24
1 Region V Services 2019 Annual Report www.regionvservices.com
1
Region V Services2019 Annual Report
www.regionvservices.com
2
Who We Are
Region V Services is a political subdivision supporting people with developmental disabilities and similar needs in southeast Nebraska. We are governed by a board of 16 county commissioners and supervisors from each of the counties represented. There are approximately 950 staff providing supports to about 900 people through-out those 16 counties and a few other areas. There are 15 area programs in Auburn, Beatrice, Crete, David City, Fairbury, Gretna, Lincoln (six programs), Nebraska City, Wahoo and York. We also have “satellite” programs in Beatrice, Columbus, Bellevue, Hebron and Seward.
The Region V Logo is the biological symbol for “A new beginning.” Whether it is the life of a per-son experiencing developmental disabilities, the personal growth of a person working in Region V or the organization’s commitment to continuous improvement, the logo represent the value of new beginnings in life.
3
Contents2 Who We Are3 Contents4 Mission Statement Vision Statement5 Boards and Committees6 Region V Foundation7 Region V Services8 Central Office
9 Auburn10 Beatrice11 Crete12 David City & Columbus13 Fairbury & Hebron14 Gretna & Bellevue15 Lincoln 116 Lincoln 2
17 Lincoln 318 Lincoln 419 Lincoln 520 Nebraska City21 ServiceLinc22 Wahoo23 York & Seward
Region V Services
4
The mission of Region V Services is to provide desired education and
supports that promote relationships within the community and lessen
reliance on agency services.
Mission Statement
Our Vision is that each person will be valued as members of their community
with resources available that enable each person to control his/her life.
Vision Statement
5
Boards and CommitteesGoverning BoardButler CountyGregory JanakFillmore CountyKenny HarreGage County Dennis ByarsJefferson CountyGale PohlmannJohnson CountyJim EricksonLancaster CountyChrista YoakumNemaha CountyLarry HoltzmanOtoe CountyDean Speth Pawnee CountyJanice LangPolk CountyJerry WestringRichardson CountyJohn CaverzagieSaline CountyJanet J. HenningSaunders CountyDoris M. KarloffSeward CountyKen SchmiedingThayer CountyDean KreugerYork CountyBill Bamesberger
Personnel AdvisoryDarcy Hinrichsen - AuburnBill Hutchinson - BeatriceWillow Gottfried - Central OfficeDonna Michl - CreteJenna Urban - David City/ ColumbusAmy Burkitt - Fairbury/HebronMark Kemper - Gretna/BellevueAlyssa Buis - L incoln 1Heather Hindman - Lincoln 3open - Lincoln 4Yvonne Alvarez - Lincoln 5Peggy Blocker - Nebraska CityRachael Deckard - ServiceLincCarey Shanahan -WahooLisa Turner -York/Seward
Program Ethics CommitteePat CottinghamBruce CudlyCarol CunninghamBob LassenLoveda MitchellLeon Schiermeyer
AdvisorySue BoringSusan BrowneHazel CumminsMary Lou DiehlTerry DittmerLeonard GlennCourtney KochnerTrudy KubicekAnn McNemarBeth SposatoTeresa Wagalie
Staff DevelopmentShannon Dunekacke - AuburnTessa Humann -BeatriceCami Erb -CreteTraci Ryba-Grant - DC/ColumbusAmber Cervantes -Frby/HebronWendy Sliva - Gretna/BellevueMackenzie Derby -Lincoln 1Ashley Tanner -Lincoln 2Shanna Stefkovich-Lincon 3Richard Soule -Lincoln 4Lisa Bahle -Lincoln 5Jenn Walker - Nebraska CityGreg Hasselman -ServiceLincBob Hayak -WahooAnni Schaldecker -York/SewardCarol Cunningham - Cent. OfficeTodd Scholz -Central OfficeTanya Shaw - Central OfficeAmy Leibsack - Central OfficeDave Merrill - Central Office
Public Educationand InformationSuzie Doty - AuburnChelsea Meints -BeatriceBrittany Ratzlaff - CreteMargo Hlavac - David City/ColumbusJohnita Patterson - Fairbury/HebronGretna/Bellevue - Terese CroghanKelsey White - Lincoln 1Amanda Holtzen - Lincoln 2Callie Kacvinsky -Lincoln 3Tina Luellen - Lincoln 4Tengorn Phaison -Lincoln 5Lisa Hutchins - Nebraska CityNancy Bates - ServiceLincDena Carlson - WahooNicci Nelson - York/SewardRoni Gabel - Central Office
Region V Services
6
Region V Foundation
Foundation BoardJulianne Spatz, PresidentVictoria Perry, Vice PresidentKevin Jeppson, TreasurerDave Merrill, SecretaryLarry BohlkenMelody YoungTom Barbee
Region V Services Service Area
Area Office Satellite Office
FoundationThe Region V Foundation improves the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities.
It partners hand in hand with Region V Services to help people with disabilities become part of the communities in which they live.
Our PurposeThe primary purpose of the Foundation is to provide safe, reliable and affordable vehicles and housing.
On rare exceptions, we also have provided grants to individuals.
Tax DeductibleDonations can be made to the Foundation through the Region V website, regionvservices.com
This Crete property is one of the homes purchased by
the foundation this year.
Currently, the Region V Foundation owns 49 houses/buildings in 12 communities and 71 vehicles.
Region V Foundation is debt free!!
7
22 22 23 23 23 21 22
160 157 153 141 139 148 148
219 220 231259 271 277 266
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Num
ber
of
Peop
le
Year
Positive Indicators of Success
Own Homes
Rent Housing
Employed
Region V Services
Region V Services
920 889 896 888 888 853 853
0100200300400500600700800900
1000
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Nu
mb
er
of
Pe
op
le
Year
People Supported
Day Services
Residential
Unduplicated
0
10000000
20000000
30000000
40000000
50000000
60000000
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
$$
Funding
County
Contracts
Room/Board & Other Rev
State & Federal
Total Funding
961 933 961 943 943 913 888
0200400600800
10001200
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Nu
mb
er
of S
taff
Year
Number of Staff
Part-time Full-time Full-time Equivalent Total Staff
Number of Staff
Funding
People Supported
Postive Indicators of Success
Recruiting staff was challenging.
Funding methodology changed this year.
New referrals have not kept pace with attrition.
The waiting list for Nebraska VR caused employment numbers to be down slightly in 2019. As I write this, the coronavirus in early 2020 has meant the loss ofmany jobs and a reduction of hours for many others that will be reflected in next years report.
8
Central Office Highlights:• BART: 12 classes held, 123 staff trained• Orientation: 11 classes held, 345 staff trained• Outcomes & Meaningful Day:
6 classes held, 58 staff trained• Med Class: 82 classes held, 347 staff trained• CPR Class: 93 classes held, 373 staff trained• Sensory Training: 5 classes held, 43 staff trained• Annual Dinner Dance: 600 people atteneded
It’s the Favorite Event of the Year This is the one evening a year our entire agency is invited to an evening with a nice dinner and dancing with friends old and new. Attending an event with over 500 people laughing and enjoying the evening is a joy to experience. Everyone gets dressed in their best outfit for our annual dinner dance.
Matt Kasik3600 Union Dr.Lincoln, NE [email protected]
Contact
Our Fine Arts Festival and Spring dance is the event that kicks off the year. Many people use this opportunity to share their art talent and offer items for sale. The afternoon starts with our annual sing a long with Dave. This year we had a great response to the live band. We announced our t-shirt design con-test winners and the T-shirts are sold in the summer.. It really was a fun afternoon!
The theme for our symposium was My Voice. We enjoyed music and dance entertainment, healthy lifestyle tips and personally prepared presen-tations from eight people. We are extremely proud of all our presenters for all the perparation, courage and confidence it took to be on stage and speak in front of an audito-rium full of people.
We packed the master tables of pioneers park with over 650 people attending our annual picnic. This is a casual event with music, food, BINGO and a few other outdoor activities.
9
Auburn
Region V Services
At Our Agency• 61 full time employees• 19 part-time employees• 53 receive residential supports• 43 receive day service supports• 7 people own their homes• 6 persons rent apartments/
home• 3 people live in SLPs• 15 people live with their family• 1 School contract- Auburn• 21 people are competitively
employed• 7 people have a driver’s license• 6 people own their own car• 30 people live in group homes• Opened our first group home
in Falls City
Community Participation• Assist with blood mobile• Deliver funeral notices• Made Valentine’s for the Am-
bassadors to hand out to elderly• Adopt a highway twice yearly• 3 individuals volunteer as cross-
ing guard at Calvert Elementary• 6 individuals participate in
bowling leagues• Received $2000 donation from
Nemaha Gives Back• Clean area parks in the summer• Assist with meals on wheels • Assist with Backpack program• Falls City individuals participat-
ed in the Cobblestone parade• Attended the traveling Fallen
Hero’s memorial• Watched Husker games on the
big screen at the Auburn theater• Handed out candy at Trunk or
Treat for the school• Donated plastic bottle caps
to Girl Scout troop for Buddy Benches
Personal Achievements• Joel moved from a group home
into his own rental home• Virginia celebrated her 40th
birthday in the Bahama’s• Patty celebrated her 59th birth-
day at Disney World• Jim Roberts vacationed at
Disney World• Joan and Carmen vacationed in
Branson together• Nathan vacationed in Colorado• Lori visited family in Texas• Carlos participated in the Falls
City Demolition Derby • Ken R. moved from his family
home into an apartment
Carlos received the 2019 Front Line employee award for
his work at Sunmart.
Melody McLaughlin2507 Schneider Ave.Auburn, NE [email protected]
Contact
New Jobs• Hollie started as a dishwasher at
Peru State College• Jason Scott started as stocker at
Sunmart
People First• Celebrated 20 years of being
established with 22 members• Raised $2200 for Kowalek fami-
ly medical expenses• Co-hosted and participated in
Cinco K Mile • Donated money to support
community members • Donated money to cops night
out in Falls City• PTO sponsors for Auburn Pub-
lic Schools• Donated money to Special
Scoops in Hastings• Hosted a Meet and Greet with
Senator Slama• Delivered May baskets for
Giving Hope• Volunteered for Nemaha
Gives back
Love is in the Auburn Air. Congratuations to Joel and Dana
on their engagement!
We participated in the Nemaha County fair with
a float in the parade.
10
Tessa Humann2317 N. 6th St., Suite 5Beatrice, NE [email protected]
Contact
Kaylee has been working hard towards her dream job of working at Scooters Coffee. She was able to job shadow and then to her great delight, Scooters offered her a job! For Kaylee, this was a dream come true! She couldn’t have been more excited! If you happen to be in Beatrice and would like a cup of coffee, Kaylee would be thrilled to serve you. She is loving her job!
Beatrice
Reliable
Considerate
Determined
Optimistic Flexible Honest
Friends, Jesse and Gary took a step towards more indepen-dence by signing a lease to rent a house. They both love the respon-sibility of paying rent to a landlord and splitting the bills. They also enjoy making their own daily schedules while still having staff support during the day.
Jesse Kleveland and Gary KujathFriends and now roommates.
Kaylee WilliamsService with a smile.
Tim knows how to celebrate his birthday. He rented a suite at a Saltdogs baseball game and invited his friends and family, he even got to throw the 1st pitch! His family came from Florida, Utah, South Dakota and Lincoln to help him celebrate. Great food and cake was available to all his guests. If that wasn’t a big enough highlight for the year, he also had a great vacation with his Shared Liv-ing Provider, traveling to Chimney Rock, Mount Rushmore, the World Series - attending two games, and a Salt dogs game. This is a guy that knows how to have fun.
Tim SchroederSaltdogs greatest fan!
• 29 people supported• 18 people competitively employed• 5 people live in Shared Living Provider homes• 4 school contracts
11
Cami Erb1951 E. 13th St.Crete, NE [email protected]
Contact
Crete
Region V Services
Residential: 6 people live in Shared Living14 people live in group residences9 people live in apartments1 person lives with their familyVocational:32 people supported12 people competitively employed25 people work with supports
We received Active Shooter Training
from the Nebraska State Patrol.
A group supported veterans by attending a Veteran’s Day Commu-nity Ceremony at our local VFW.
John Colvin was able to cheer for both of his favorite teams when he attended the Nebraska
vs. Iowa football game.
We enjoyed a day at Lake Wanahoo where we took a pontoon ride and did some fishing with Live Well,
Go Fish, an organization from Wahoo.
For our 3rd annual Christmas open house, the agency was transformed into Whoville! Everyone used their creative minds to create houses and
characters from the movie.
We all had a fun day at the lake and riding the pontoon.
Everyone was able to fish and even steer the boat!
Highlights• Daryl Kubes has been working at Express Wash
and Dry in Crete for over 3 years. He received an increase in hours due to his fantastic work ethic!
• Our agency purchased a new, accessible home!• A group volunteered for the Crete Cares program.
These individuals assisted by packing donated food for families in need over the holiday season.
12
Traci Ryba-Grant360 S St.David City, NE [email protected]
Contact
David City / Columbus Doing it “RITE”
David City/ Columbus:• 63 people receive services• 22 people have jobs• 2 people own and drive a car• 1 person owns their home
Respect Integrity Teamwork Empathy
Weare
We were able to witness so much joy this year! One highlight that stands out was the Night to Shine event. This is a free event created with hundreds of volunteers recruited by a Columbus church and with funding from the Tim Tebow foundation. Although this ministry has been going on since 2014, this was the first year it was hosted locally. According to the Tim Tebow Foundation web-site “Night to Shine is a night for the churches to shine, the volunteers to shine, our honored guests to shine, and most importantly, God to shine!” Everyone from our David City and Columbus locations had the opportunity to attend. Everything was included: the attire, dress and tuxedo fittings and alterations, limo rides, a red carpet walk, a meal, great music and professional photos. Getting dressed was only the beginning of an exciting night. It was all very well organized and implemented. The experience is more then can be put into words. Thank you Tim Tebow and the 1C Church in Colum-bus for putting on this great event. We hope it continues for many years.
Valued Roles within Our Communities• We pick up recycling for businesses in David City, Columbus,
Stomsburg and Ulysses• We pick up food items for Rural Food Connection• We prepare and serve meals for Columbus Rescue Mission• We deliver Meals on Wheels in David City and Columbus• We participate in the Nebraska Passport tourism program• We have Relay for Life teams in David City and Columbus• We host a variety of fund raising events for Relay for Life• We assist with the set up for Relay for Life• We are members of the YMCA• We are on several bowling leagues• We are presenters at the RVS Symposium
We look forward to new ways to experience our local communities.
We start planning and building months in advance to participate
in the annual parade.
13
Lisa Meyer201 F St., Box 366Fairbury, NE [email protected]
Contact Fairbury / Hebron
Region V Services
Alfred Davis graduat-ed from Fairbury High School a couple years ago and worked with Voc Rehab until accepting support services from Region V Services. The high school had a custodial posi-tion open and the maintenance su-pervisor suggest-ed that Alfred apply. He knew Alfred while he was a student and thought he would be a great candidate. Alfred applied, inter-viewed and was offered the job!
He quickly accepted! Alfred enjoys the challenges of learning a new job. He is glad to be involved with the school sys-tem again. He loves sports as he
was once a student manager there, and he hopes to one day be the guy who sweeps the gym during half time at basket ball games. Alfred is proud of his job, is making
friendships with his coworkers and he thinks earning a paycheck is a definite plus.
• 19 people are competitively employed in the community
• 7 people live in group homes• 5 people live with Shared Living
Providers• 37 people receive support services
Dan Johnson joyfully celebrated 25 years of employment with Blue Valley Lutheran Nursing Home in Hebron. He works in the kitchen doing a variety of duties. Dan’s supervisor says “Dan is cheerful and punctual and pro-vides empathetic service to all residents, When it comes to his work performance he is not only dependable but efficient in regards to his required tasks”. Dan says “ This job makes me happy. This is my life, I’ve done this for 25 years and am proud of being a part of the Blue Valley Lu-theran Home team”. He doesn’t see himself anywhere else. Besides his job, he enjoys the friendships and relationships he has made with his coworkers and the residents.
“Raise the Bar”Reliability Accomplishment Industrious Supportive Education
Highlights:• Several people took vacations to Disney World. • Several people attended a Royals baseball game. • Several individuals went to a Nebraska football game.• Many people volunteer in our communities including donating
blood for the Red Cross blood bank.• Scott Wood and Heather Kaderabek moved into the same Shared
Living Provider home so they could live as a couple.• We welcomed two new individuals into services: Welcome Alfred
Davis & Riley Henson
Fairbury/Hebron:• 37 people receive services• 7 group homes• 5 Shared Living Providers• 19 people competitively
employed
“Alfred has been a great addition to our custodial staff. He is punctual, dependable and has contributed in
relieving the workload on other staff. He displays pride in being part
of our team and this trait isundeniably valuable”.
Chris Goeking, Custodial Supervisor
Alfred Davis is glad to be part of the Fairbury High School custodial team.
14
Gretna / BellevueARIZE
Adventure Respect Integrity Zeal Equality
• 26 people are supported by our Gretna day program
• 14 people are supported by our Bellevue day program
• 6 people are competitively employed
• 8 live with Shared Living Providers
• 7 people receive in-home residential
Region V Services of Gretna and Bellevue continues to “ARIZE” as a provider in Sarpy County. Both day programs participate in a variety of community-based activities. Our residential services continue to grow as we offer intermittent residential support or shared living contracts to
people living in the Gretna/Bellevue areas.
Wendy Sliva11832 Standing Stone Drive Gretna NE 68028Phone: 402-502-1616Email: [email protected]
Bellevue Day Center7511 S 36th StBellevue NE 68147Phone: 402-590-2660
Contact
Marcus and his staff are showing off the t-shirts they purchased at the Annual Picnic, which was de-signed by our Bellevue staff mem-ber, Beth. The shirts incorporate
one of our values, “Life is an adven-ture, be an explorer”.
Ortho Nebraska chose us to receive a donation. They donated games for Jason and his friends to enjoy. Jason, in the center, has a family
member who works there.
Jordan enjoys taking requests and playing music with Executive
Director, Dave Merrill, when he visits our agency.
Josh Kimball posing with Elsie Martin. Josh has lived with her as a young child through foster-care. When he got older she became his
Shared Living Provider, until her recent retirement. She has
been an important person to Josh throughout most of his life.
Elijah is Number 1!Elijah’s birthday falls on Halloween. Each year he celebrates by choosing a theme for his Halloween birthday
celebration. This year his theme was “show your football team spirit”!
15
Victoria Perry936 N. 70th St.Lincoln, NE [email protected]
Contact
Lincoln 1
Region V Services
Agency Values:
CommitmentHonestyRespect
At Our Agency• 78 people supported• 33 persons receive residential
support• 6 people receive 24- hour
residential support• 3 persons rent apartments• 7 people live in SLPs• 11 people live with their family• 63 people receive day supports• 16 people are competitively
employed
Shelly Bruning has had a positive attitude throughout her life. This has helped her to overcome her share of obstacles over the years. Her mother passed away when she was a child. As the 3rd of 7 children she and her siblings were moved to other living situations. It was difficult. Shelly has become an amazing adult. The stability and relation-ships within her life have made a great impact as well. She keeps herself busy in several ways. Shelly has been employed for the past twenty years. Besides her job at Subway she is an employee with the University of Nebraska working the home football games. She has been a Door Attendant for the past 8 years and looks forward to fall with all the chaos and fun -all at once. She makes jewelery for her jewelry business. Necklaces, earrings and crocheted bags to sell. She sells mostly by word of mouth. She has had a table at the RVS Fine Arts Festival the past several years. This year she decided to share her story at the RVS Symposium. She shared her life story “Miracle to My Future” with an audience of over 400 people. This was a new challenge. First she had to organize her life story and then she practiced and worked on it for several months. It took great courage and she did it! It was so well received that she was invited to share her presentation at he the Nebraska Association of Service Provid-ers meeting. It was recorded and will air on the Turn It Up! Stories from people with disabilities program on NET World sometime next year. Shelly has goals; drive a car, rent her own place, get married, have a family. She looks forward to wherever life takes her and she’ll go with a thankful heart and a smile.
Shelly Bruning
Participants from both Lincoln 1 day services collaborated to volun-
teer over 400 hours over six months to the NE Library Commission helping with the process of transferring audio
books to digital.
Jonathan took his first trip out of state without his parents. He went to Wisconsin where he had many
new and exciting experiences.
Volunteer
Traveler
Social Valued Roles
Self Advocate
16
Nancy Fischer3600 Union Dr.Lincoln, NE [email protected]
Contact
Lincoln 2
Tim Hruza
Tim Hruza is a life long fan of football. Tim is thrilled to be on a football team, the Capital City Chameleons through Special Olympics. Tim and his team-mates played in a tournament in York and they won 1st place! His team was even featured on the news! Tim sure enjoys all the fun and fellowship that goes along with belonging to a team and it’s extra meaningful with the support he has from his Shared Living Providers, Jordan and Karissa.
Riley had a great time during her trip to Boston with her friends. She was able to explore the downtown area, attend her first Boston Red Sox game and visited the Salem Witch Museum. She had an amazing time. She will be reminiscing about her trip for a long time.
Riley Rood
Meet Mike and Lori! After a month of searching, Mike moved in with his new Shared Living Pro-vider, Lori and her family. Since moving in, Mike has been going to the gym, playing bas-ketball, eating healthier and having a blast with all the activities. Mike looks forward to Monday’s for family game night with his new family. We are so happy to have found such a perfect fit for Mike!
Mike Ward
Alex moved in with his new Shared Living Provider, Angela and Jeremy and his new roommate, Joe. Alex and Joe became quick friends. Alex had so much fun cel-ebrating his birthday at Round1 Bowling & Amusement Center with his new friend. We are so grateful that Alex has a great home and friend.
Instant Friendship Alex Pena and Joe Clark
17
Shawna Evans3151 South St. Lincoln, NE [email protected]
Contact
Lincoln 3
Region V Services
We currently support:10 people in 24-hour residential settings12 people in Shared Living Homes7 people who live with their families5 people who live in their own apartments34 people receive Day Services
Michael Abeyta was thrilled when he, along with his Shared Living Pro-vider, was invited to the rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony and the reception for his niece’s wedding in Lincoln. They attended everything!
Michael was happy to be able to spend time with his brother who he hasn’t seen in over two decades! He always enjoys time with his sister who he sees from time to time when she travels to Lincoln from her home in Arizona.
Growing up in California and then moving to Nebraska nearly 30 years ago, after his siblings were already on their own, made it difficult to stay in touch with many of his family and family friends.
The wedding was beautiful, he is happy for his niece, and he is very thank-ful to spend time with his many family friends and relatives from Califor-nia who he hasn’t seen or spoken to in many years.
Michael really enjoyed the time he spent with his older brother, Wim.
Michael and his sister. Michael Abeyta and his three siblings.
Our agency made a big change this year when we moved our manage-ment team into the same building as Plaza Connection, our Day Ser-vice Center.
Although Plaza Connection has been here for several years, the rest of us were sharing office space with Central Office. It is nice to all be at the same location.
Stop by when you are in the area and say “Hi”. We’d love to show you around.
Highlights• A new Area Director and Community Support Coordinator were hired.• A new home was purchased for three ladies to live in. They have much
more space, a big back yard, and even a garden!
18
Michele Scholz3600 Union Dr.Lincoln, NE [email protected]
ContactLincoln 4
HonestyCommitment
Respect
DrewEnjoying Nature
Nothing is going to stop Drew from seeing all that life has to offer! Drew has found that Lincoln and Lancaster County have more to offer than just your run of the mill movie theaters, shopping malls and fast food establishments. Drew has discovered that there are so many parks! Some big, some small, dog parks, apartment parks and even Antelope park has been crossed off Drews list in his quest for adventure. When I asked Drew what he likes most, he replied, “It’s beautiful to see the nature.”
Life’s An Adventure
• 50 people supported• 14 people live in group homes• 5 people live in SLP homes• 22 people live with their family• 6 people live in their own
home or apartment• 3 people receive respite or
private pay services• 4 people with vocational
services
Just Take A Moment and Look
Ron celebrated his 76th birthday in true 90s style by attending the BackStreet Boys reunion concert in Omaha. Ron has been a long-time fan of boy bands and makes listening to them part of his nightly ritual. When his team learned that the Backstreet Boys were coming to Omaha, Ron had to go! He attended his first ever pop concert to ring in his birthday and even purchased some souvenir fan gear. Ron and his support person, Novelyn, rocked the night away! While Ron still seems to be on Team NSYNC and would prefer his jams in the comfort of home, he had fun trying something new!
Ron enjoying a new experience attending a concert
of one of his favorite bands.
Angie and Amy were recog-nized by the Capital Humane Soci-ety as Volunteers of the Month. They are an amazing team who have been volunteering for many years. They assist the Hu-mane Society in a variety of mean-ingful ways and always with a smile. Way to go Angie and Amy!
Volunteers Recognized
Birthday Celebration A Night to Remember
19
Tina Dykes3801 Union Dr., #100Lincoln, NE [email protected]
Contact
Lincoln 5
Region V Services
At Our Agency:68 people supported34 persons receive residential support5 people receive 24-hour residential support10 persons rent apartments3 people live in SLPs25 people live with their family68 people receive day supports8 people are competitively employed
Megan London lives with her family. She is a person who loves to be busy and to be moving around. At the same time she loves music. All music - well, all music except for county. She has thousands of songs downloaded onto her devices. Her favorites are hip hop, R&B, Pink and KISS. You will typically see her wearing her
earphones so she can listen to music everywhere she goes.One of the fun things about Megan is her love for dancing. While she is listening
to her music, she will break out in a dance. It just happens and we love that about her. Once she was watching a hip hop dance class and just started having
fun dancing along from the sidelines. She also enjoys thrift store shopping, running errands, the hot tub and swimming, going to movies and coloring.
Megan London
Mark Travis
Everyone who has met Mark Travis will tell you about what a likable guy he is. Friendly, happy, supportive and encouraging. This is his character, it’s the way he is, as a team member of the many Special Olympic sports he participates in and in every day life. It was these very traits that inspired his coach to nominate him for
the Special Olympics Hall of Fame. Congratulations Mark! You deserve this!He works hard all of the teams he is on, has excellent sportsmanship and is always
supportive to his fellow athletes. He has only good things to say to others. Mark said that it was “awesome” to receive this award. The best part of the
induction ceremony was when he was interviewed by John Knicely of Channel 6 News. He has a great award hanging on his wall that that he is very proud of.
Sasha Essay
Sasha Essay graduated high school from Villa Marie school in Waverly several years ago. While as student, she always looked forward to attending the summer
camps. You can imagine her excitement when she was invited to return as an alumni camp counselor. She gladly accepted.
This was her second year as a counselor. She packs her bag and spends the entire week at the camp assisting campers and helping with the meals. She does a very
good job! Her favorite part of camp is the activities. She is the youngest of seven children and the proud aunt to two nieces and five nephews. There is always someone calling and checking in. Sasha works in the
laundry department at the Marriott and attends a day service center.
20
Linda Plager808 8th CorsoP.O. Box 614Nebraska City, NE [email protected]
ContactNebraska City“The Inspiration”
Providing Awesome and Amazing Experiences...Enhancing “The Dash”Displaying the Values of
Excellence! Pride! Integrity! Enthusiasm!
Highlights• Nebraska City Passengers and
Crew participated in the NC Tourist and Commerce Fourth Annual Scarecrow Contest. “Integrity” was awarded Second Place based on voting by all community members.
Sam moved to his own apart-ment. Living independently has been a goal of Sam’s for a long time. With his move, not only did Sam gain more independence, he also gained a cat that took to Sam when he put some food out for her. He decided he would “adopt” her, as she continued to come around for weeks. He named her Sadie, and she and Sam seem quite happy with their lives right now.
Heaven attended her first prom. She enjoyed wearing a fancy dress and getting ready before hand with her favorite staff. She was thrilled with her very pretty new hairstyle and a manicure. She enjoyed the dancing and getting to socialize with her friends. She even won Prom Queen which was a nice surprise!
James had a great time vacationing in Las Vegas, It was a wonderful experience for him. James enjoyed a night time bus tour where he saw the Vegas Strip all lit up. He went to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum and took pictures with some of his favorite celebrities. then spent several days traveling around town seeing the sights, watching a few shows and eating a lot of different foods. The highlight of his trip was seeing Cher in concert! He would love to go back as soon as he can.
21
Angela Levy6930 L St., Suite CLincoln, NE [email protected]
Contact
ServiceLinc
Region V Services
• 79 individuals supported• 37 people competitively
employed• 18 individuals have been
employed for more then 5 years.
• 20 individuals who live on their own and have a lease in their name
• 3 people live with a Shared Living Provider
ServiceLinc Mission StatementEveryone who wants a job will have a job.
Everyone has a quality of life equal to ours.Everyone will be empowered and educated about options.
Our work will be approached with urgency.
As an agency with a priority of employment first for those we support, the change in rules for helping people find employment has created quite a huge hurdle for those seeking employment and for our agency. Five years ago Nebraska VR became the primary funding source for all employment services. Inconsistent funding for Nebraska VR has caused a waiting list for employment services (of up to 2,000 people). Bailey is a person we support and is an employee for the University of Nebraska Training Table, the cafe-teria for all the Nebraska Cornhusker student athletes. Bailey has increased her responsibilities for the Training Table throughout the years. We asked her what she enjoys about being an employee at UNL Training Table. Bailey says ”the atmosphere at the stadium is very fast paced and makes my work days go by faster. It is very cool to work at the official cafeteria for all the Nebraska Cornhusker athletes.” We asked her what it means to her to have a job? “I can pay my own bills and have freedom to do fun activities. I like to spend my money on clothes, movies, iced coffee and I’m saving up for a trip!” We have had conversations with several people we support with their employment. The consensus is, people are proud to have a job and to receive a paycheck. Having a job means opportunities to meet people and make new friends. When a person receiving our services loses their employment and must look for a new job, it’s difficult to explain and make sense of going on a waiting list. We know how important it is to those we support to have a job. We asked a couple people what life would be like without their job. One person commented: “I wouldn’t be happy without a job, going to work is the best part of my day.” Another stated: “I would want to look for another job. I don’t want to sit around doing nothing”. ServiceLinc will continue to make employment a priority for everyone we support who wants a job.
Sarah Spang and Bailey O’Neill both love their jobs working for the UNL Training Table. They both have new friends and more opportunities with belonging to a work community and having their own income.
22
Cary Deane1910 N. ChestnutWahoo, NE [email protected]
Contact
Wahoo Inclusion is for everyone.We live, work, play and pray
in our community
kind
ness
enthusiasm
inte
grity
growthprofessionalism
respectteamwork
trust
• Hired an Employment Con-sultant
• Discontinued working in 10 enclaves
• Repurposed the sheltered workshop
• 51 people supported• 5 people competitively
employed in the community• 12 people work in the com-
munity with supports• 43 people receive day
supports• 46 people receive residential
supports• 3 own their own car• 1 owns his own home
Jon Reisdorff had an exciting year. He has wanted a car and a drivers li-cense for a long time and this was the year that his wish came true. It was his commitment to a goal and a lot of hard work. He took a driving class to help become a safe driver, he studied and passed the driver’s exam all
while working as much as possible at Family Dollar and saving his money. Once he saved enough money he found a dependable car within his bud-
get. It all worked out and now he is one happy guy! Way to go Jon!
This is Evan Callen and he is waving from the front door of the
house he purchased this year. Evan is proud to be a home owner and we couldn’t be happier for him!
Matt Jansa, Lyle Beaird and Jason Self recently took a vacation to
Minnesota and Iowa. While they were there they visited Mall of
America, the worlds largest candy store, the Dan Gabel wrestling
museum and ended the trip with a stop at the Wells Visitor Center
and Ice Cream Parlor. They all had a great time!
Hightlights and Numbers
23
Tammy Hinrichs205 E. 8thYork, NE [email protected]
Contact
York / Seward
Region V Services
Highlights• Moved our Employment Ser-
vices Center and Administra-tive Office buildings.
• Carol and Michelle purchased new vans for themselves.
• Tina and Ashley went on vaca-tion to Nashville and St. Louis.
• Everyone was invited to take part for the first time in a Christmas Toy Drive – we col-lected 120 gifts for children in our community.
• We increased Community In-clusion and club participation in the city of York.
• Sandra has been giving back to her community by donating food and clothing and volun-teering at the food bank.
• Donna had a knee replace-ment and soared through rehabilitation.
• Four people joined our ser-vices.
• 10 – Assisted 24/7 Residential• 13 - Shared Living Provider• 17 - Supported Family Living• 12 - Independent Living• 20 - Vocational Services• 13 - Employed in York• 16 –Employed in Seward• 4 – York, Seeking employment /
Nebraska VR
I. M. A. G. E.Integrity Meaningful Day Appreciation Genuine Excellence
Camille Erdman Camille lives in York with her mom. Her team at York High School (YHS) recommended that following graduation she attend the new CRAVE transition program at the Educational Service Unit 6 in Milford. Her family threw her a perfect “pink cupcake” themed graduation party. It was a wonderful celebration with family, teachers, and friends. In the fall Camille began the CRAVE program with transporta-tion from YHS. The program has been great for her. Besides classroom learning she gets a variety of work experience and training opportunities on the Southeast Community College campus such as dish washing, meal prep, custodial, office work, to name a few. Her favorite is vacuuming. An extra bonus is the interaction with the college students and staff. She receives services from Nebraska VR. They set up work trials at Grand Central and the Huddle House restaurants. After training she was hired on by the Huddle House and works Tuesday and Thursday’s. If this wasn’t enough to keep her busy, her RVS staff works with her full time during the summer and every afternoon during the school year where she can do all the other things that bring her joy. She enjoys shopping, swimming, doing chores (sometimes) and walking her dog, Sophie. Camille is a great gal and she goes into these new opportunities with an open mind and open heart and a true willingness to be her best.Cammille Erdman
24
Region V Services 3600 Union Dr.Lincoln, NE 68516402-471-6400
