"Spotlight Staff" Lisa Hart, Houseparent of AHRC's Oakdale Residence
Three years ago, Lisa Hart, Houseparent of AHRC’s Oakdale residence, had no prior experience with the developmentally disabled population.
Fast forward to January 2012, and even a perfect stranger could see just how much AHRC has changed her life.
Along with close friends, family, and the eight residents of our Oakdale IRA, Lisa and her husband, Harry Schenkel, celebrated their wedding at Sylvia’s in Harlem on January 2nd.
“They really are my family,” said Lisa when describing her role as Houseparent. “Like every family, each person has their own schedule, but we support one another. We eat dinner together every night.”
And like all families living under one roof, personalities sometimes do clash. “There are times when we all love each other and times when we disagree—but that’s just part of being a family. And it’s my favorite part of what I do for a living.”
Lisa discovered AHRC through a friend, who told her about our Residential Program. She interviewed and was hired as Direct Care for Oakdale and AHRC’s other residences. With time on her side, Lisa began working just as the Houseparent of the Oakdale IRA was preparing for retirement.
At first, she admitted to being “totally intimidated” by the position. “It is a really big job,” said Lisa. But the Houseparent took her “under her wing” and prepared Lisa for the task at hand.
After much training, she moved herself and McKenzie, Lisa’s 14-year-old daughter, into the house’s apartment full-time. Her then finance, Harry, who works in Finance, recently became a Pastor at the Transfiguration Church in Harlem. So Lisa, McKenzie, Harry and his three children, Harrison, 19, Samantha, 16, and Hunter, 13, spend Friday through Sunday in their new brownstone apartment, located on 126th street.
With such a hectic schedule, Lisa credits her “amazing staff” for keeping the household pleasant and orderly. Besides the Houseparent relief employee who comes in on the weekends, Lisa said all of the wonderful people who work at Oakdale IRA help her in so many ways.
“There’s no way that anybody could do this without a staff—it’s the kind of job that is your entire life. You’re running the household, but no matter how great the Houseparent is, it’s the staff that set the mood and tone. It’s such a combined team effort.”
Working for AHRC has “been such a great gift,” said Lisa. “My Director, the staff—everyone has been so amazing. They all go above and beyond.”
Lisa, though quite modest, has added a personal touch to AHRC’s Oakdale IRA. With religion being such a prominent part of her life, Oakdale’s eight residents attend services at either St. Johns in Bohemia and St. Anne’s in Oakdale once per week. The household also celebrated Christmas by listening to Harry’s sermons in Harlem’s Transfiguration Church.
Going forward, Lisa would like to bring residents to the church in Harlem more often. With the generous donation of a minivan from one of the resident’s families, the group can now split up for different day trips like to NYC, or to shop, go to the movies, go fishing, etc.
Having never worked with the disabled population prior to AHRC, Lisa sure has embraced our agency’s mission.
“From working with people with developmental disabilities, I’ve learned to really be in the moment. I used to always be thinking about the future and get hung up on the past—those little things in life that get out of hand. But our residents don’t do this. They live for now.”
If you’d like to visit the Transfiguration Church in Harlem, it’s located at 74 West 126th Street. Service is held on Sunday at 10:30 am.
