Hide Transcript Show Transcript

BUT THEY ARE MAKING BIG SACRIFICES TO TRY AND KEEP EVERYONE SAFE. THESE ARE IMAGES FROM INSIDE SOME OF THE 114 GROUP HOMES OPERATED BY SAVIN HILL HILLS FOUNDATION IN MASSACHUSETTS DURING THE COVID-19 -- OPERATED BY THE SEVEN HILLS FOUNDATION IN MASSACHUSETTS DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS. >> WE GOT A LITTLE SUGAR HIGH BEFORE BED. STAFF ARE WORKING TO KEEP THINGS AS TYPICAL AS POSSIBLE FOR THAT INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES THEY SERVE, EVEN THOUGH EVERYONE IS ON LOCKDOWN. SHE AND TWO OTHER EMPLOYEES HAVE MOVED INTO THE HOUSE FOR TWO WEEKS. THEY ARE ON 24/7 SHIFTS. >> WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT SHIFTS. THERE ARE PEOPLE CYCLING IN AND OUT OF THE HOUSE. WITH US STAYING HERE 24 HOURS FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, IT KEEPS THEM AND US SAFE. >> WE’VE HAD SOME READING GROUPS, GROUP BINGO, SCAVENGER HUNTS. >> SHE IS THE ASSISTANT CLINICAL DIRECTOR AT SEVEN HILLS. >> THE RATIONALE IS TO TRY TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE COMING AND GOING, WHERE THERE MIGHT BE THE ABILITY FOR TRANSMISSION. >> NO LEAVING. NOBODY COMES IN OR GOES OUT. >> CLAUDIA WORKS IN A GROUP HOME OPERATED BY ROAD TO RESPONSIBILITY. THE MOTHER OF TWO JUST ENDED HER TWO WEEK SHIFT WHERE SHE SHELTERED IN PLACE. >> IT WAS VERY HARD FOR THE FIRST FOUR DAYS, BECAUSE I MISSED MY FAMILY. >> ONE OF THE RESIDENTS FROM THE HOME IS HOSPITALIZED WITH COVID-19 ANOTHER TESTED POSITIVE WHILE SHE WAS THERE. SHE SAYS WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK MAKES SENSE. >> WE’VE ALREADY BEEN EXPOSED. YOU DON’T WANT TO TAKE IT HOME, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A CHANCE YOU MIGHT BE INFECTED. >> STAF F ARE GETTING PAID TO WORK IN THESE HOMES AROUND-THE-CLOCK. NEARLY 600 INDIVIDUALS AND STAFF IN THE STATE’S GROUP HOMES AND RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID

Advertisement Sheltering with disabled clients to fight off virus's spread Group home workers leave their own families to spend two weeks with clients Share Shares Copy Link Copy

As COVID-19 spreads among people with developmental disabilities, some front-line workers are leaving their own lives behind and sheltering in place with their clients for two weeks at a time. "We're kind of living our best lives right now," said Felicia Agbanyo, a residential director at a group home run by Seven Hills Foundation. "We just baked brownies Saturday at 8:30 at night and we sat down to eat the brownie batter and get a little sugar high before going to bed."Agbanyo and two other employees have moved into the house for two weeks straight. It's one of 75 Seven Hills group homes that are on 24/7 shifts."We have three different shifts. So there's people constantly on a daily basis cycling in and out of the house. And with us just staying here 24-hours for the next two weeks, it really keeps their loved ones safe and it also keeps us safe," Agbanyo said.Trisha O'Connell, assistant clinical director at Seven Hills, which supports 45,000 people in Massachusetts and Rhode island, said, "The rationale is to just try to reduce the number of people coming and going where they might be the ability for transmission."So far, 19 people receiving services from Seven Hills have tested positive for COVID-19, but none have needed to be hospitalized.Statewide, COVID-19 is hitting the 10,000 developmentally disabled people receiving services from all providers in Massachusetts, and the typically low-paid staff who care for them, hard. On Wednesday, 276 residents and 371 staff tested positive. Nine people receiving services have died, according to the state Department of Developmental Services.Staff are getting paid around the clock to live in these homes. Staff are also sheltering in place in group homes operated by Road to Responsibility on the South Shore."Nobody comes in, nobody goes out," said Claudia Ribeiro, a mother of two who just ended her two-week shift at a group home in Randolph. "I mean, it was very hard for the first four days. Because I miss my family," she said.One of the residents from the home is hospitalized with COVID-19, another tested positive while she was there. She says working around the clock makes sense."We've already been exposed and you don't want to take it home, even though there's a chance that you might get infected," she said.