April 2004
Marlene’s Story
Independent Living is a viable option for many people with developmental disabilities because of the supports available today. Marlene Bay’s life is a shining example of just how wonderful living independently can be!
Marlene’s parents and brother wanted the very best for her. So, when they were told that it was important for her to go to a state institution, Rainier State School at the age of six, they packed up her suitcase and sent her off, with everything she would need packed into one suitcase, going far away from everyone she knew to this important new life.
Marlene’s nose wrinkles up when she speaks of life in Buckley Hall at Rainier School. She remembers breakfast – hot cereal, lots of different kinds. The one she describes is made from the same thing you make cornbread out of; only in cereal. She speaks of life in the institution which consisted of helping out with making her bed, helping in the kitchen, cleaning up and setting the table.
There was school, the TV room and the food machine room where you could talk. The TV room was not for talking, and if you did talk in there you got to shine floors with a big block. As I enjoy visiting with Marlene, I’m thinking that this friendly woman was probably a child who spent a lot of time shining floors due to her warm and friendly nature. And there was the whistle that beckoned everyone to come and get into one long line when it blew. There were shows and chapel.
Tears come as Marlene speaks of her life too far away from the home she could only visit on holidays and weekends, and of life in the institution. There were no hobbies at Rainier School, and too much TV. To this day she still doesn’t like TV much. Marlene brightens up and tells me that she has lots of hobbies now. You can tell by the wonderful projects she has around her, awaiting her attention. She has ceramics to paint and drawers of paints and yarn which she joyously displays for me. Painted ceramics adorn her living room. Not only does she have hobbies, but she is also a well traveled woman. She has visited Disneyland, San Francisco and Reno.
A certificate of appreciation hangs on her wall from Grays Harbor County memorializing the janitorial job she had to retire early from due to tax cuts. She speaks warmly of the work she had done for the county’s juvenile detention center.
Marlene remembers Hepatitis quarantines as one of the things she disliked the most from the institution. Twice they had to stay in their hall with no school because of the illness. After the second round with Hepatitis, the school asked her parents if they wanted to keep her home for good and they said yes. Marlene was 18 at the time. Marlene says the school, chapel and friends at Rainier were okay, but she just didn’t like being there. In her early twenties, Marlene decided that she wanted to move to Woodland Terrace in Montesano, which no longer exists. She then moved to the Kimberly Group Home and began receiving services from Harbor Alternate Living Association (HALA) and lived in apartments with different roommates. She recalls one such experience where she had to play babysitting her room-mate’s dollies and do all the work the two of them were supposed to share. Her friend Danny is visiting and speaks of her current life in an apartment where a man again has been stumbling and falling and making too much noise because he is getting drunk too often upstairs above her. Marlene finally got her own apartment, but her rent was just too high, so Toni Ruggero from (HALA) asked her how she would like to buy her own home. Toni and Billie McFarlane from what is now Aberdeen Neighborworks helped Marlene do just that.
HALA continues to support Marlene’s independent living via the involvement of her facilitator, Molly, who assists with her bills, budget and grocery shopping.
Now at the age of 56 and, as she calls it, “older than the speed limit” Marlene has nearly completed buying a nice home. She has her own cat, a computer, stereo, two television sets and a new queen sized bed. And lots of hobbies, including supervision of the remodeling of her home so everything is on her level. She speaks with a smile of how much she has to do in her house. But she is looking for a part time job so she has something to do because she knows it’s not good to stay home all the time either. When asked what she likes best about owning her own home she beams and replies “I’m the lady of the house!”