LYNN —Â Andrew Craven lives in 28 Lewis St. because he is developmentally disabled, but the place he calls home is also where he gets help mastering daily living tasks and expanding his work opportunities.Â
Craven and eight neighbors live in small apartments with a modern kitchen separating a bedroom from a living area. Employees working for Bridgewell, the Lynnfield-based agency that owns the building, and Visiting Nurses Association workers assist Craven with medical problems that hospitalized him for seven months before he moved into 28 Lewis last December.
“He had a lot of medical challenges,” said Bridgewell Residential Services Director Bonnie Hungler.
Bridgewell serves 5,000 developmentally disabled clients and operates 85 programs in 21 communities, including residences where 352 clients live.
Hungler said the building’s residential manager and other employees plan the assistance they offer to Craven and his neighbors around the residents’ schedules.
“The program is tailored to meet their needs,” she said.
Opened last November, 28 Lewis St. replaced a previous Bridgewell residence damaged in a 2008 arson fire that did not result in injury or loss of life. The agency spent three years soliciting $2 million in federal money and other public tax dollars to build the new building.
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy joined Bridgewell Chief Executive Officer Robert Stearns last Thursday in recognizing Craven and fellow Lewis residents and the people who help them.
“This building is beautiful, but more important than the facade of the building is what goes on inside its walls,” Kennedy said.
Stearns said local support from city officials helped 28 Lewis literally rise from the ashes.
“The mayor really got behind this project,” he said.
Craven’s neighbor, Bill Carpenter, lived in a rooming house before moving into 28 Lewis and said he neglected taking his medication, including insulin, and eating correctly to control his diabetes.
“I ended up getting sick. It was terrible,” he said.
Unlike Craven, who works in a Danvers production facility, Carpenter does not have a job but he enjoys music and likes to visit Revere Beach. Bridgewell workers help him shop for groceries and manage his medical needs and finances.
“I’m a lot healthier than I was,” he said.
Hungler said residents contribute $200 to $500 a month for rent with income from jobs or Social Security benefits.
Craven volunteers as a baseball coach and wants to get a new job in addition to perfecting his cooking skills with help from Bridgewell workers.
“I can do more stuff on my own,” he said.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
