Misericordia: Heart of Mercy in Action
Ana Avendano | Social Justice Intern, Misericordia | Developmental Training
Misericordia
Background
Misericordia is a home for adults with developmental
disabilities. It focuses on teaching them work skills
that will help them overcome their challenges to
some extent and allow them to participate in the
community. I believe that what sets Misericordia
apart from other homes like it is the relationship
between residents and staff. Everyone has a job to do
no matter what their abilities might be, because of
this it allows residents to build a community that they
all contribute to. Moreover, I have come to
appreciate how DSPs treat the residents as they
would their own family. I have learned that the
success of an institution is dependent on the sense of
belonging and ownership of everyone that is a part of
it.
The Gardens
At Misericordia, I work in the Greco Gardens. At this
greenhouse, we have activities for residents with a
variety of abilities. This is because unlike in other
classrooms where residents are grouped with others
with similar abilities, residents in the garden have mixed
capabilities. As I have observed, this encourages
residents to be responsible for helping each other. In
day to day activities, we try to incorporate both hands
on and classroom components. We usually start the day
showing residents how to plant a certain flower and end
with a worksheet about a certain ecosystem. Because of
the residents mixed abilities, it is often challenging to
get most of them to focus on the latter. This is why one
on one work is so important with our residents; because
every resident is different they will benefit from
different activities even if they have the same disability.
What residents learn from the gardens is responsibility
not only for themselves but for other residents and
other living things.
Contact:
Ana Avendano
Loyola University Chicago | Class of 2019
Political Science, Economics
aavendano@luc.edu
Residents are not treated as any less
capable because of their disabilities;
everyone is expected to work. To me,
thats the biggest compliment.
-Tina Stendardo, my supervisor
Misericordia and The
Community
Misericordia is as immersed in the surrounding
community of Rogers Park as Rogers Park is
immersed in Misericordia. We receive an
astounding number of volunteers from the area,
many of whom have been volunteering for
years. However, the special needs community
still faces immense barriers in Chicago. This is
especially prevalent in the public school system.
With limited funding, CPS struggles enough to
provide an education for children without
disabilities, so it comes to no surprise resources
for special needs children are almost non-
existent. Even so, the more prevalent problem is
the lack of access to information about learning
and/or developmental disabilities that is
available to parents in low-income areas.
Misericordia is able to provide top-quality care
for its residents, however, it is a small
percentage of the population that has access to
such care. Because of this, it is important to
reduce the stigma around disabilities and make
places like Misericordia known.
Internship Supervisor:
Andrew Miller
amiller11@luc.edu
Center for Experiential Learning
My Role
My job at Misericordia is to assist the DSPs in
running their lesson plans in their classrooms. I
often work one on one with residents who require
special attention to stay engaged in the activity or
are unable to participate. Being in this position has
allowed me to become close to a handful of
residents and understand them. I have come to
understand that regardless of your knowledge of a
residents disability, it will still take a substantial
amount of time and effort to understand who they
are and what they are capable of. As an intern, I am
in a position Im not only a friend to the residents
but I am also a friend to the DSPs. This has lead to
me understand the challenges of working with
people with disabilities. Taking care of others,
especially people that dont want to be taken care
of , can be an incredibly frustrating job. Working
towards social Justice as a whole is a great weight to
bear, so it is important to have someone with whom
to share it with.
Challenges
The biggest challenge I have experienced during my
internship is having no prior experience working
with this population. At first, I was not sure about
how to approach the residents and what to do and
not do. However, as I started working with residents
one on one I started to become more and more
comfortable. It was difficult to get acquainted with
them in the beginning because I did not know what
to expect from each of them. However, as I took the
time to get to know them personally, I realized that
all it took to understand them time. It was also
helpful that the DSP I worked with in the gardens,
Sharon, took the time to explain to me each of our
residents backgrounds.
References:
Image: Wordpress | 2010