There is not a lot of sadness in this place, though the circumstances from which many of these children came were tragic.
The reason for the upbeat atmosphere is that the Haake Diagnostic Center in Park Ridge is a place for healing, and the only sorrow comes from saying goodbye.
Placing the children in a proper and caring foster home is the ultimate objective of the center, which draws funding through the state Department of Children and Family Services to take in children of drug- or alcohol-addicted mothers. But that mission does not prevent the volunteers from becoming attached.
“It’s really hard to see them go,” said volunteer Mickey Wright of Park Ridge. “Sometimes when I leave on Monday and don’t come back until Sunday, I’ll come in and see the bed is empty.”
The 15 beds in the Haake Center do not stay empty long, however. And everything else about the center is an endless source of joy and satisfaction to the volunteers who provide these children with love and attention.
“These babies just need anything we can give them, and they appreciate it,” said volunteer Margaret Teich of Park Ridge. “I don’t think there’s a greater joy than taking a baby that is feeling miserable, and to take that baby and calm him down, get him to smile or just hold him for an hour until he goes to sleep.”
The children of the Haake Center suffer from exposure to drugs or alcohol used by their mothers during pregnancy. Their ages range from newborn to 5 years, though most come directly from maternity wards, taken by the state for their protection.
At Haake, the children receive a comprehensive diagnosis of their medical and emotional needs, as well as treatment and therapy. In addition, the center recruits, trains and offers support to foster parents who take the children into their homes. The biological parents also are encouraged to visit, and every effort is made to put them in touch with agencies that offer help for alcohol and drug addiction.
Opened in November, the Haake Center is the newest component of the Park Ridge Youth Campus, a residential facility for abused and neglected teenagers. It was named for the late Alfred P. Haake, once a treasurer for the campus. The center is in the campus’ former administrative building, renovated to accommodate its new clientele and its paid staff of 20.
The Haake Center’s volunteer program started to take shape in January and seemed to grow spontaneously out of the community. Volunteer coordinator Harriet Murphy of Mt. Prospect, herself a volunteer, is credited with suggesting the program. After hearing about creation of the Haake Center, Murphy took on the responsibility of recruiting the volunteers through word of mouth, church bulletins, community organizations, even the newsletter in the condo complex where she lives.
“I just plain enjoy the babies and love to see them thrive,” Murphy said. “One little fellow came in and would just lie there with his fingers in his mouth. You knew he was hungry, but he never demanded anything. He would just lie there sucking on his fingers. Now he’s a little overly demanding, and it’s good to see. Lying there and never asking for any attention is not a normal thing.”
The program has 40 trained volunteers, with applications pending for 25 more. Most are from Park Ridge, but some come from as far away as Cary. They work one or more three-hour shifts a week. Their job is to provide comfort and attention for the children. This could mean holding them when they cry, feeding them when they’re hungry, taking them for walks or just looking in their direction when they feel lonely, Murphy said.
On any given day between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., one to four volunteers can be found rocking a youngster to sleep or playing with children on the floor. Sometimes a volunteer even rocks one child in the chair while using a foot to rock another in a crib.
Sheila DeLattre of Arlington Heights had done similar volunteer work in the past and had also served as a foster parent for two years. Her family had taken in six children during that time, including a 2-month-old girl who DeLattre said affected her deeply because “this child was so introverted she wouldn’t make eye contact, and her fists were closed tightly.”
With love and attention, that little girl turned around and was eventually adopted. Seeing what happened reinforced for DeLattre the importance of getting to these children early in their lives. But it was not just the little girl who gained from the experience; DeLattre and her family also were enriched by watching these children thrive.
“They teach you love,” DeLattre said. “They accept you for who you are. They are a reminder of what life is all about.”
Likewise, the staff at Haake understood the important role that volunteers could play and embraced efforts to establish a volunteer program. “In the back of our minds, we knew this program really couldn’t survive the way we wanted it to without volunteers,” said Catherine Squires, director of development. “All the pieces fit together nicely when Harriet came to us, and it grew from there.”
The process of becoming a volunteer is demanding and does cost money. Applicants must agree to a background check, be tested for tuberculosis and be inoculated for Hepatitis B at their own expense, about $40 or more.
But none of this seems to stop them, according to Murphy. She said one tour of the facility is usually all it takes to get prospective volunteers hooked, and few leave.
The volunteers give different reasons for helping out. One has grandchildren who live far away and misses being around babies; another is a stay-at-home mom who realizes the importance of constant love and attention and wants other children to have the same advantage. Still another wants to gain experience with youngsters.
All volunteers agree on the reward.
“I don’t have any children,” said Martha Veremis of Rosemont. “I have nieces and nephews, but it’s been years since I changed any of their diapers. I walked in and saw 15 babies and thought I was going to hold them. I found out I was also going to bathe them and change them. Sometimes I’m in the room with three on the mats, playing with them all at one time. It’s the most rewarding thing I have ever done.”
“I wear a T-shirt that says, `I’ve spent most of my time with kids and animals, the rest I’ve wasted,’ ” said Dick Ruffolo of Mt. Prospect, a retired educator and one of four men in the program. “That’s how I feel. There’s instant reward when working with children.”
