Residents leaving Riverdale Manor

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Roughly midway through the five-year period that Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the state Office of Mental Health (OMH) to relocate residents with mental health issues from institutional settings to more independent housing, the first group of residents is poised to move out of Riverdale Manor at 6355 Broadway.

PIBLY, a housing provider, won a contract to provide in-reach services at the home in April. The pilot phase of the contract targeted 75 of the home’s 256 residents. Officials at the housing provider said that about 50 have agreed to move into supported housing. The first could be relocated within the next two months.

One of the participants was eager to make the move.

“I want to move out of this place as soon as possible,” said James D’Amico, who has lived at Riverdale Manor since November 2009. “I’ll be moving to the Wakefield area of the Bronx. I can visit my parents whenever I want to. I can take home care packages and my parents’ cooking whenever I want to again.”

Mr. D’Amico, 45, said he wanted to leave Riverdale Manor since he could not prepare his own meals, thought staff were overworked and found it difficult to communicate with other residents. Given the opportunity by PIBLY, Mr. D’Amico consulted his caseworker at the Jewish Board of Family and Social Services and decided to move.

“My staff is unionized. I’m happy with their work,” Eva Morgan, the administrator of Riverdale Manor, said when asked about Mr. D’Amico’s concerns.

“They showed me pictures of a possible apartment,” Mr. D’Amico said of PIBLY. He had also got time to study an informational packet from OMH that describes the help clients can still expect from case managers with tasks like planning medication and connecting to their new community. Recommended activities for the latter include people-watching in cafés, volunteering at animal shelters and, for people “with some tough times in their own histories,” attending 12-step meetings.

James D’Amico, Riverdale Manor, Eva Morgan, Martin Lalli, Andrew Cuomo, housing, mental health, PIBLY, Nic Cavell
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