Bona Vista relaunches The Crossing

Art gallery, activity rooms signify change in philosophy in serving clients

Years ago, Bona Vista at the Crossing resembled a factory, and it was treated as such. Clients of the behavioral and developmental services provider were given opportunities to work in a controlled environment, assembling various products.

But that was the old Crossing.

On Aug. 24, Bona Vista unveiled its new vision for the facility. Gone are the large work areas and industrial feel. In their place are an art gallery, activity rooms and classrooms, and even a video production center. Today’s Bona Vista clients benefit from a new philosophy which should make The Crossing a vibrant and attractive centerpiece for its services.

Tiffany Damitz, senior director of marketing and development, explained that Bona Vista reimagined The Crossing a few years ago in an effort to better serve its clients.

“This used to be a completely open warehouse space that we used for our industries program,” said Damitz. “We closed it a few years ago and began thinking about how we wanted to use it. It was a completely blank slate.

“We decided to transform it into a day services facility in order to offer more programming than we were able to before. We actually got it all done during COVID, but we didn’t open it until recently. It hasn’t gained in popularity yet, but we hope that it will. It is a lot more programming than many day service facilities offer.”

The front-facing feature of Bona Vista at The Crossing is a new art gallery. It is there where members of the community can enjoy works created by Bona Vista clients and even purchase pieces.

“The art gallery allows our clients to make pieces in our art creation room and display pieces for sale,” said Damitz. “It gives them something to do with their work. They can tie-dye t-shirts, create pottery and paintings.

“All of the work is for sale, and the proceeds go back to the clients. Some of them don’t care and just want to create. But for those who want to make some money, this a way for them to do it.”

The gallery is open to the public from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Behind the windowed walls of the gallery, however, is where the heart of The Crossing resides. Day services clients have no shortage of options when it comes to benefitting from their relationship with Bona Vista.

“We have a number of classrooms, which is something we had in our previous day services program,” said Damitz. “But now, thanks to some grant funding from Duke Energy, we have technology in those classrooms that we didn’t have prior.”

The classrooms have desktop computer workstations which allow clients to access educational and recreational resources in the room and online. But for those clients wanting a more in-depth technological experience, Bona Vista has that covered as well.

“We also have a YouTube studio,” said Damitz. “We have some clients who want to do podcasting and video things. Think Channel One, like we had in high school. There are cameras, but there is also video editing equipment. So, if a client is interested in being behind the camera, we have the ability to teach them production skills.”

Exercising the body is as important as exercising the mind. So, the Crossing now has a gymnasium, provisioned with balls, nets, and other equipment to let clients get physical.

“We have a half-court gym which allows for year-round activity,” said Damitz. “It’s more than we were able to do before. It is awesome. Our clients can do all kinds of things there. Kickball, basketball, volleyball … there is a pickleball net up right now.”

Bona Vista clients often have special physical and behavioral needs, and there are moments when things can get overwhelming. The Crossing was re-designed with this eventuality in mind.

“We also have a sensory room,” said Damitz. “If a client is having a behavior or is overwhelmed and needs a minute, the room is extremely quiet. It’s soundproofed, and there are percussion instruments, puzzles, books, comfy chairs. It is a blessing for our clients to use as well as staff.

“It’s a place where a client can be taken if they are having a behavior where they will not disrupt the entire classroom.”

Bona Vista realized that it was not enough to just provide day services to its clients with The Crossing. It needs the facility to be an integral part of the larger community. It needs people to know what it is, what it provides, and how they can interact with it. To that end, Damitz explained that the facility is open to the community for hosting meetings and small events.

“For instance, Kokomo CEO is meeting here tomorrow,” said Damitz. “We’re hoping to generate some foot traffic to spread awareness and get people checking out the art and the services we provide.”

Bona Vista at The Crossing is located at 1221 S. Plate St. For additional information about The Crossing, Bona Vista, and the services it provides, visit www.bonavista.org, email them at bvdevelopment@bonavista.org or call (765) 457-8273.