Open Door in Sandwich works to enhance quality of life for adults with disabilities

Open Door Rehabilitation Center, a nonprofit, donation-based facility located in Sandwich, works under the motto of “Opening Doors and Developing Opportunities.”

The facility provides a variety of support to individuals 18 and older with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities in a way that directly benefits them.

“We strive for self-advocacy,” said Gene Stephens, the associate director of Open Door.

A main service Open Door provides to consumers is 24/7 support, which allows consumers to live in houses run by Open Door staff.

“We have our 24-hour services,” said Rebecca Hoelker, Open Door’s human resources and marketing assistant. “Those are for individuals who live in our homes and staff is present 24/7, and so they are able to live in a home with a couple other people and they’re able to kind of get the most independent life possible of living on their own.”

The facility currently has 10 group homes throughout Sandwich and there are about 60 live-in patients at this time. The facility averages about 100 consumers at a time between live-in services, community day services and more, Hoelker said.

“We have [the] day program,” Hoelker said. “That is where our two workshops come in. The two workshops that we have kind of differ a little bit in terms of what they do. But the main focus is, you know, developing skills, socializing, getting to go out and do fun activities.”

Open Door has two different campuses for day services called the East and West campus, both located in Sandwich. The West workshop is located at 217 S. West St., and the East workshop is located at 11 Fayette St.

“Those are for individuals who live in our homes and staff is present 24/7, and so they are able to live in a home with a couple other people and they’re able to kind of get the most independent life possible of living on their own.”

—  Rebecca Hoelker, Open Door’s HR and marketing assistant

Services located at the East campus have a focus on community involvement, while the West campus focuses on employment, Stephens said.

“The secret in the sauce here is that it’s all geared toward our consumers’ likes and dislikes, so they totally decide what the program is,” Stephens said. “If they want to cook, well then guess what, we’re going to be doing some cooking programs. If someone says, ‘hey, I want to learn about sharks,’ well then guess what we’re going to be learning about sharks. The secret is trying to tie that into the community.”

The East campus also has a senior center available to help seniors maintain their physical and mental well-being.

“It can just go at a slower pace,” Stephens said. “The two main focuses we have for our senior center is to keep them physically mobile and mentally sharp.”

Day programs are directly geared toward consumers, and surveys are conducted to determine what topics should be focused to provide consumers with a beneficial experience, Stephens said.

“We want to make sure that we give them the opportunity to learn these new skills and develop those experiences because to us, having a quality of life is all about experiences,” Stephens said. “What we’re really about is opening those kinds of doors, developing those opportunities for people to have those experiences and to try new things to find out what their passions are and what they want. I think it’s just very powerful.”

Open Door’s main office is located at 405 S. Wells St.

For more information or to donate, visit odrc.org/day-program/.