When Special Tree’s Vocational Arts Program began in 2014, client Aaron L. was skeptical about participating. He’d always wanted to try painting, but worried that he couldn’t hold a brush steady due to severe hand tremors that resulted from a brain injury he sustained in 2008. “I wasn’t sure what I could do.”

But all that changed when Aaron finally worked up the courage to give it a try. “I really surprised myself by how much I love to paint,” he said. Program coordinator Ed Meese, who is also a professional artist, showed him techniques for controlling the brush and also tricks of the trade to draw straight lines. “Ed made it easy to figure out how to paint.” Aaron paints twice a week in Special Tree’s art studio, but also spends many hours painting on his own and researching future works. “I enjoy it because it eases my mind and helps me focus.”

We’re so proud of Kevin, aka DJ Polo, who is back on the air at FM 98 WJLB, Detroit’s top-rated hip-hop and R & B station, after a long recovery from a brain injury he sustained in 2011.

For many Special Tree clients like Kevin, returning to work is an important part of the rehabilitation process.  Whether it’s returning to a former profession, exploring new jobs in the community, or developing job skills in a supported work-environment, Special Tree supports our clients’ employment goals with a wide range of vocational rehabilitation services that are customized to meet their specific needs, interests, and skills.

George G’s song began when he took an interest in music at just five-years-old, and that song has been with him ever since.

From church to school, George played his trumpet everywhere. He was devoted to the instrument, and when it came time to select a place of higher learning, he enrolled at the University of Michigan, managing to enter the competitive Michigan Marching Band. All the while, continuously scoring high grades towards his Aerospace Engineering degree.

One day, in the summer of George’s freshman year in 2011, the music stopped.

By Stephen McConnaughey, Outpatient Client

NCC Outpatient Case Manager Beth Smith will never forget the message she received from her patient Donna G. that made her smile from ear-to-ear. "Hey Beth, I passed my GED!" Although Donna’s message was brief, the call was three years in the making.

Patient with amnesia reunites with mother after 40 years
One morning last January, client David P., age 65, woke up in his room at Parkway Residence and said a word he’d been trying to remember for the past 40 years, "Yemassee!"

Yemassee was where he and his mother, Annie Mae, lived in South Carolina when he left home at age 17, and eventually served in the Korean War. A brain injury in the war wiped away the name of his hometown along with most of his memories from the past. He would spend the next 40 years trying to recall any information that would help him to find his mother.