Announcing Milestone Manor

RISE Housing and Support Services is excited to announce that the community residence Hammond House is now Milestone Manor.

The new name represents the evolution the program has undertaken over the past two years. According to Executive Director, Sybil Newell, “It has been exciting to see the program evolve from a MICA (mentally ill and chemically addicted) residential program to one that encompasses a more holistic, informed approach for all needing to heal from mental health issues and trauma.”

This allows the community residence to offer services to a broader range of people, including those struggling with lifestyle choices brought on by poor mental health or environmental issues in addition to those struggling with both mental health and substance use issues.

Located in a Victorian-style house in downtown Saratoga Springs, Milestone Manor is a community residence offering specialized programming to support adults with mental health diagnoses. The residence provides unique programming by bringing a trauma-informed, person-centered approach to residential care.

This programming incorporates a trademarked tracker to objectively measure resident participation in the program, offering the residents and staff a tool to facilitate conversation regarding expectations, progress, participation, and exploration of behavioral patterns.

The new name, Milestone Manor, better reflects the values of the restorative residential care individuals receive while in the program. As Program Director, Dawn Daum, explained, “The program has moved towards a more guided, partnership approach to residential care and away from staff enforced rules and consequences. Through this approach, residents with the support, education, and coaching provided by staff learn to manage the natural consequences of their choices and behaviors.” This provides a safe environment in which people can both thrive and fail as they work through their individual healing process towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Dawn, who is also the author of the book Parenting with PTSD, advocates for the philosophy of program that allows for residents to address the residue left on the mind and body from the toxic stress and trauma that individuals have suffered. As she explained, “Milestone Manor’s program is a non-clinical, boots-on-the-ground approach to offering restorative services; one in which the individual is celebrated, challenged, and also acclimated into the community both within the residence itself, as well as within the greater community.”