From Dreams to Reality

On April 16 HSS staff in Day Treatment invited Krescene Beck from New Visions to come and speak about helping staff to become advocates for assisting developmentally disabled clients to realize their dreams. The presenter reviewed how staff could place barriers and obstacles in front of clients without even realizing it. Staff discussed how they could instead become Dream Keepers that help clients identify their dreams and then teach them to reach them. Next month Ms. Beck will return for a presentation to 20 Day Treatment clients entitled “Dare to Dream.” The clients will learn to identify their dreams; they will talk about the steps to meeting their dreams and how to identify people who will support them in their efforts. They will create a collage of pictures that show their dreams as well. The Illinois Department of Human Services provided funding for these trainings.

New Consumer Recovery Groups

As part of HSS’s efforts to promote the recovery efforts of consumers, HSS has recently started offering several new groups on improving life skills. These groups focus on helping consumers learn about and discuss life skills that will make them healthier and more independent. These groups will empower and inspire people living with mental illness to make healthier food, beverage and lifestyle choices. They will also address risk factors associated with physical inactivity and weight concerns that lead to the increased health problems in people with mental illness. These groups will use materials from a wellness curriculum developed and provided by the Eli Lilly Corporation. Titled Choosing Wellness, this group program incorporates nutrition, physical activity, stress management and other holistic topics. Groups have already been started for the consumers residing in the HSS apartments in Columbia, in the Bradford apartments, for our consumers attending HSS day services and soon a group will be offered for other community clients as well.

Gift of Office Furniture

HSS recently received a large amount of donated office furniture from 1st National Bank of Waterloo. The furniture became available as part of the scheduled refurbishing of bank facilities. The bank had a variety of gently used chairs, tables and wall hangings and we were very pleased that they thought of HSS rather than just disposing of the property.