezer as well as repainting several lodges, the results of grants and donations from the community. The dining staff has even implemented a menu based on proper nutrition developed by "Deli-Dave" Gilbreth, the new services manager, to cater to the health needs of the participants, who often suffer from physical ailments in conjunction with developmental ones.
Beyond teaching these life lessons, however, Via West provides a community for the participants, many of whom return year after year.
Mike Montague, 49, has been attending Via West camps since 1996, after a car accident left him with a traumatic brain injury. "We're increasing our abilities," he said. "We all have special needs -- those are not ignored -- but they're not paid so much attention to that we can't grow and do more stuff."
Ultimately, however, he says that the greatest part of his experience has been developing "a feeling that I'm important because I am who I am."
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