Newport Group Home Staff Help Tanya Robinson Live Independently

In 2017, Tanya Robinson became a resident at the Newport group home in Newport, North Carolina, in Carteret County, eager to develop her personal and professional skills, in hopes of transitioning to independent living.

Tanya Robinson holds a full-time job at Riverside Pizza and Subs in Newport and is working toward reaching her goals of independence.

Today, she holds a full-time job at Riverside Pizza and Subs in Newport and is working toward reaching her goals.

Monarch’s Newport group home is where five residents live with a common goal: learning to enhance their daily living activities such as cooking, cleaning and personal grooming. Newport staff conduct individual assessments to see what skills residents have and what skills could be developed.

“When I first met Tanya, she showed me she was willing to put in the work to be successful,” says Newport group home’s Team Lead and Residential Manager Dexter Waters. “I knew that she had a plan and that she would do all that she knew to make this plan work out for her. That’s something that really impressed me about her because she sets her goals and is willing to take direction from people to help her reach her goals.”

In addition to learning daily living activities, the Monarch team at Newport also helps their residents to  learn about personal finances and time management skills needed to live independently. Staff works with the residents to create a budget, build savings and manage a grocery list. Residents can also participate in one of Monarch’s day programs where they can choose from a variety of activities including developing professional skills.

Waters says many of the residents have similar goals to Robinson’s and want to be successfully employed.  Waters and his team work with the residents to determine if they are ready for the next level of professional experience, and then assist in the job search. Once employed, residents will start with one to three hours of work daily, adding hours each day as they become accustomed to the job.

Robinson is part of the restaurant’s team that helps clean and frequently receives compliments from customers about the quality of her work. Waters is impressed by and compliments Robinson’s work ethic. “She’s worked real hard on this job and doing really well.  She has learned how to manage money, and understand the value of it.”

Robinson says she enjoys working with Waters and would recommend Monarch’s services to anyone. “Waters helps me a lot. He’s good to me and stuff,” she says with a chuckle.

Waters is optimistic that Robinson will be able to transition to independent living in the future. “She always gives it her best and tries to do the very best that she can.”