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.

5th - 8th Graders Have Fun with HSS Clients

Twenty-five fifth through grade students from Immaculate Conception Parish in Columbia joined with 30 adult developmentally disabled clients from the HSS Community Support Network in an evening of fun activities. The students put on a Talent Show featuring singing, dancing, acrobatics displays and guitar playing. Clients from Bellefontaine Place in Waterloo as well as some visiting clients from a program in Highland, Illinois joined clients from the HSS residential program in the activities. Several parents and even a family from St. Louis also attended.

The Talent Show was a follow-up to training the students received in how to act around people with disabilities. Bobbi Walters, Human Support Services Site Manager, assisted by Kim Pennock, HSS Clinical Director, worked with ICS parish staff in teaching the students about interacting in positive ways with special needs persons. The Talent Show was a fun follow-up activity.

Child Protection Workshops

As part of their responsibilities as Prevention Specialists, HSS staff members Michele Keim and Erin Schmitz have organized a series of workshops for day care workers and staff at agencies that work with children. The overall theme is how staff at child caring agencies can help prevent or respond to child abuse and neglect.

The first workshop, What it Means to be a Mandated Reporter, featured Jay Reeves, an investigator with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services as presenter. The workshop reviewed the rules and responsibilities of mandated reporters such as child care workers and described the process of how reports are investigated. Fifty-five childcare workers attended this presentation.

The second workshop, to be held in April, is on the Six Protective Factors that Keep Families Strong. Presenting will be Tara Williams from Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. The presentation will explore six protective factors and how they relate to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. In addition, this workshop will explore how service providers can implement strategies that build protective factors in families and the community.

HSS Awarded New Housing Funds

Human Support Services learned in March that it would be receiving Long Term Operation Support (LTOS) funds from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. These funds will help HSS make seven of its apartments in Waterloo affordable for adults with disabilities, limiting the rent to 30% of a tenant’s income. The LTOS program was available to any Illinois non-profit agency providing housing. Less than eight agencies statewide will be awarded funding and HSS will be one of them. The new program will bring about $30,000- $35,000 to HSS annually for 15 years. Previously HSS was using local funds for this purpose. These local funds will now be available for other uses.

HSS Employee Of The Month

Human Support Services named Erin Fuson Employee Of The Month for February. Erin, originally from Coulterville, and now St. Louis, has been with Human Support Services for four years. Erin is the Agency's Work Services and Day Training Director. She was recognized for making arrangements to provide the Agency with much needed equipment at a significant savings. Erin will receive a gift certificate, and a day off with pay.