In the Alpha Community House, it is quiet, except for the often rapid beeping noise ringing throughout the house, indicating someone is opening a door to the outside.

“You know how people would ask you to raise your hand if you loved your job? I would raise my hand,” said Ashlee Julian, 23, a worker at the home located on 18th Street in Charleston.

The Alpha Community House is an assisted-living group home for individuals who are mentally challenged. This home can house up to 16 people and currently holds 15. This is one of the few assisted-living houses for the mentally challenged located on 18th street alone.

Assisted-living homes have created a stir within the community recently with one of the homes in Charleston, Graywood group home, in which two employees were arrested and charged for the death of one of the residents.

Some may be unfamiliar with the in’s and out’s of these homes, but Julian explained how the Alpha Community House, in particular, works. Julian explained that each house has a different level of functioning. This home, she says, is one of the higher levels of functioning; meaning residents are more independent than other houses.

Residents living in the home have their own reasons for needing to live there.

“We have program books. It has five to six people in each book and it’s their goals. One goal is math, so we also teach them. They also have cooking goals and hygiene goals, like brushing their teeth and trying to keep up with that,” Julian said.

Certain hours of the day, the home is quiet. This is because the residents work at CCAR Industries. CCAR is one of the places in Charleston where assisted living residents can work, but the work places are chosen depending on the functioning level and age.

“Just like everyone else they need to get out and be in society,” Julian said. “I went (to CCAR) to see what it was like, thinking they were in assembly lines packing boxes. No, they move everywhere and they have breaks like crazy. They’re very lucky.”

Little things make the home different than a regular home, such as the door alarms sounding when they are open, or hand railings in one of the hallways. The only thing that makes these people different from others is their needs.

Samantha Wilmes can be reached at 581-7943 or smwilmes@eiu.edu.

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