Page 30 2023 Hometown HEROES Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS May 2023 Memorial Behavioral Health A place where heroes serve up solid futures for those with challenges By Nila Smith “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Some of us said these words a lot when we were children. It was a defense mechanism that our parents taught us when we were being teased by other children on the playground or in the classroom. To our parents it was a source of reaffirmation, that in spite of the nastiness, we were above it and not hurt by it, but is it true? When we were called fatso, did that little limerick make us believe it was alright to be overweight? Probably not. Then there were those who picked on relentlessly those who were different. Foureyes for those who wore glasses, gimpy for someone who had a disability that impacted their walking, the terrible n-word for those of a different skin type, and the equally terrible r-word for those who were intellectually disabled or challenged. Those words hurt, and they sometimes caused irreversible damage. Children who were intellectually disabled were somewhat protected in school because they were separated from the general population a lot of the time, participating in special education classes intended to teach them according to their ability to learn. But what happens when those children age out of the school system? They are in the world, but the world does not see them, or it sees them as a societal liability rather than an asset. This is where Memorial Behavioral Health - Lincoln Center for Developmental Rehabilitation (LCDR) formerly known as Logan/Mason Rehab in Lincoln comes into play, and why the program is being named as one of the Lincoln Daily News’ 2023 Hometown Heroes. LCDR began its history in Lincoln and Logan County at the now long defunct Lincoln Developmental Center campus. In 1989 the service was re-established in a new building on South Postville Drive. It was known then as Logan/Mason Rehab, a name still used by some in the community. Today, it serves a large number of clients with intellectual disabilities from a wide range of communities including those from Lincoln and Logan County, Mason County, and Springfield/Sangamon County. The program was nominated because of the work it does to help challenged individuals lead happy healthy productive lives. Specifically the nomination spoke about the Community Day Services program. Continued --
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