Residents of the Janice W. Goldsten Home on Tifton Drive in Potomac have chicken and peas for Shabbat dinner. David Altheim says the Hebrew blessings over the bread and grape juice, and then everyone begins to eat.
Frank Marschka — Frankie to those at the table — is the center of attention. He tells his housemates about his work in the mail room at Suburban Hospital, of being seasick on a trip he took to the Caribbean, and of being kicked in the behind by a horse.
He adds to his conversations repeated declarations — "I want to talk to you about that" and "I'm telling you the whole truth."
Garner McLean is the head counselor at Altheim's and Marschka's house, a group home for adults with developmental disabilities run by the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes.
"They interact and laugh a lot," said McLean. "It goes up when we have a guest. Then, Frank really becomes the entertainer."
"I really like what I'm doing. I like the residents," McLean said. "It's a continual learning experience — learning about myself, about other people."
THE JANICE W. GOLDSTEN Home is one of 20 Washington-area homes for adults with developmental disabilities that is operated by the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes.
The organization also owns 40 apartments for residents who need only drop-in care and counseling.
The organization, which opened its first home in 1983, will hold its annual gala on Thursday, Nov. 4.
Most homes have five or six residents and several staff counselors. Residents help run the home, participating in chores, social activities and holiday celebrations. Residents celebrate Jewish holidays and eat Kosher meals, but people of all faiths are welcome to apply.
Bob Curran, one of the residents at Tifton Drive, sits in the living room after dinner. Curran, who is Catholic, mumbles something difficult to understand. McLean helps out. "He said, 'God is always looking over you and me.'"
THE GOAL of the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes is to provide fulfilling, dignified lives for residents of its homes.
"The focus on our program is on enhancing our residents' independence," said Karen Kaplan, communications coordinator with the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes.
That means providing ways for higher-functioning residents to be involved in the larger community. And, the goal extends to all residents, including those whose disabilities cause greater obstacles, such as people unable to speak.
Debbie and Buzzy Cohn's daughter Suzanne has severe developmental and physical disabilities that require 24-hour care.
Suzanne, 21, is now a resident of the Gerry and Howard Polinger Home in Silver Spring.
The Cohns, of Potomac, heard about the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes when Suzanne was very young, but at that time, the organization only accepted higher-functioning people with disabilities. The organization has greatly expanded its programs since their daughter was born.
"We always hoped that by the time she was 21, they would be taking care of people like she was," said Debbie Cohn.
For most of her teenage years, Suzanne Cohn lived in a special care facility outside of Philadelphia, and Debbie Cohn made the drive religiously every week.
"When I left and I knew I wasn't going to see her for another week, I just cried," Debbie Cohn said.
The Jewish Foundation for Group Homes has changed that.
"I don't leave with a heavy heart the way I used to," she said. "It really has been the answer to our prayers."