Recalibrating the mind, body, and social well-being of residents
“As we have become more aware of the physical, emotional, and social ripple effects of trauma, it is imperative that we, those of us with boots on the ground, adjust business as usual. We have to progress and implement neuro/bio/social evidence-based practices that support residents in their healing process.” Dawn Daum – Milestone Manor Program Director
Milestone Manor is a co-ed, adult, 24/7-staffed RISE Housing and Support Services community residence located in Saratoga Springs providing care and support needed to initiate healthy, sustainable life changes. The approach at Milestone Manor, assisting individuals attain an independent and sustainable lifestyle, is based on a trauma-informed model; a modern approach to residential care using non-clinical approaches including harm reducing best practices.
The trauma-informed approach centers on a harm reduction model aimed at decreasing the harms associated with certain behaviors, including impulsive decision making, inability to manage treatment and medication management, self-injurious behaviors, and substance use. Abstinence is often not a realistic goal for those with mental health diagnoses and yet individuals interested in reducing, but not eliminating, harmful behaviors were excluded from treatment programs. However, the harm reduction model employed at Milestone Manor meets a resident where they are at in the healing process. Milestone Manor counselors are equipped to apply harm reduction strategies and ideas at the time a person enters the program.
This approach demands a willingness to be brave, and to use honesty and vulnerability to identify life practices that are no longer working for the resident, and replace them with healthier, more sustainable practices. Honesty with themselves and with the Milestone Manor team is necessary to thrive in this environment and to work towards developing and executing a successful, comprehensive plan towards attaining a sustainable lifestyle. There is an emphasis on helping residents build relationship with a counselor from day one, so that the level of vulnerability necessary is attainable.
To foster this type of environment, Milestone Manor offers an average of 18 hours of in-house programming including monthly service plans that serve as road maps for change, one-on-one daily check-ins with counselors, community dinners, and daily living skills training. Additionally, there are in-house self-help groups that focus on planning ahead, body-based healing, nutritional guidance and meal planning, and weekly discussion about shifts in behaviors and thinking.
Dawn Daum, Program Director and published author, believes this type of resident expectation and in-house programming is vital to helping individuals get to the source of what is holding them back from having the life they want and deserve, “Interpersonal trauma is something nearly all individuals seeking this type of treatment have experienced, which increases isolation in the recovery process, and often fuels an inability to connect with others without engaging in harmful behaviors. That’s why the Milestone Manor team uses modeling, relationship, therapeutic tools such as self-care charts and engagement tracking to encourage harm-reducing behaviors.”
The Milestone Manor philosophy, rooted in the practice of harm reduction through a trauma-informed lens, guided by an experienced and caring staff, helps establish the physical and psychological safety an individual needs to experience comfort and connection to their residential peers and to thrive in the greater community.