Charlie

Charlie moved in to Wingspan in May of 1988. Charlie was very intimidating to many staff as he was big and tall and he was coming from a large community based institution with a long list of behaviors and even longer list of medications to control those behaviors. After a couple of years, Charlie slowly started to settle into his routine and established some close relationships with staff. Gradually the list of medications got shorter, behaviors subsided; Charlie was letting go of his difficult and stressful past. A couple of years later Charlie was a changed man. Now he anxiously waits for staff to arrive, so he can tell them what he is happy about. Charlie's big items in his yearly planner are his birthday (that he manages to celebrate several times a year) and trip to Camp Confidence in Brainerd. He loves to go fishing, shopping at a Dollar store and out to eat at White Castle. Charlie loves going on trips with staff whether it's a drive to Duluth for a day or taking a train to Chicago and staying for a weekend.

He's collected a lot of photographs over the years. The whole history of St. Ann's/Wingspan can be observed through the photographs that Charlie has managed to obtain. One of Charlie's favorite activities is for him to get his cup of tea, sit down at the kitchen table and ask staff to sort them out for him. That activity turns into a two-hour trip down memory lane with Charlie remembering friends from the past and often telling staff, "I'm happy."