Social interaction and cultural stimulation for mentally and physically challenged

By Carissa Butler, Jesse North and Tim Whelan

Just a quarter mile down Parkside Avenue from the School of the Future--a $65 million dollar institute powered by Microsoft that aims to help the underprivileged--Carousel House is doing the same thing.

Though this facility wasn’t built with the backing of a multi-billion dollar corporation, what the School of the Future does for Philadelphia’s children, Carousel House does for citizens with disabilities.

The facility, which is city funded, holds different programs every day of the week and is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Different activities include ceramics classes, music lessons and wheelchair basketball. The Carousel House is equipped with a gymnasium, weight room, game room with billiards, an indoor swimming pool, kitchen and outdoor track.

Participants can engage in these activities for either no charge or sometimes a nominal fee. Thursday movie nights cost $1. The occasional dances will run $5. The most money Carousel House charges is $15, and that’s to use the weight room – for a year.

Gail McDonald, 60, is one of the facility’s lead administrators. Despite the disabilities of the people she helps, she recognizes their want for social interaction – something that, she says, is rare.

“The individuals that come to Carousel for programs are the ones who socially want to interact with other individuals, despite their disabilities,” McDonald said. “So it’s a small minority of individuals that could come here if the circumstances were different. So in that respect, the ones that are here are very social people. We have a great time with them, we really do. Despite their disabilities, they are outgoing and social. What more could you ask for? They’re just fun groups to be with.”

In addition to the social interaction Carousel House facilitates, it also provides involvement. In addition to a full-time employee in charge of maintenance, the facility also maintains three volunteers for janitorial services who are also Carousel participants. During the summer, Carousel puts the three volunteers on salary. McDonald said the organization does this because it would not be able pass the civil service test that would make them eligible for full-time employment.

“Their families know this is a safe environment for them,” McDonald said. “Rather than have them sit at home all day watching TV, they come here and help out. Truthfully, without them and our maintenance man, we couldn’t do the things that we do.”

The original Carousel House opened in 1972, but burned down in 1981. The current facility opened in 1991. The facility’s carnival-themed moniker comes from the location of the original Carousel House. McDonald said that the original location, prior to 1981, was the end of the line for the trolley that ran along Lancaster Avenue. Rather than loop around, there was a carousel inside the station that the trolley car would pull into and rotate on a turntable in the reverse direction.

“Everyone thinks we have a carousel inside,” McDonald said. “The rumor just continued when the new Carousel House was born, which is why we have the carousel horse in the lobby.” McDonald motioned to a large, carnival carousel horse that greets visitors when they enter the building.

McDonald, who has been at Carousel House for over four years, did not come from a recreation background and was surprised to see where her career path eventually led her. A Philadelphia native – specifically from the suburb of Plymouth Meeting – she worked in education for over 17 years, running a preschool in the Mayfair section of the city. It was her husband who worked in recreation for over 30 years. That is where she got her exposure to the field. After attaining colleagues in the recreation field in Philadelphia, the opportunity came along to manage the famed Broad Street Run one year. She soon found herself as an assistant recreation leader for the city, and then became qualified to run the organization.

“I got a call from Carousel House,” McDonald said. “The woman here was retiring and they needed a woman, as all places do. I was offered the position here.”

McDonald greatly values her work at Carousel. “Oh it’s incredibly rewarding,” McDonald said. “When I was teaching elementary school and preschool, I taught with the younger kids. They have a lot of needs and wants. They need nurturing. I find the job here is very similar, except I’m working with adults.”

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Carousel Director Carl E. George said he identifies with McDonald’s sentiments. “It’s a very rewarding feeling doing something for people with disabilities and getting back very positive responses that you’ve made a difference in people’s lives,” George said.

People come to Carousel House primarily by word of mouth. McDonald described that when someone with a mental or physical disability meets with a physician or is hospitalized, medical professionals in Philadelphia refer them to the facility. She also said that many physical rehabilitation centers in the city advocate Carousel House. The facility also partners on many activities and events with organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the Kardon Institute of Music, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, Spina Bifida Association of the Delaware Valley and the United Cerebral Palsy Association.

Although Carousel House does not offer any internships, McDonald said the facility thrives on volunteers, many of whom come from Temple University. “Interestingly, our Temple volunteers usually are not therapeutic recreation majors. They usually come from the Tourism and Hospitality Department,” McDonald said. “Of course without these volunteers, we could never do the amount of things that we do.”

Elan Terzis is one of those Temple volunteers. She works at the facility every Thursday night, which is movie night. Terzis said volunteering at Carousel House has opened her mind to new people and ideas.

“You get to learn about diversity and different disabilities and actually learn how to work with them and treat them as actual people instead of being afraid,” Terzis said. “Some students come in here thinking, ‘Oh, how am I suppose to interact? How am I supposed to do this? Will I offend them?’ By being here you learn everything.”

When it comes to that $65 million dollar education center that is down the street from Carousel, the two do partner on occasion. Carousel uses the School of the Future’s gymnasium for their wheelchair basketball tournaments.

“One of our kids in our basketball team actually attends the School of the Future,” McDonald said. “He wishes there was more discipline at the school. He feels that there are too many students there that aren’t appreciative of what they have and that there are other individuals that were not able to go there that would benefit more.”