North Bay Lodge

There is full time staff at the facility. They are caring and are available most times. Three meals a day are provided in a group room. There is a TV room with couches and chairs. The clients take turns helping with some chores. The food is pretty good, but that is the main complaint from other residents. I feel that you can't please everyone. For people that have nothing else to look forward to, the meals and food is all they have to live for. It can be depressing. The facility is located downtown in Madison Wisconsin and there is a lot of places to go within walking distance. The facility is not handicap accessible as there are stairs to get to the basement where the TV group room is and where the meals are served. So all the residents are ambulatory. They frequently are only there for a few months and then go on to live on there own. Some arrange housing while they are there, some go on to live with family, and some have housing already that is just waiting for them to get out. They come for rehabilitation. But a minority make this there home and live here for a long time. The rent is low, the meals are included, and the location is convenient. But you share a room and it is a group bathroom. I am a long term resident, I like living there, I think the food is great, and I like the staff. The constantly revolving resident population makes things interesting. I like to go for walks around State Street, a street with a lot of restaurants and shops, and around the University of Wisconsin, with a lot of young people. The student union is only a short walk and there is always something going on there, especially in the summer when they have live outdoor music. The state capital is also just a short walk. There is a lot of things going on there. In the summer once a week for eight weeks the Madison Chamber Orchestra plays outdoors on the capital steps. It is a nice life and Hope Haven Colvin Manor help make it that way.