Linda Beck
June 15, 2011
Linda Beck's story is a remarkable tale of trust, compassion and perseverance. Linda moved to the Village Lane residence the year it opened – 1991. Linda had spent most of her life in downstate institutions. The world outside was indeed an experience in culture shock.
But Linda learned about the world, about having trust in people, about making friendships, and about feeling comfortable with life in general. It was a slow but steady process, in which a lot of wonderful people guided Linda through her fears and trepidations and helped her to come out on the other side the person she is today.
Linda is now a woman who enjoys new opportunities, who explores her world, and has shown remarkable flexibility when her environment changes. She has moved twice within the past few years – to Keeseville and to Moriah – and both moves have been positive for her. At the Green Street House in Keeseville, in fact, Linda began doing meal preparations for herself with little assistance. She also took up photography.
Year by year we are getting to know more and more about the wonderful person who is Linda Beck.
Ernie Bell
May 02, 2011
One of the first people to enter the Agency during its formative years was Ernie Bell. Ernie came to us from the Rome State School, an institutional life he endured from the 1950's through the 1970's. This was a world of large dorms, collective care, a Darwinian sense of existence, and an environment with little sense of the individual.
Ernie moved into the group homes of Mountain Lake Services in Port Henry, settled in at the newly acquired Witherbee House in that town, and worked at Essex Industries in Mineville. Ernie's biggest challenges in this new life were twofold – building trust in people and finding tranquility within himself. These challenges also encompassed Ernie integrating into a whole new pattern of daily life – living in a community residence and holding a job.
Both of these challenges were successfully faced over the years as Ernie took an active part in controlling his life – another new concept for him from his days in the institution. Ernie would make solid friendships with people throughout the agency. Qualities that had been suppressed from his early years began to flower. A sensitivity towards people's feelings emerged from Ernie and a genuine sense of compassion became a part of his developing or resurrected personality. Ernie's impish sense of humor also began to shine as the years progressed.
When Ernie moved into a home on Meacham Street in Port Henry that comprised four gentlemen, he really started to flourish. Having lived many years in the larger homes within the agency, Ernie relished this new home and began to take on more responsibilities within it. He also gave up smoking after years of the habit - a tribute to Ernie's sense of focus. Ernie also left Essex Industries in 2002 and joined the Helen F. McDonald Center in Port Henry. It was during this period that Ernie's great joy of life was expressed in the form of dance.
Ernie Bell's life has been one of spunk and courage in the face of great odds. His spirit is a resilient one, and we at Mountain Lake Services are extremely proud in the part we have played in supporting him.