Countryside Celebrates its Direct Support Professionals
U.S. Senate Resolution honors service of direct support workforce
Countryside Association for People with Disabilities announced its participation in National Direct Support Professional Recognition Week with a slate of celebratory activities. “The U.S. Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 558 designating the week of September 12 as National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week,” said Wayne Kulick, Executive Director of Countryside Association. “We're proud to take part in this national celebration that honors DSP workers who give so much to so many every day.”
DSPs enable our most fragile citizens and their families to be an integral part of our society by involving them in work and activities that lead to healthy and productive lives in the community. In its last fiscal year, Countryside DSPs provide services to 686 residents and their families in northern Cook and Lake County on a daily basis. “National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week calls upon us make time in our busy routines to demonstrate our gratitude,” asserted Kathy Deka, On-Site Director of Countryside Center in Palatine.
On Monday, September 12, the Village of Palatine helped kick off the week's celebrations with a proclamation by Mayor Jim Schwantz recognizing September 11-17 as Direct Support Professionals Week and encouraging all individuals to recognize and support the work of DSPs within our community. Countryside Association will continue recognizing the essential work of its DSPs all week long through a variety of activities, such as an ice cream social, continental breakfast, and prize giveaways.
DSPs are the people who work as direct care workers, in-home support workers, personal assistants and attendants to ensure that people with disabilities are able to live independently in communities of their choosing. However, low wages coupled with difficult work often leads to high turnover. Thankfully, Countryside Association for People with Disabilities employs a very dedicated group of Direct Support Professionals—over 100 local residents—who all truly enjoy working with the program participants. Lisa Holleran, Countryside Center Training Specialist for over 11 years, says her favorite thing about what she does is “helping the clients achieve their goals and seeing the big smile on their faces when it's payday.”
As a member of the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), Countryside Association supports the ANCOR National Advocacy Campaign in its mission to increase funding and enhance career development and resources for DSPs.
About Countryside
Through a continuum of services and supports—at facilities in Palatine and Waukegan, Illinois—Countryside Association serves over 650 children and adults with disabilities and their families who reside in northern Cook and Lake Counties. The agency operates on the opinion that people with disabilities have a wealth of potential as employees, community members, volunteers, friends, and next door neighbors. Countryside is committed to providing choices and opportunities for individuals to reach their goals of independence, employment, and full participation in their community. To find out more about Countryside, visit www.countrysideassn.org.
About ANCOR's National Advocacy Campaign
Launched in 2001, the mission of ANCOR's National Advocacy Campaign is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by obtaining the resources to recruit, train and retain a sustainable direct support workforce. The NAC is committed to establishing a national policy to address the DSP workforce shortage, funding issues and to secure incentives for training and career development for DSPs. It aims to secure adequate public funding to provide competitive wages and benefits, education and training for DSPs, and promote the value that people with disabilities and those who support them bring to their communities. Visit www.youneedtoknowme.org for more information.
About ANCOR
The American Network of Community Options and Resources is a national association representing more than 800 private providers of community living and employment supports and services to more than 400,000 individuals with disabilities. As a nonprofit organization, ANCOR successfully addresses the needs and interests of private providers before Congress and federal agencies, continually advocating for the crucial role private providers play in enhancing and supporting the lives of people with disabilities and their families. The ANCOR National Advocacy Campaign was created to provide a focus on the critical direct support workforce issue. Visit www.ancor.org for more information.