Northern Hills Training Center Day Habilitation Services

Harvard Program

The Harvard program at NHTC provides a variety of work activities to people who choose to participate in these services.  The program includes several jobs that require basic motor skills and prepare people for the next stage of employment on the road to independence. 

Some of the work opportunities available in the Harvard program include:

• RamVac – RamVac is a company that is part of the DentalEZ group.  This work involves packaging a cleaning agent call RamClean for dental vacuum pumps.  The work opportunities offered by RamClean include scooping the powder into bags, sealing the bags, boxing the bags, folding boxes and completing the task by stacking pallets. To learn more about DentalEZ go to http://www.dentalez.com.
• American Colloid Company – American Colloid Company of Belle Fourche, SD manufactures Bentonite clay.  NHTC gets this clay in a very fine powder where it is bottled, labeled, heat sealed, cleaned and packaged into boxes.  This clay product is used in bath water for therapeutic benefits.  For more information on Bentonite clay products and the American Colloid Company, go to http://www.colloid.com and http://www.evenbetternow.com. 
• Lehman Trikes – Lehman Trikes is a new company in Spearfish, SD that converts conventional motorcycles into trikes (three wheeled motorcycles).  NHTC works with Lehman Trikes by boxing conversion kits that include nuts, bolts, gears, brake lines, etc.  The job is done assembly-line style and offers a fun work experience to people supported by NHTC.  To learn more about Lehman Trikes, go to http://www.lehmantrikes.com. 
   
• Fire Igniters - A new product has been developed and produced by the Harvard Program.  Using recycled materials, shredded paper and a piece of lint are inserted into used toilet paper tubes.  Once assembled, the tube is then dipped into melted crayon or candle wax.    Three igniters will be packaged and sold for about $5.

• In addition to these primary jobs, the Harvard program provides “as needed services” including rubber stamping, stuffing envelopes and shredding paper.  Harvard is always willing to take on new jobs as time allows, so if you have a job requiring basic skills that you are interested in outsourcing, please contact the Harvard Program Manager Ryan Aalbu aalbu@nhtc.org for more information. 

People participating in the Harvard program and the day habilitation services also have the opportunity to volunteer for various community organizations including Meals on Wheels.  Harvard delivers Meals on Wheels to the elderly of the Spearfish community once a week.  Harvard has also adopted ¼ of Tinton Road as part of the “Adopt a Highway” program.  To learn more about this program, go to http://www.sddot.com/geninfo.asp.     

People also participate in temporary volunteer opportunities as needed and are always seeking new volunteer opportunities.

Alternative Day Habilitation Services

For some people supported at Northern Hills Training Center, work is not meaningful or not possible due to the person’s physical limitations.  For those people, Northern Hills Training Center provides alternative day habilitation services.  Alternative day habilitation services provide a way for people to connect with their community through activities such as concerts, shopping, art shows, visiting the humane society, arts & crafts, cooking & baking, games, socializing with friends, eating out, swimming, working out, Bingo, bowling and any other activity that is meaningful and enjoyable for them.

The goal of alternative day habilitation services is to provide learning opportunities in natural community settings to improve or maintain a person’s skills in:

• Communication
• Socialization
• Mobility
• Health and physical fitness
• Leisure and retirement or both
• Educational and functional skills

Alternative day habilitation services do not replace existing residential services that would normally be a component of a person’s overall services.