Gilead supports our clients' ability to live in the community of their choice and offers transportation to clients where there is an accessibility barrier to public transportation — increasing clients' independence and encouraging them to reach their goals towards recovery. 

Excessive mileage, high maintenance and repair costs required five vehicles being used for client transportation to be retired from the fleet.  Safe and reliable transportation is critical in order to continue programming services and to reduce cost of maintenance and repair.

Five Gilead programs received new vehicles, made possible with support from the Governor’s Nonprofit Grant Program, and has had a positive impact on more than 300 clients.

• Shoreline Community Apartment Program, (SCAP) encompasses two programs; a group home for six individuals, and an apartment program for seventeen individuals who receive services while living in their own community apartments.  SCAP is located on the shoreline in Clinton where only minimal public transportation is accessible.  Transportation is provided by Gilead staff for clients to community stores and events, collateral appointments, and to program services at the Gilead Social Rehab Centers in Middletown and Chester.
• Social Rehabilitation Centers in Chester and Middletown are committed to the values of self-empowerment and recovery. Programming includes highly structured skills-based groups and individual training, helps clients adjust to community living, provides a sense of belonging within their community and reduces isolation.   Subsidized lunches are served to clients daily.  The Social Rehab centers serve approximately 130 clients.
• Transportation is also provided to the Gilead Outpatient Clinics located in Chester and Middletown which offers individual and group counseling, and psychiatric treatment for individuals served by Gilead residential and case management programs.  The treatment provided at the Outpatient Clinics are key to our client’s recovery.     

Clients and staff were thrilled with the new transportation.  Here’s what clients at Gateway had to say about the new 15 passenger van:

• “Boy this is really nice!”
• “This is way more comfortable than the old van!”
• “You can really see out of this van!”
• “The radio sounds really good!”
• “We’ve got to take good care of this!”
• “Thank you so much for our new van!”

Thanks to funding from the State of Connecticut’s Nonprofit Grant Program, Gilead’s Social Rehabilitation Center was able to renovate its commercial kitchen.  The cabinets and counters were beginning to delaminate, causing exposed, unfinished surfaces that were unable to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized.  The refrigerators and freezers had required more frequent servicing when they were unable to maintain proper temperature.  Because of this grant, the counters and cabinets were replaced with units of stainless steel construction in the same configuration and size which met health regulations and safe food handling practices. The commercial refrigerator and freezer was replaced with new energy efficient commercial units.

The Social Rehab Center’s programming includes highly structured skills-based groups and individual training, helps clients with adjust to community living, provides a sense of belonging and reduces isolation.   The program is committed to the values of self-empowerment and recovery.  As part of this programming, the Rehab Center helps individuals learn and participate in a cooking skills process.  This component of the program allows for skills to be learned which help individuals become more independent, and provides lunch to approximately 40 people per day.