Summertime at the Anne Sippi Clinics
By Susan Rajlal, MPA

The Anne Sippi Clinic - Riverside Ranch community of clients and staff are excited as this marks the fifth anniversary of the opening of "the Ranch." The day-treatment program opened in October of 1998, and a prevocational program was added the following year. The outpatient clinic computer workstations have also grown in number.

With the Ranch's fifth anniversary approaching, the clients and staff are planning a fall festival that will include games, a craft fair, and barbecue. Clients and staff are also working on building a golf driving range on the Ranch property. And work on the Margaret Gagosian Memorial Gardens continues.

Clients and staff of the Anne Sippi Clinic - Los Angeles have worked side-by-side this summer to build a beautiful patio pergola outside the group room, and it is a powerful expression of what can be accomplished when people work together. Thanks to Robert Heredia and all of his hard work, the gardens continue to be a focus of activities at the Los Angeles facility.

Clients and staff at "the clinic" have worked together to develop the "People Helpers" program, a peer-support system. Those individuals who have a talent or skill that may be helpful to others sign up on the "help" bulletin board and advertise the service that he or she can provide. For instance, if someone has just completed the SSI intake process, then that person may offer his or her services in guiding someone else through this paperwork. Similarly, a client who can play the guitar may offer to give guitar lessons. Those involved are proud of the sense of community that this project embodies. The Anne Sippi staff hopes that it is through peer support and friendships that the clients define their living environment.