CooperRiis is a community; in fact, most residents tell us that aspect is the most important aspect of their recovery experience with us. As each moves toward greater independence and challenge, residents who choose the CooperRiis Graduate Program may remain in relationship with CooperRiis while gaining skills in the work-a-day world, in going to college, and in managing their own living arrangements. As residents move through CooperRiis’ three levels of graduate programming, they become more and more independent. The final level, Extended Community Services, may provide permanent support for some.  Most, however, will move fully beyond CooperRiis’ formal services at some point and may enjoy membership in the Alumni Network, where mutuality and peer support help to sustain recovery.

Many residents move toward graduation within an average 6 to 12 month stay at the CooperRiis campus in Mill Spring.  (Some move more quickly, depending upon their abilities and motivation, others take longer.) During this time they will have confronted their mental illness and begun to overcome its symptoms through increased understanding and the development and utilization of effective and personalized coping skills. Their full participation in the comprehensive CooperRiis program will have increased self-esteem and personal strength.  The resident will have achieved an integrated identity; the “I” will be defined and will give voice to a story of a hopeful future that will include plans for employment or school and for a fulfilling, healthy and social life style.

Residents may apply for entry into the Asheville or Mill Spring/Tryon Graduate Program where they will focus on retaining and strengthening their recovery. The Graduate Program, whether in Asheville or Mill Spring/Tryon, provides residents with supportive apartment housing and shared home living. CooperRiis subleases furnished, single or double-bedroom apartments or homes to residents and will lease additional housing as needed; graduates may also eventually lease their own apartments and still receive support from CooperRiis through our Extended Community Services. Each graduate is required to work, volunteer or attend school for a minimum of 20 hours per week and be able to self-administer their medications consistently and successfully.

The Graduate Program in Mill Spring/Tryon is for residents who do not seek the city life. Some of the members may live nearby and use CooperRiis as a Day or Work Program, while continuing to move to higher levels of independence over a longer period of time. CooperRiis has leased some small homes for that purpose.

Each of the alternatives listed above may be utilized for long-term support, often at decreasing levels of support and cost as the graduate gains more and more independence.

Some will use the initial CooperRiis experience and shorter-term stays in the Graduate Program as a springboard toward fully independent living. In these cases, CooperRiis still encourages and supports each graduate in connecting with an appropriate psychotherapist and psychiatrist in their future community.