Atlanta Highlights

Lately, we have been receiving so many great stories from our communities in Atlanta, that we had a difficult time selecting just a few to share. From finding health information to continuing education, these individuals are doing extraordinary things with the Internet! Here are some of the highlights:

From Marni Lange at Marian Highrise:

As Ambassadors, I think sometimes we may underestimate the impact we make on the lives of our residents. I hope the below story reminds our Ambassadors of how important they are!

Cathie is an extremely intelligent and talented author. She has been through a lot of childhood trauma, cancer, and now is suffering from severe depression and anxiety. Sometimes she has a hard time leaving her apartment because her depression paralyzes her. The one thing she always makes it to is her class. 

Today we discussed her unfortunate circumstances surrounding her mental health and the lack of resources available being that she is on Medicaid. She had succumbed to the fact that she was never going to find a therapist who accepts Medicaid. Sure enough, when I did research online with her, we only found a few in Atlanta who accepted Medicaid. I encouraged Cathie to call the therapists before the weekend so she could relax a bit and enjoy her weekend instead of worrying about finding a therapist who accepts Medicaid. She went home immediately to make the phone calls and sent me the below email:

Hi, Marni:

Just to let you know...they don't take my Medicaid in that clinic near Grant Park. So, I'm on the phone with Northside.. My appointment is next Tuesday. I'm just grateful to have a place to go.

Thanks for your support. It made a huge difference.

Blessings,

Cathie

From DeJuan Guess at Cheshire Bridge:

Today one of my students at Cheshire Bridge came in and said that this will be her last day of class. I immediately ask “Why?” wondering why she is quitting the class so suddenly. Well it was for a good reason; Ms. Catherine has learned so much about the computer she has now enrolled herself back in school. Ms. Catherine made sure to let me know before she started the class that she was very inexperienced with dealing with computers. She came to class every week eager to learn new things and wanting to excel at using computers. After our first graduation, Ms. Catherine was almost a pro when it came to navigating on the computer and I was very surprised.

After this, It felt amazing that I have inspired someone to come to class and learn new things about the computer and CL! Now she has decided to go back to school and take online classes to receive her Bachelors in Psychology!

From Amber Meadows at Georgia Avenue Highrise:

Ms. Jessie is a popular resident at GA Ave. Unfortunately, she has been ill for the past few months and has been unable to attend class. She returned to class today and was more than happy to get back into the groove. She started by checking her email – which included over 30 unread messages! Several of these emails came from fellow residents who were checking up on her and sending encouraging messages and ecards to each other. It was clear that she felt special.

From Marni Lange at Marian Highrise:

We have recently hired a Russian Ambassador to teach Russian classes in the morning at 3 of our communities. However, there are a handful of Russian residents who have requested that their classes be held in the evenings at one of the communities.

I asked Dr. Tesler, a resident who is about to graduate from our intermediate class, if she would be willing to work with me and teach these students in the evening one day a week. She was so excited and stated that she now has “something to do” and would really “love” teaching her friends and fellow residents!

This was extremely satisfying as Dr. Tesler is very intelligent and does not like being bored. She misses being able to practice medicine and I really believe this is going to fill a hole that she has had since moving here from Russia!

Can't wait to find out what incredible accomplishments are in these residents' futures!