The center, for years a dream of ours, and a project many, many years in the making, functions to serve a large number of individuals, each with some developmental and/or neurological and behavioral challenges, and to:

• Provide each person with a full program of intervention aimed at maximizing their adaptive behavioral skills – communication, daily living, social, and motor skills, and behavioral functioning – and with the goal of assisting each in achieving their maximum level of independence and also assisting them in achieving an optimal adaptation to the broader community. 

• Importantly, the broader community is on a regular basis, invited onto the farm to be served by all of the members, to allow for the individuals at the center to engage with the community in important and meaningful ways, to allow a deeper integration, for all, into the broader community, and thus allowing the opportunity for each and every member to develop a broader range of acquaintances, and to make friends, and engendering a deeper sense of belonging, of productivity, and of meaning in/to their work lives.

• Finally, our work lives (and hence our lives overall) are more fulfilling when the work is interesting and fun.   Each day on the farm, given the animals, the food, the activities, each other, brings new and interesting experiences, and allows for enjoyment in one’s work life.

Who we are:

Drs Behen and Gjolaj are each clinical psychologists who run a large behavioral health clinic operating in SE Michigan – each has broad range of expertise in the areas of developmental psychopathology, and in treatment of various problems in living.  Our studies, our work at The Imagine Center, and our research backgrounds, and (perhaps most so), our personal experiences – see below – each have very well prepared us to envision, develop, and operate the The Imagine Center Work and Skills Training and Community Engagement Center.  Our passion for being engaged with, being helpful to, and being useful to, and befriending others in the community, especially those who require some support to be fully and meaningfully integrated into our communities, has demanded that we open, and operate the center.

Dr. Behen’s eldest child – Jessica Lin Behen – an employee of the farm, is a truly outstanding person, and who also happens to have some severe and multiple developmental challenges that contribute to her uniqueness. 

Why the need for another center?

In our work, and also in our personal experiences, we came to realize that many (perhaps most in some local communities) of the adults, we know and who have some developmental and/or neurological challenges, in our community, are not working (and often, at least partly due to that fact, may be expressing some remediable skills deficits, and also some behavioral concerns, including unhappiness). Further, it has not been uncommon to observe a lack of the sense of pride, meaning, and competence/confidence that meaningful work can engender.  Many of such adults we know and/or are familiar with, and who are working, are not working in settings (or doing the types of labor) that provide them with joy, sense of purpose, and meaning that the right work setting can provide.  Finally, such settings often seemed to offer a suboptimal level of involvement with the community.  We felt a different approach was needed and have worked very, very hard to create such a setting.

How is The Imagine Center Farm – Work and Skills Training and Community Engagement Center different from other supported work centers?

The main differences, from our experiences/perspective, involve:

• The level and range of programming – not only will the center be emphasizing the development and refinement of vocational skills, but there will also be a pervasive emphasis on building adaptive behavioral skills – including individualized programming aimed at increasing the level of independence in all aspects of one’s life, and also, and perhaps most importantly, increasing each individuals sense of belonging with others in the community, and so also engendering a sense of pride and productivity in their work lives.  For for all of us, our jobs – what we do – and also our friends, and acquaintances – our selves with others – combine to provide us a sense of who we are, and also determine (in some large measure) our level of perceived import/use of our selves in the community and the world.  Our center, through the types of work activities we will be doing, and especially along with the community engagement activities, seeks to engender a sense that each individual’s work is truly important and meaningful, and also provides the opportunity for the development of a network of friends/others that helps/allows us feel that we truly belong.  We hope and expect that those individuals involved in the center will have a healthier experience of themselves, of others, and of the world more generally – we want them to be happier and more satisfied.  We expect that all of the individuals working at the farm will ultimately increase their independence in living/working, increase their vocational capacities, and develop a broader communion with others through the training programs and activities on the farm.

• Our expertise – first, helping others to be everything that they can be, and to feel as if they are, is what we do, and have been doing for many years.  We understand (through years of scholarship and practical experiences, and also our personal experiences) the impact of various developmental concerns on one’s life and livelihood, and well-being, and also how to address such concerns in a manner that can engender skill development and more successful and meaningful adaptation to the world, and to allow or cause one to feel better, and to behave in healthier, more satisfied ways as a result.  And, most importantly, for us, this is not a job, this is our life’s work – we will do everything we can to make each and every individual thrive, and to their maximum potential.

• We are a team in the community – we will all be working on our individual tasks, and to be everything we can be, and also in a context of shared (and lofty) goals. We understand that we all thrive when the team is successful, and we give maximum effort in the pursuit of both our individual and shared goals, and we never give up – when the task is more difficult, we rise to the challenge; and we always treat everyone with respect. Everyone working at the center will have the opportunity to wear the clothing that fits the tasks that they will be doing, and across the seasons visited upon all of us here in Michigan – uniforms, appropriate for the weather and tasks, will be provided to everyone working at the center, including head coverings and foot wear.  Breakfast, lunch, and snacks – again, usually prepared by those who work at the center themselves – will be provided daily.   

• Related services, such as speech, occupational, physical therapies (and also recreational therapy, to everyone) will also be provided at the farm, where such need is indicated in an individual’s plan of service.

• Support and skill development programming will be developed/monitored by clinical psychologists with extensive experience providing care and programming to individuals with developmental/behavioral challenges, and along empirically supported guidelines.  Vocational development will be guided by experts in their various crafts – animal care tasks, by animal care specialists, construction tasks, by builders, etc….  Care will be provided in ratios individualized and matched to each individual’s needs and programs – whatever the level of support needed/indicated, that level of support will be provided.  While in some areas an individual may require 1-1 supports for a certain task(s), and receive such a level of support, in other cases the level of supports could be reduced (never below 6-1) to that level of support needed to assist an individual in managing tasks at a reasonable and safe level. 

How would someone get to the farm? 

Transportation to and from the farm (from each individual’s place of residence) will be provided by center staff, every day – and also offered/provided for special (optional) weekend and holiday activities.

Does an individual’s present level of functioning matter? 

It does not – each individual will have tasks (and supports for completing these tasks) that are well matched to (and work towards improving) their current level of functioning; each individual’s plans are developed (and individualized) to start where they are presently at (and also matched to their preferences), and that seeks to improve their skills along all relevant life skill and vocational skill domains, and to progress their life and vocational skills to their maximum level as well – again, tasks and programs are regularly monitored and adjusted to ensure needs are met across time, and at all times.  Programming will persistently be addressing any behavioral concerns – using empirically supported approaches as well.

How is this paid for?

Involvement in this program is funded in the same manner as involvement in any supported work setting would be funded.  The Imagine Center for Psychological Health also does have a foundation that will fund many of the community engagement activities. 

If you are interested in your son/daughter, or someone you know, attending the program, center staff will assist/guide caregivers/guardians through the process, along with their supports coordinators. 

How do I sign up an individual for involvement with the center, or get more information about the center?

To sign up for the program, or obtain any additional information, please contact us through:

-Email: mebehenphd@gmail.com

-Phone: 313 656-4052 (select ext 107) – please leave a message if no one answers.

-Online registration form on the The Imagine Center Farm – Work and Skills Training Center on our website – www.theimaginectr.com/The Imagine Center Farm – Work and Skills Training Center/

-Or fax the attached registration form to 313 656-4053

Initial Schedule for JB – Group A
35 yo female, with severe and multiple impairments; main interests are animal care, flowers, fruits,  loves music, engagement with others; needs support for getting around successfully, and also sporadic irritability, least interested in construction related tasks – participates farmer’s market on weekends
IPOS includes the following goals presently being addressed:
speech – increase number of utterances; social communication (greetings, conversation, expression of preferences and requests); improve articulation
motor – improve flexibility, upper body strength, flexibility, stability
social – greetings, conversation, breadth of interest/conversation
emotional/behavioral – improve mood, improve compliance, expressions of choice; verbalize feelings, coping with daily hassles
daily living – improve independence in dress, hygiene (handwashing); improve independence in meal cleanup
vocational – broad exposure – identify preferences, present capacities, but known to prefer animals, flowers/fruit, engagement with others
Themes – increase verbal utterances/social communication, motor – increase upper body strength, flexibility, social (greetings, conversation), behavioral (increase compliance; improve mood, verbalize feelings), weight management
Additional tasks: capture weight Friday afternoon; document abcs for irritability
Present ratio 3-1; though needs closer (1-1) support ambulating on hills, trails

Weekly Schedule

	Sunday	Monday
6am
6:30am	Optional Day
7am		Pick up
7:30am		transport
8am		breakfast – morning meeting, Group A
8:30am	Transport	breakfast and clean up
9am	breakfast – morning meeting	Animal check/care
9:30am	breakfast and clean up	“
10am	Activity prep	Speech therapy
10:30am	service activity (i.e., store, buggy rides)	break/snack
11am	roles – tickets, service	recreation 1 – free choice
11:30am	“	Café responsibility – training on service
12pm	“	“
12:30pm	Lunch	Lunch
1pm	“	lunch cleanup – afternoon meeting
1:30pm	Recreation	Agricultural activity
2pm	“	“
2:30pm	Free choice	Recreation 2 – group activity
3pm		Animal care
3:30pm	Clean up	Break/snack
4pm	Wrap up	Wrap Up – day review
4:30pm	Transport	Transport
5pm
5:30pm
6pm

	Tuesday	Wednesday
6am
6:30am
7am	Pick up	Pick up
7:30am	transport	transport
8am	breakfast – morning meeting, Group A	breakfast – morning meeting, Group A
8:30am	breakfast and clean up	breakfast and clean up
9am	Animal check/care	Animal check/care
9:30am	“	“
10am	OT therapy	PT therapy
10:30am	break/snack	break/snack
11am	recreation 1 – free choice	recreation 1 – free choice
11:30am	Café responsibility – training menu/meal prep	Café responsibility – training on clean up
12pm	“	“
12:30pm	Lunch	Lunch
1pm	lunch cleanup – afternoon meeting	lunch cleanup – afternoon meeting
1:30pm	Agricultural activity	Individual Behavioral therapy
2pm	“	“
2:30pm	Recreation 2 – group activity	Recreation 2 – group activity
3pm	Animal care	Speech therapy
3:30pm	Break/snack	Break/snack
4pm	Wrap Up – day review	Wrap Up – day review
4:30pm	Transport	Transport
5pm
5:30pm
6pm
	Thursday	Friday
6am
6:30am
7am	Pick up	Pick up
7:30am	transport	transport
8am	breakfast – morning meeting, Group A	breakfast – morning meeting, Group A
8:30am	breakfast and clean up	breakfast and clean up
9am	Animal check/care	Animal check/care
9:30am	“	“
10am	OT therapy	PT therapy
10:30am	break/snack	break/snack
11am	recreation 1 – free choice	recreation 1 – free choice
11:30am	Café responsibility – training on service	Construction
12pm	“	“
12:30pm	Lunch	Lunch
1pm	lunch cleanup – afternoon meeting	lunch cleanup – afternoon meeting
1:30pm	Agricultural activity	Agricultural activity – prep for market
2pm	“	“
2:30pm	Art therapy	Recreation, group
3pm	Animal care	Music therapy
3:30pm	Break/snack	Break/snack
4pm	Wrap Up – day review	Wrap Up – day review
4:30pm	Transport	Transport
5pm
5:30pm
6pm

	Saturday
6am
6:30am	Optional Day
7am
7:30am
8am
8:30am	Transport
9am	Farmer’s market
9:30am	“
10am	“
10:30am	Break
11am	recreation – free choice
11:30am	“
12pm
12:30pm	Lunch
1pm	lunch cleanup
1:30pm
2pm
2:30pm	Activity prep – all groups
3pm
3:30pm	roles – usher, service (choice)
4pm
4:30pm
5pm
5:30pm
6pm	Concert
6:30pm
7pm
7:30pm
8pm	Transport

Are you interested in someone you know working at The Imagine Center Farm

If so, please fill out the following form and someone will contact you shortly.  You can also call Michael E. Behen (313 354-3920) or Nore Gjolaj (586-744-0265) for additional information.

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