Bethphage clients getting out, about

COLUMBUS - Bethphage of Columbus is taking steps to get its clients more involved with the community and to become more independent.

The service company, which works with clients with disabilities, started "Service without Walls" at the beginning of July and has hopes of breaking many barriers. The program's title illustrates that nothing can hold anyone back from living his or her hopes and interests, including the disabled.

"The purpose of this program is to have the individual act in the community," said Lynette Berg, direct support manager at Bethphage in Columbus. "Instead of coming into a service workshop, they go out into the community."

The Bethphage regional agency in northeast Nebraska thought it was important to get more interaction between those who are disabled and the community. The agency, which also has offices in Norfolk and Fremont, thought Columbus would be a good place to have the program. Bethphage in Columbus has three clients involved in the program and hopes to add more once word gets out about it.

"It's a new thing for us all," Berg said. "I don't think a lot of people know about it."

The program allows those served by Bethphage to become more independent in expressing what they want to do and then accessing the occupations in which they have an interest.

Berg said the clients have an interest in animals, so they have began working with dogs at the Columbus Animal Shelter. They hope to begin working with churches, folding church bulletins and becoming involved with the food pantry.

The clients have also helped clean at Westbrook Apartments. It is a job that pays the clients.

"That's our goal, is to give them the opportunities you or I would have," Berg said. "We want to find out what their interests are, what they want to do with their lives and what goals they have. We need to provide that support to them."

Berg said the program is a step in the right direction in letting the disabled know they can pursue their dreams and hopes.

"Just because some of us may be disabled, that should not be a barrier for us," Berg said. "It's a great thing for them to get to know people in the community and for the community to get to know them."

In the past, Bethphage service providers have used workshops to teach and develop the disabled. Although this program is new and needs to be tested, Berg said she is confident in what the program can provide.

"I believe you are going to see a lot of this in the future," she said. "I believe the providers will help them be fully involved in the same extent as anyone else would be."