The men and women who live in Yavapai Exceptional Industries’ (YEI!)
Family Homes live full, rich lives. They rise with the sun, and each day includes chores, work opportunities, social activities, and leisure time. House parents oversee each of the two Family Homes: Rusing Hills (the women’s home) and Washington Hills (the men’s home).
Rusing Hills House Mother Terri Brahm described a typical day in the life:
- Everyone is awake and out in the living room by 6 a.m., getting ready for the day. Before breakfast, the residents socialize and watch TV (following a “TV Control Schedule,” which gives each person a designated day to choose what’s on).
- Breakfast is served at 7 a.m. Each woman is responsible for rinsing her dishes and
putting them in the dishwasher, and one resident wipes down the table and kitchen
counter. Brahm sets out the lunch supplies and the women pack them up.
- At 8 a.m., Brahm walks the YEI! gals down the street to YEI! General Headquarters,
where they work.
- At 4 p.m., she picks them up and they head home, empty lunchboxes, and begin
preparing dinner. While Brahm does the bulk of the dinner prep, some of the YEI! gals
help cut up food and others set the table.
- The rest of the evening is dedicated to eating dinner and enjoying social events (many of them through the Special Needs Ability Program) like Bingo, a signing class, craft night, music classes, Bible study, and monthly dances.
- Most evenings, the YEI! gals are in their bedrooms winding down by 7 p.m.
Residents are assigned daily and weekly chores in their own living spaces and in the community living space: laundry, dishes, vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, taking out trash and recycling, bathroom cleanup and more. “We have a really vibrant lifestyle,” Brahm said.
YEI! Executive Director Brad Newman said the Family Homes—each of which has a generous upstairs with a living area and six bedrooms and a downstairs where the house parents live—were made possible by Prescott Charities.
YEI! is a charitable organization founded in 1974 to support adults with disabilities living in the Central Highlands by providing them with job training, employment, volunteer placements, and support services. The “Developmental Employment” program at YEI! includes the award winning “Community Contribution Corps” and has been continually accredited at the highest level of service by the National Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities since 1978.