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Elks Aidmore is located in Conyers, GA., about 30
miles east of Atlanta.
Residents at Elks Aidmore will live in one of four cottages
located on the campus. Each cottage can house up to 8 youth. There is a Direct
Care Specialist who supervises each cottage group.
Lots!! We have
a full gym in which to play basketball and volleyball, a softball field, tennis
courts, a fishing lake complete with canoes, camping facilities, a swimming pool,
a gazebo for cookouts, playground equipment, a game room and a ropes course.
Elks Aidmore
serves youth ages 12 - 21. Many of the residents will be in the custody of the
Department of Family and Children Services. Others may be in the custody of the
Department of juvenile Justice, because they have been charged with a status offense
(i.e.: truancy, running away, unruliness) or a non-violent delinquent offense
(i.e.: shoplifting, trespassing). Still others will be placed by their parents,
because the families feel they need someone from the outside to help them work
out some family difficulties.
Our residents attend public school, alternate school,
GED school, vocational school, or community college. Grades 9-12 generally attend
Heritage High School, Grades 6-8 attend Edwards Middle School, and Grades 1-5
attend Sims Elementary. Rockdale County is known for its excellent school system.
You can work at age 15 with a work permit as long as you are showing
progress in your Care Plan.
Good question! The Individualized Care Plan (ICP) defines
goals and objectives that the staff will help you achieve during your stay with
us. You have input into what goes into your care plan. We will review it monthly
with a formal review every three months. These goals and objectives may change
during your stay as you make changes within your life. Examples of some goals
include "To concentrate on your school work", "To work expressing your anger appropriately",
or "To learn self-sufficiency skills" to prepare you for living on your own.
Yes. Individual, group and family therapy
is provided for all residents and their families. Residents in the Preparation
for Independent Living Program attend Life Skills Groups weekly. In addition,
our live-in staff, the Direct Care Specialist, will run educational groups and
house meetings so everyone can give and receive feedback on life in the cottages.
No. The use of
tobacco, alcohol or drugs by our residents is prohibited.
As with most group homes, dating is fairly limited. You must
be at least 16 years old and must be progressing toward your goals. We will have
a level system which will help us to determine if you have acted responsibility
in the past. If you are under 16 and wish to attend a school sponsored function
such as a school dance, staff will also check your level before granting permission
for you to attend.
Residents in the Preparation for Independent Living Program can drive if they
have a car, are over 18 years of age, and have proof of insurance.
Elks Aidmore is not affiliated with any church.
Non-denominational services will be offered; these are strictly optional. Efforts
will be made to help a young person who is active within her church to continue
attending pending arrangement of transportation.
We understand that everyone's
needs are different. The length of stay depends completely on your own individual
situation. On average, youth will stay from 6-12 months; some may need to stay
longer, some shorter. As soon as you enter our program, we will start talking
about your long range goals. This might include placement with your parents, a
relative, a friend's family, or a long term foster family. For those who are older
and have no placement resources, Elks Aidmore staff will help teach those basic
skills necessary for making it in the community.
We have structured
a program which encourages residents to make suggestions for improving the program.
Serious suggestions will be evaluated seriously. Some rules cannot be changed
because of guidelines established by the state, but we hope that you will feel
that this is YOUR home and YOUR program.
In additional to allowance that your guardian might
provide, you will earn a weekly allowance. The amount is based on your level of
cooperation within the cottage and your satisfactory completion of your chores.
Chores will be assigned on a rotating basis. One night, you
might be asked to help prepare dinner, the next night it might be your turn to
vacuum or mop the dining room floor. All residents in the cottage will be asked
to pitch in to keep the general living areas cleaned. Every morning, you are responsible
for making sure that your bedroom and bathroom are cleaned. You are responsible
for washing your own laundry. If you are unsure how to complete a chore, ask the
staff to teach you this new skill.
More excellent questions - you're getting good at this! Visitations will be determined
by your Care Plan. We want all resident to have an outside "home" that they can
visit on weekends or holidays. If you are in the custody of the state, often times,
there are restrictions on visiting families who have not gone through a home evaluation.
We are unable to allow friends from school to visit campus, in order to protect
privacy and confidentially.
You may
call anyone your guardian puts down on your phone list. As long as our staff gets
permission from your guardian, it's fine to add people to your phone list. Since
so many people will be living in the same home, you will need to follow certain
phone rules to enable everyone to get their fair time on the telephone. Phone
calls may be monitored at a staff persons discretion if she has reason to believe
that the call could be upsetting to you or that something negative might occur
as a result of the call. You may send or receive mail freely without the fear
of staff reading your mall. The only exceptions to this would be if a court order
restricts contact between you and someone else, or if exchanging mail with someone
is contra-indicated on the Care Plan.
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