A side-view shot of a father and daughter looking at Christmas decorations on a city street, they are wearing warm Christmas​ clothing.

March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month!

March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month!

Ronald Reagan declared March the month for National Developmental Disabilities Awareness in 1987 after the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970’s and 1980’s.

The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all aspects of community life, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live.

Throughout the campaign, individuals with and without disabilities will share their experiences through stories, photos and videos. This year’s campaign also highlights artwork created by individuals with disabilities and is featured in the Developmental Disabilities Awareness campaign imagery. For more information on Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, visit https://nacdd.org/ddam/

This year, Colorado’s IDD Awareness Day at the capitol will be held virtually on March 23rd. The IDD policy webinar will be from 10am – 11am and IDD awareness day virtual luncheon from 12pm-1pm. If you missed this live event, check out Alliance’s posts throughout the day here.

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Support, Inc. Welcomes New Coordinator

Please join us in welcoming our newest Loveland Residential Program Coordinator, Abby!

My name is Abby Beam, and I am the new RPC for the Loveland team. I moved to Colorado from Alabama about 2 years ago. Before coming to Support Inc., I worked as a DSP/Job Coach for a couple different day programs. After that I became a house manager for a small family run PASA. During this time, I also assisted with running a disability awareness nonprofit here in Loveland. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my partner and our dogs, and we frequently spend time going hiking, camping, or biking. I am very passionate about promoting independence in our consumers and helping them to live their best lives. I am very thankful for the opportunity to be here at Support Inc with a group of people who share the same mindset.

I look forward to working with all of you!

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COVID-19 Communication

To Support, Inc. staff, providers, and families

In this COVID-19 communication we will cover the following:

Support, Inc. Offices, and Hybrid Work Environment

More and more we are hearing medical experts talk about COVID-19 moving from a pandemic to an endemic. While there’s not a specific cut-off to determine the end of a pandemic, there are some broader general markers and the current data on transmission shows we are likely on the road to endemic. This leaves us all with a lot of thoughts and questions about what life after the COVID-19 pandemic will look like. Will we need to continue to get an annual vaccine like the influenza vaccine? Could COVID-19 spike again next fall/winter? Is it safe for me to return to activities I enjoyed before the pandemic? While we don’t know the answer to many of these questions, it’s safe to say we are all looking forward to returning to some ‘life as normal’.

As we look forward to returning to activities and social behaviors we have before the pandemic we have learned a lot over the last 2 years that we can carry with us into the future. One big thing we as a company and IDD services in general learned was how to utilize virtual technologies. While there were many pain points in this process, and at times there still are, this is a tool to have in our tool belt as we move forward. For many individuals in services the use of virtual technology meant they could continue to socialize with friends and family, get access to medical care and call a team meeting quickly while remaining safe at home. We learned how to hold meetings through various virtual platforms and adapted to working from home and setting up a home office.

Support, Inc. is looking forward to utilizing what we learned over the last two years as we move forward. We will continue to offer virtual and/or in-person clinical behavioral services to ensure we can meet each individuals needs and preferences. Our administrative staff will continue to have the ability to work from home. Utilizing virtual technology has allowed to build and maintain connections across our ever-growing geographical catchment area.

While utilizing virtual technology has been highly beneficial, we also recognize the importance and benefit of gathering in-person. Over the next couple months, we will begin having in-person meeting across teams and departments.  We will be working to redesign our administrative offices in Aurora to offer a comfortable place for people to work, host meetings and provide in-person trainings. Finally, we look forward to planning a ‘welcome back’ event to bring all our staff, contractors, families, and individuals together sometime this summer.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or your supervisor. We will continue to provide updates through email, our website and our Facebook page.