UNITED WAY AGENCY OF THE WEEK
AGENCY: Maple Leaf Adult Respite
CONTACT PERSON: Misti Carver
EMAIL ADDRESS: mcarver@haywoodnc.net
MISSION: Maple Leaf Adult Respite is a program of the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency. The program provides daytime respite care for adults with disabilities in Haywood County. Our service helps caregivers have the time to do daily tasks without leaving their loved one home alone. This allows participants to live at home longer and prolongs/ prevents them from having to go into long-term care placement.
SUCCESS STORY: One of our finest success stories is of a young woman who came to us after having suffered a stroke. When our agency first came in contact with her, she was in a wheelchair and spoke very little. She initially started coming to our facility one day a week, with a brace on one leg and still had very limited language skills. After a year, she currently attends Maple Leaf five days a week with a big smile on her face. Her body has gotten stronger from the daily exercise and she no longer uses the leg brace. She has gained confidence and a tremendous amount of independence from the socialization and recreational activities at Maple Leaf. She is now able to better communicate and express herself. She is amazing and inspiring to all the staff, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
HOW UNITED WAY FUNDS MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO DO WHAT YOU DO: United Way contributions play a major role in providing our facility with the recreational activities and supplies that we need to operate. We have used United Way funding for games and storage, a world of art supplies, and exercise equipment to help build strength and agility. We have also been able to purchase adaptive utensils and serving ware, electronics for musical enrichment, cleaning supplies, and even furniture. Our United Way funds have helped improve and brighten our facility in ways we could have never done without their contributions.