Anthony is one of the happiest, nicest, most supportive people you will ever meet in your life. He always has a wave and a smile for anyone he sees; He applauds and cheers for friends (and himself) whenever they enter the room or complete a task. His joy of simply being alive is contagious to all those around him, be they Roundup staff or clients or be they people he meets during his daily outings with Roundup’s Community Participation Program.
Two weeks ago, the decision was made for Anthony to move from Quivas House to Evans House. Evans is better equipped to deal with Anthony’s unique medical needs. After twenty-five years in the same home with most of the same room mates, he was packed up and moved in a week. You can imagine, I am sure, how hard this was on Anthony’s house mates and staff. Joe cried and Billy is still asking for “Tony come Quivas, please” on a daily basis. We were also worried about the impact the move might have on Tony. I’m positive that no living person would have an easy go of it if they left their family and home of twenty-five years to go live in a new setting with new people. However, I am also positive that no one else has Anthony’s optimistic outlook and positive energy. If anyone can successfully make this transition, he can. And Quivas will always be here to help him. We have informed Anthony that he is always welcome at Quivas and made sure he received the first invitation to our annual Holiday party in December.
Staff members at both Evans and Community Participation have informed us that Anthony is as happy and outgoing as ever. He is enjoying his new home and he still sees his old roommate daily at Community Participation. I sincerely hope that this change continues to be positive not only for Tony, but for all the staff and clients at his new program. If he brings as much joy to them as he did to Quivas for the last twenty-five years, the move will have been worth it.
By Ari Rubenstein, Quivas House Director
