In 1967, Mountain Lake Services began with 15 concerned citizens. At a time when little help was available for children with intellectual disabilities and their families, these citizens came together in an effort to change all that.
Since then, Mountain Lake Services has come to serve over 500 people with intellectual disabilities. We offer a complete range of support: from Residential to Community Services and Early Childhood Intervention to Supported Employment Services, with intensive coaching in natural work environments, to productive careers in our own Essex Industries. We also have a Day Habilitation program that delivers time-tested services to people in their own communities, the first such program in New York State to convert completely from Day Treatment. Our Residential Program consists of 7 supportive apartments and 47 homes throughout Essex County.
The dream of 1967 has come true through strong community and political support, a dedicated Board of Directors, and a hard-working, committed staff.
All our programs can be reached via 10 St. Patrick's Place, Port Henry, NY 12974, 518-546-3381, and where noted below.
To review our privacy policy, please visit www.mountainlakeservices.org/privacy_policy.html.
"My son, Timothy Locke, is a resident at the Lord Road IRA in Elizabethtown, New York. His entire family wants everyone to know how very pleased we are with the care he is receiving. Since he has been with the agency, he has made such great strides. He has grown into a very responsible young man whom we are very proud of. I guess what pleases all of us the most is the fact that he is very happy. That is what all of us want for him. Again, thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart." -- Marlene Locke, Tim's mother
Dana Allen, Regional Director
Western Region
Mountain Meadows Office
26 Mountain Meadows Way
Upper Jay, NY 12941
518-946-7477
Mary Savage, Regional Director
Northern Region
Gerald B. Edwards Center (GBEC)
100 Industrial Park
Keeseville, NY 12944
518-834-1190
Dana Allen, Regional Director
Central Region
10 St. Patrick's Place
Port Henry, NY 12974
518-546-9550
Mary Randall, Regional Director
Southern Region
Birchwood Office
15 Birchwood Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883
518-546-6464
Mountain Lake Services serves over 200 people in homes throughout the county. Twelve individuals receive designated oversight and guidance services in their own apartments.
We support each person to pursue their individual interests and desires, with an emphasis on personal choice. Each person receiving residential services is provided the support necessary to pursue his/her individual interests and desires, with an emphasis on personal choice.
People receive daily living skills training in such areas as cooking, shopping, money management, and personal hygiene to maximize their abilities. Our programs foster active participation in daily life, including the pursuit of recreational and social interests.
In addition, we work to help people develop natural supports (family, friends, neighbors, and others) and become involved in their community, as this is essential to enhancing quality of life.
"Mike has been living at Lord Road for a year and a half, from the very first day it has been a positive experience for all of us. Although this isn't the first time he's lived away from home, this is the first time Mike has expressed a true feeling of being comfortable with his surroundings, i.e. staff, roommates, work and community involvement. In the past, he lived within a Camphill community in Hudson, NY, which in theory is a great foundation for individual growth, but for Mike, he just wasn't happy. ARC has sparked Mike's ability to enter his adult life with a purpose. He loves going to work and earning money, being involved in all community activities -- Special Olympics, bowling, skiing, swimming, horseback riding, basketball etc. As parents of Mike, we not only commend the staff and organization for all of the community involvement, but also on the professionalism and the security they provide Mike." -- Michael and Patti Harrison, Mike's parents
Sarah Louer, Clinical Services Director
10 St. Patrick's Place
Port Henry, NY 12974
518-546-3381
Home-Based Community Services supports families and individuals in creating and maintaining independent lives in the community.
In addition to advocacy and assistance in coordinating available community services, the program can offer in-home training, support, personal care supervision, household management, recreation, and more.
Assistance is also provided in obtaining respite, home modifications to accommodate physical handicaps, and adaptive equipment. Services are delivered in a consumer-designed and controlled environment.
Sarah Louer, Clinical Services Director
10 St. Patrick's Place
Port Henry, NY 12974
518-546-3381
This program provides planned and coordinated support services by trained direct care providers to Essex County families with intellectually disabled members of all ages living at home.
This service alleviates the pressures generally experienced by family members and enables them to keep the intellectually disabled family member in the home.
The goal is to assist these families, help them remain intact for as long as they desire, and to avoid unnecessary out-of-home placements by maintaining and strengthening the disabled person's ability to remain in the community.
Sarah Louer, Clinical Services Director
P.O. Box 194
Port Henry, NY 12974
518-546-3381
The Early Childhood Intervention Program was started in early 1980 to provide services to intellectually delayed infants 0 to 3 years of age.
Emphasis is placed on providing training in the home to reduce the impact of the disability not only on the child(ren), but on the family as well. Staff members go to families' homes to provide education and therapy to the child(ren) as well as training and support to the families.
Note: More than one child may be disabled, and families often include non-disabled children.
Other services are provided when needed. These include speech, physical and occupational therapy, as well as family counseling, play therapy, parent training, advocacy, and the coordination of medical and educational services.
Day Hab Services are provided at the Helen F. McDonald Center, and at the Gerald B. Edwards Center. They offer broad-based and intensive services to people with intellectual disabilities. They are places where people can come together in an effort to begin doing new things which are fulfilling and seen as useful by each individual.
Built upon a foundation of choice, strengthened by a healthy respect for human dignity, their purpose is to enrich people's lives with the right supports, at the right time, in the right place.
In general, day services include recreational and prevocational training, independent living skills training, opportunities for community involvement, self-care services, nutrition services, and routine nursing services, as well as physical, occupational and speech therapy.
The Helen F. McDonald Center opened on March 15, 1982, and the Gerald B. Edwards Center opened on November 18, 1991.
Dana Allen, Director
Helen F. McDonald Center (HFMC)
10 St. Patrick's Place
Port Henry, NY 12974
518-546-3386
Day services help people achieve satisfying and rewarding connections and relationships with their communities. Our services are very flexible and can be provided almost anywhere in the community an individual wishes to learn new skills. We match many activities and services, such as employment or traditional day services, to each individual's desires. The key goal of our day habilitation services is to assist individuals with daily life activities.
Barbara Thomas, Director
Gerald B. Edwards Center (GBEC)
100 Industrial Park
Keeseville, NY 12944
518-834-1188
Day services also attempt to cover all areas of an individual's development and are aimed at achieving the optimal level of independence for each person.
Mountain Lake Services focuses on each person's life. We assess the individual's current level of life skills and his or her responsiveness to the training and service offered. For some, the program is a transition from a more restrictive environment into the community. For others, it is an appropriate program upon graduation from the local school system. After graduation, the program assists these people to develop their full potential in all areas of life. For other people already receiving community-based services as adults, this program can provide more appropriate, broader-based training and services leading to even more independent utilization of what their community offers.
Katherine Sleeper, Supported Employment Services Manager
10 St. Patrick's Place
Port Henry, NY 12974
518-546-3024
The Supported Employment Services program places people with disabilities into integrated work sites in the community and provides them with the support of a job coach.
The job coach gives intensive on-site training and provides a person with support to ensure successful long-term employment. Through training in natural work environments, people are able to experience social integration with non-disabled people. The program assists in eliminating barriers that prevent them from being successful at work.
Gavin Johnston, Director
Charles R. Hayes Essex Industries
P.O. Box 374
Mineville, NY 12956
518-942-6671
www.essexindustries.org
C.R.H. Essex Industries is a vocational training center where people with intellectual disabilities learn the skills they need to work and live as independently as possible in the community.
Since opening in 1974, C.R.H. Essex Industries has provided a wide range of vocational training experiences. These experiences, in conjunction with our social rehabilitation services, guide individuals toward increased productivity and self-esteem.
In addition, our Community Work Experience program gives people the opportunity to experience integrated employment for a limited time with the assistance of a vocational trainer.
C.R.H. Essex Industries is currently certified to provide services to over 75 individuals. Referrals to the program are accepted and reviewed monthly by the Service Review Committee.
Sarah Louer, Clinical Services Director
10 St. Patrick's Place
Port Henry, NY 12974
518-546-3381
Mountain Lake Services provides Medicaid Services Coordination (MSC) to individuals with intellectual or intellectual disabilities, to better assist them in gaining access to necessary services and supports appropriate for their needs. MSC is provided by qualified service coordinators who follow a person-centered planning process to develop, implement, and maintain an Individualized Service Plan (ISP) with and for a person with intellectual or intellectual disabilities. MSC promotes the concepts of choice, individualized services and supports, and consumer satisfaction.
MSC helps individuals strive for their highest possible quality of life. MSC focuses on assisting each person to achieve his or her unique goals and desires, in terms of having a home, a job, a circle of friends, enjoyable leisure activities, and access to medical and clinical services.
