The Hannan SCoop

By Steven Villareal

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6.”

Regina McIver’s career as a social worker has been guided by her Christian faith, and this verse from the Bible, is one that she often goes back to throughout her life.  It has been with her since she started her social work career in the military.  She was a social worker in the military for 20 years, and retired in 1997 with the rank of Major.  She then proceeded to use what she learned in the military to work for Detroit Public Schools as a school social worker until 2013.  She dedicated these years to working with children who were on the brink of being expelled from school, she then retired.

At this point she could have enjoyed life being retired spending it with her husband, but she felt that she had more to give, another career in her that was waiting to come out.  This is when she applied to be a site coordinator at River Town Assisted Living.  Now, she has had a career working with diverse populations, from people in the military to students in Detroit and so her career would not be complete without a time of working with older adults.  She took an interest of working with older adults when her mother became sick twelve years ago, as she had to learn about caregiving and dementia and even earned a certificate in care for patients with dementia.

Now, at River Town Assisted Living since fall of 2013, Regina is a social worker who helps to make sure that residents are receiving what they need to live the kind of independent life that they want.   In the brief time that she has been here she is already trying to form a resident council so that the residents can learn how to advocate for themselves. She enjoys working here and particularly likes the staff because she can tell that they enjoy their work.  She takes a creative approach to getting clients involved in residential activities and helping them to make healthy choices about their lives.

During her time off, Regina enjoys the festivals that Detroit has to offer. She and her husband are looking forward to going to “Concert of Colors”, the Jazz Festival in Hart Plaza, and the Detroit Techno Festival.  Additionally, they enjoy going to car shows and in fact, own two classic cars, a Delta 1988 and a 1978 Oldsmobile.  A member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority since her college years, she is still a very active member and volunteers in community service and mentoring of the younger Deltas.  She looks forward to working at the River Town Independent Living building when it is finished.

By Dorinda Stephens

I had the pleasure of interviewing Janet Mills Service Coordinator at Belleville Co-op in the city of Belleville and Whispering Willows Co-op in Romulus.  Janet has been a Service Coordinator with Hannan since January 2014.  She works part-time at both locations.  Janet is passionate about working with vulnerable seniors, which inspired her to become a service coordinator and go back to school.  In December 2013 she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Marygrove College.  In addition, she has an Associates degree in Gerontology from Wayne County Community College.  Prior to completing her Bachelor degree, she worked at Focus Hope in Detroit for eight-years as a Senior Outreach Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator.   Janet assisted seniors who had limited resources for food by identifying and setting up miniature distributions food sites.   Also, she conducted tours, presentations about Focus Hope facility, and trained new volunteers to help serve individuals suffering from hunger within the metropolitan area.   She works closely with seniors at her church while mentoring teenage girls.  Janet implemented an intergenerational program where seniors teach the teenage girls how to sew and cook in exchange the teenage girls help the seniors operate a cell phone and computer.

Janet finds relaxation in balloon decorating for individuals celebrating a special occasion such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and kid parties.   Her favorite book is “The Shack” a Christian novel that talked about life experiences.  One of her favorite quotes from the book is “Living unloved is like clipping a bird’s wings and removing its ability to fly.  Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly.  And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place.”  She enjoys spending time with her daughter who is away at Michigan State University, but the new dog Winston keeps her busy.  In the future Janet would like to continue her education by receiving a Master’s Degree in Social Work.