Newsletter for Jan/Feb 2007 Volume 4 - Issue 2 - Page 2

Advocacy/Training/SCH/CE
Amanda Urban/Jenni Welsch
SHC
Supportive Home Care is going very well. We only have a couple of hours a week that need staff. Yeah!! The independence, integration and growth have been amazing to witness. Thank you to all the staff and families.

Advocacy
The Venture Crew had a fabulous time swimming at BCCC – it is always so much fun to swim and participate in activities. The TUFF group had a meeting Feb. 9th and discussed next year’s participation in the SACK conference. Unfortunately, the cost has gone up to $100 a person to attend. The Aktion Club toured the Tribune on Feb. 27th and participated in the Pancake Feed put on by the Kiwanis March 8th. The Venture Crew is looking for ideas on community service projects, if anyone has any ideas feel free to contact me.

Community Activities/Community Employment
Work Ethics class taught by Jennifer Welsch, in this five week course we will learn the proper way to search, apply, interview, and get the job, and how keep long term employment. For the last class we will have a guest speaker from the Great Bend Workforce Center presenting ideas and tips for the job search. The class meets one time a week on Wednesday mornings from 9-10am. All nine people enrolled in the class are involved with community employment.

We also have been busy with a few individuals going out in the community and applying for jobs. We have not heard anything back at this time from the businesses (not enough time has passed for them to make a decision).

Each Friday a flyer is handed out and also sent out to the various houses with the following week area events. There are all kinds of fun things to do on there: every other Saturday activities at the Foundry Methodist Church 5401 Broadway (hours are 1-3:30 pm), Barton County Community College and Great Bend High School various events, Barton Arts Center Activities, the Great Bend Rec. Center, just to name a few. All the information on the events is available to anyone interested.


Day Services
Sarah Krom
‘Be Prepared’ is not just a motto to the Day Services staff at SDS. In order to meet the needs of our clients, staff are sometimes called to work in unfamiliar environments and situations. In an effort to make transitions from one service environment to another the least stressful possible, CHS staff has just completed rotations to the manufacturing facility. Daily tasks are very different and as one CHS staff commented, “I didn’t realize so much goes on here at the plant.” Just breaking into a different routine – after the first day or so – seemed to re-energize folks, while some made greater commitments to broaden the experiences for clients at CHS others realized they needed new challenges and have requested the opportunity to work regularly at the plant. Plant staff are scheduled to begin rotating to CHS in March and I am sure will also experience some new adventures.

Our first scheduled ‘S’ day {Snow not Sarah} in awhile went very well. Most clients and staff remembered to listen to KHOK, or watch KSNC, and got the information we were closed. For those folks who have very early buses – you are always welcome to call me at home. I always try to get to the plant and answer the phone by 6:30/7 am and I was very pleased with how few folks called wondering where the “van” was. Day staff have assigned sites where they report, supporting folks in their homes. Coleen, Penny, and Angie E. are my support staff and help me make sure that any concerns are addressed and critical needs are met. All the Drivers reported in and varied their schedules to make sure that we could meet our obligations to working passengers and those with critical transportation needs.

                    WELL DONE FOLKS!