Day Serv.

Day Services News & Updates

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Aurora Day Program:

The Support Inc. Aurora Day Program is doing well and continuing to accept new individuals and growing the day program. The team is working hard to integrate into the community and provide creative, fun activities for individuals in services. The individuals and staff are having a great time on these outings. Some recent activities include, going to parks, Wendy’s, a splash park, the air and space museum and the butterfly pavilion!! Contact info@supportinc.com if you are interested in learning more about our day program.

Community Based Day Services:

We continue to work hard to provide community based Direct Support Professionals (DSP) to our individuals in services. We have a dedicated staff person focused on this job. She reports that we are currently thriving in the DSP field, as we have hired some quality staff recently. They also met with HR & Intake with a focus on improving our DSP onboarding process. Critical meet & greets with DSPs and the people we serve are going really well! Our dedicated DSP Supervisor attends every internal team meeting to get the needs met, and happy to say we’ve taken a handful of needs off our “needs list’ recently! On another positive note, we have an individual who is simply thriving with his new DSP. Since the DSP has been working with him, he has really come out of his shell. He’s communicating verbally more, he’s more attentive, and he is more willing to participate in activities! He loves working with his DSP and looks forward to their visits :).

 

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Day Services Hosts a Valentine’s Day Party

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Last week our Client Council planned a Valentine Day party on Monday- from the arts and crafts to the piñatas and heart hunt, everyone had a great time!

Miles Wilson, Day Program Supervisor, relayed that everyone came together a few days prior to begin making the piñatas. This was a fun and engaging indoor activity to participate in, to blow off some steam and exercise your arms! Staff members remained close by, to ensure the safety of those near the piñatas. Individuals had the choice of three piñatas, including one lower to the ground for those that use wheelchairs. Keeping accessibility in mind, Day Program staff ensured everyone had a fair shot with the piñatas.

For arts and crafts, Day Program participants decorated lunch bags. The Client Council agreed to this activity, so each person would have a bag to use when they collected paper hearts later in the afternoon. The lunch bags were easier to find than shoe boxes and quite fun to decorate! Glitter pens were a favorite as the bag-decorating kicked off! Participants were encouraged to use a wide variety of pens, markers and drawing utensils to decorate their bags however they saw fit. This opportunity to get creative led to many different, colorful results. This was a great activity to begin the morning with- by the afternoon, it was time for the heart hunt.

The heart hunt felt like an easter egg hunt but without the eggs. Day Service staff members cut up quite a few paper hearts and hid them throughout Day Program on the main level of the building. Miles reported that this was a highlight of the day- Staff members enjoyed helping individuals find the hearts as needed, while also respecting the autonomy participants to find the hearts on their own.

“We wanted this to be an equitable heart hunt, so there was help available when requested”- Miles

Once the heart hunt came to an end, everyone exchanged valentines they made that morning. The paper bags came in handy when each person collected their hearts and their valentines to take home. And last but not least, the Client Council planned on fruit smoothies as a nice and healthy treat for the afternoon. Day Program participants were welcome to add their own ingredients and staff members joined in the fun, as well.

The Client Council was proud to put on this event because it was fun and ran smoothly. From planning the morning activities to ensuring everyone had a fair chance with the piñatas and the heart hunt, the Valentine Party concluded as a great success! This isn’t the first event our Client Council has planned and certainly won’t be the last! Stay tuned for Olympic Day coming soon in March! Details and RSVP information to be shared on our Facebook page.

BT

Support, Inc. Welcomes New Associate Director of Day Services

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The Day Services program is excited to welcome a new Associate Director.  Brandon Thibodeau joins our team at a critical time while we continue to make our way through safely offering as many essential services as possible, while continuing to be mindful of the ever-changing COVID-19 Pandemic.  

Brandon comes to us with a wealth of experience working in the behavioral health field for nearly the past 20 years.  Brandon’s previous experience was working directly with youth education and residential treatment in a variety of capacities.  Brandon has been a Direct Support staff, a training specialist, a para-educator, supervisor, and manager over his career so far.  

Originally from Norfolk, VA where his father served in the Navy, Brandon spent his growing up years in Arvada, CO and now lives with his wife in Westminster, CO.  Brandon also is a proud father of two adult sons.  

Brandon brings excitement and passion to his new role with Support, Inc. working with our Day Services team to continue building a strong, diverse, team-oriented culture where people can experience growth and success.  Welcome to the team, Brandon!  

Emily

Emily Minear Joins Support as Our New Day Services Supervisor

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Please join us in welcoming our new Day Services Supervisor, Emily Minear 

Emily Minear has joined the team as a Day Services Supervisor! Emily comes to us with experience as a trainer, supervisor, recruiting and hiring manager, and service operations director. Emily’s previous work experience has primarily been in the food and beverage/service industry as the operations manager of a golf club. A former University of Kansas Jayhawk, where she studied Arabic and Islamic studies, Emily is a recent addition to the Denver area and is excited about the Colorado community and lifestyle. In Emily’s free time she loves going to music festivals or concerts as well as hiking, camping, and exploring Colorado mountain towns with her boyfriend Alec and their miniature Australian shepherd Django.

shelby

Shelby Reese Promoted to Day Services Supervisor

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Please join us in congratulating Shelby Reese on her recent promotion to Day Services Supervisor.

Hi everyone! My name is Shelby Reese and I am the new Day Services Supervisor. I grew up mainly in New Mexico, but have also lived in Texas, Arizona, and now, Colorado. I have wanted to live in Colorado for most of my life, so I am so happy to finally be here!

I have a bit of a unique background- I got my bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from New Mexico State University and started working at a Nuclear Power Plant outside of Phoenix right out of college. It only took 3 years working as an engineer to realize that my work was not enriching my life or allowing me to grow as a person. I made a huge leap of faith, uprooted my life to Colorado and decided to try out a career centered around helping people!

I started out as a DSP in July of 2019 and soon found out how a job helping people can quickly change your perspective on life. I was no longer just a number at a huge company, but someone who could make a difference in the lives of an under-represented and misunderstood population. I would leave work happy, fulfilled, and proud of what I had done for the day. In March of this year, I had the incredible opportunity to transition to Staffing Coordinator. In this position, I was able to pair my process-oriented mind set with my compassion for helping people. It has been so much fun to help create and implement a hiring and training process.

In my next role, as Day Services Supervisor, I hope to continue developing new skills, overcome new challenges, and, most importantly, ensure our clients are receiving meaningful sessions with our DSPs. I am very grateful for the opportunities to grow my career here at Support.

In my free time, I love live music, hiking, camping, snowboarding, traveling, and, of course, dogs.

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