New day habilitation center offers support, community
Two Brothers Day Hab is now open at 108 Depot Street in downtown Elgin. From left to right: Malik King, Gabriel Gomez, Irene Marapao (back), Della Smith. Photos courtesy of Irene Marapao
Malik King, Della Smith and Gabriel Gomez walk around and shop in downtown Elgin.
Malik King, Gabriel Gomez and Della Smith have lunch at Subway.
Welcome to Elgin's newest day hab center, Two Brothers Day Hab, temporarily housed at 108 Depot Street pending the location of a permanent site.
You may ask, “What is a day hab?” A day hab, or day habilitation center, is a place that provides services to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
These services may include personal care, basic daily living skills, and social interacting skills with the purpose of helping our clients engage with their peers and larger community organizations. These services also provide a safe environment where family members can help their dependents learn about short periods of separation and independence. It also allows the family members time away from their dependents so they don’t get overwhelmed or burnt out from supporting them.
It is truly a joy and a privilege to be the advocate for your child, but it is also very time-consuming and challenging. We all need a little extra support sometimes. This is the purpose of the day hab. We at Two Brothers Day Hab will endeavor to provide each family with the resources and the support that they need. We know that each family is different and unique so we will support them as best as we can. We will temporarily be housed at the Elgin Open Door Missions, which is a non-denominational church located in the heart of Elgin. The church has been open for over a year and provides community support through its food pantry, clothing closet, diaper and formula program for moms and other community referrals.
Each client will have the opportunity to participate in these programs, thus learning appropriate behavior while dealing with the community. They will receive a sense of purpose and also learn how they want to be treated by others and, in turn, how they should treat others. These are skills that are most valuable to our clients and used on a daily basis. These skills are not redundant or complicated, but very necessary. Each person will gain the satisfaction of accomplishment, belonging, sharing, and being an active member of society.
We have started to accept applications and will be able to house 20 clients at our current location. We hope that each client and their family will support us as we try to make this a pleasant and exciting time for all. We at Two Brothers Day Hab wish the best for each of you and we want to be a part of that shared experience.
Two Brothers Day Hab is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, contact owner and minister Irene Marapao, Two Brothers Day Hab at Elgin Open Door Missions, 108 Depot Street, Elgin, TX 78621; call 512-762-7083; or email twobrothersdayhab@gmail.com.