DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES EMPLOYMENT SERVICES Building Bridges of Support One Person at a Time (MUSIC PLAYS) No Audio: Cleo Taylor - Janet Taylor's mother Cleo Taylor: I never dreamed she would do this, never, never, never. Twenty years ago, I never dreamed she would do this. No Audio: Mindy Sakmar - Volunteer Coordinator, Little Lighthouse Mindy Sakmar: We did not know when we had her come in to volunteer, that she was going to be such an important part. No Audio: John Cecrle - Document Records Manager, BSW International John Cecrle: He's been a great fit. I love his attitude. I wish I had his attitude every day. Narrator: The mission of the Developmental Disabilities Services Division is to enable people to lead independent and productive lives. Employment is a major factor in a person's independence. And we know that people with developmental disabilities can perform valued work if given the proper supports. Developmental Disabilities Employment Services are tailored to meet each person's goals and preferences. People can choose the type of work they would like to do as well as the setting. Debbie loves being around children, so she volunteers a few hours each day at the Little Lighthouse before going to her job at Aspen Imaging. Mindy Sakmar: We did not know when we had her come in to volunteer, that she was going to be such an important part. We have certain children that are escape artists and she keeps her eye on those children at all times. I mean, even if she has to turn her head clear around, she knows which children are the escapees and so she keeps her eye, and if anything is going wrong, if she sees something that is not right, she will make a noise and let us know, and so she is very valuable to us. I think it's very important that Debbie, with her challenges, interacts with our children, because these are challenges that they are going to have when they get older. And she is a very positive role model for these children. Now I know that when the parents look in and see Debbie volunteering, I know it must give them a lot of hope to think that their children someday will be able to have a full life and be able to give back to others and won't have to take... Debbie is our ray of sunshine. When she walks in the door, we all light up. She came to the Little Lighthouse to help us, to give us something, but in return, she brings hope to us. She shows us that you can do anything. Narrator: Developmental Disabilities Employment Services can be provided in a variety of settings, wherever the person is comfortable working. Regardless of the setting, job skills are being learned and a valuable service is being provided. Cleo Taylor: Janet has been here for several years at RARC in Jenks. And she's really happy here. It's her life. She enjoys her work. I can't imagine her not having this job. She loves it. She has to really be ill to miss work. I just couldn't imagine her staying home all day with me. I don't know what it would do to her. I think she would deteriorate really fast. She has done more than I ever thought she would. I never dreamed that she would operate an electric wheelchair. And she's very cautious with it. Oh! I would have never dreamed that she would sort things, you know? Or use a communicating device. I never dreamed she would do this, never, never, never. Twenty years ago, I never dreamed she would. Narrator: Developmental Disabilities Services contracts with highly qualified vocational agencies all around the state. These agencies help match persons receiving services with the right job. In some instances, agencies have started businesses that supply a needed service while providing employment to the people they serve. The Links is an example of one of those businesses. It is the only newspaper in Oklahoma run by and for people with developmental disabilities. The paper was created by Community Options, Inc. in the rural town of Chelsea and serves a six county area. No Audio: Jeanna Reed - Links Manager, Program Coordinator Jeanna Reed: We mainly started here in Rogers County and as it grew and grew and grew, we wound up going to the six counties that we go to now. So it went from 200 to 3,000 copies. Narrator: The Links features articles on community news and events, as well as ads from local businesses. The employees of The Links, assisted by job coaches, are involved in every aspect of producing this newspaper. They travel around the six counties, selling the ads that support the paper. They conduct the interviews, type the articles, take the photos and even do the copying and collating. Jeanna Reed: Everything that goes into that paper, they do. No Audio: Bobby Callison - Links Employee Bobby Callison: My favorite thing to do is to sell our product to people and have them to say yes, that they will buy something. It makes me feel really good. Jeanna Reed: We have had so much good feedback about how well the information was presented in there and how good the pictures looked and just how it was all assembled together in there. Narrator: The Links has been so successful that they have been asked by a small town in Kansas to produce their community newspaper as well. Jeanna Reed: They love their job. They love their job. And that's the thing about the whole thing is you don't want to come to work if you don't like it. And so I try to make it fun. Narrator: Developmental Disabilities Employment Services not only benefit the employees, but the companies that hire them as well. Businesses everywhere have jobs that need to be done and people with developmental disabilities can be a great fit for those jobs. BSW International, an architectural firm based in Tulsa, needed someone to destroy confidential documents after they were scanned and archived electronically. They found Roy to be a perfect match for this job. John Cecrle: Roy's function for us is to use a shredder that we've purchased just for this project, actually. When we started this project, we had over 1,500 banker's boxes of paper that we had to scan and then shred. What he does is necessary. We have to have someone to do his job. It is a necessary job. And he's thrilled to get that chance to do the job. He's been a great fit. I love his attitude. I wish I had his attitude every day. Roy will walk through the door and, you know, “Good morning, how are you?” And it's just, you know what? Roy just absolutely makes my day as he comes by my desk, but everybody he comes by, it's the same thing. He has such a positive attitude coming to work. You know. He's thrilled to come to work. And truthfully, with that attitude, we're thrilled to have him. Narrator: Companies have found that hiring employees with developmental disabilities can increase their efficiency. The Tulsa bus plant hired a group of people through The Bridges Foundation that has helped to increase production on their assembly line. No Audio: Molly Callison - Employee Relations Manager, IC of Oklahoma Molly Callison: At IC of Oklahoma, we build school busses, conventional units for schools all over the country and even in Canada. The Bridges employees do two different things here. One of those is sub-assembly work for small parts and the other one is sequencing. So they get tail pipes and stop arms and those kinds of parts ready, so that they are lined up and ready to use for whenever the point of application comes up. And what's so great about that for us is the efficiency that it creates. That way our employees that we've hired for their certain skills can use those skills. And our Bridges employees who are best suited for this kind of work can work on that. And we've discovered that the Bridges employees are so much more capable even than we expected them to be, that they're ahead of the line a lot of the time. Narrator: The Cherokee County Nursing Center in Tahlequah has seen benefits in many other ways, including better employee morale and an increase in referrals from the community. No Audio: Mark Erwin - Administrator, Cherokee County Nursing Center, Tahlequah Mark Erwin: Roger's probably worked here for over two years now, so he's developed some wonderful relationships with some of our patients. In nursing homes, people sometimes don't have a lot of visitors, and Roger's really good about just taking the time to talk to them and I allow him that time. But if you start looking at the benefits of someone as far as the morale, my employees love Roger. He becomes part of us and it's uplifting for the whole place. It creates a better atmosphere, which causes me to have less turnover. I mean I can take that on out and people might think that's silly, but it's the absolute truth. I'd beg anybody to come see the environment that Roger creates while he's here and it's terrific. I think it's important for a nursing facility, when a family comes in to look around for a place that they want to put their loved one, they want to feel like it's a warm, caring environment. And for us, Roger has added to that. Narrator: Developmental Disabilities Employment Services benefits the supported employees, their families, local businesses and communities, as well as the economy. By incorporating people with disabilities into the workforce, everyone wins. (MUSIC PLAYS) Ms. Taylor: I wouldn't trade what she does for anything. Mr. Cecrle: I can't imagine why anybody would even hesitate to use a person with disabilities, because it's such a perfect match for what we do. I was excited to think that we could provide a job for someone that wanted to work. Ms. Sakmar: She came to the Little Lighthouse to help us, to give us something, but in return, she brings hope to us. She shows us that you can do anything. (MUSIC PLAYS) (NO AUDIO) Building Bridges of Support One Person at a Time Produced by The Oklahoma Department of Human Services Developmental Disabilities Services Division Written and Narrated: Sheree Powell Video Production: Michael Chambers Special Thanks: Bobby Callison Molly Callison John Cecrle Mark Erwin Debbie Hilton Roger Hitchcock Jeanna Reed Roy Robertson Mindy Sakmar Cleo and Janet Taylor RARC, Inc., Jenks The Little Lighthouse, Tulsa BSW International, Tulsa Community Options, Inc., Chelsea IC of Oklahoma, Tulsa Bus Plant Cherokee County Nursing Center Newsom Productions Developmental Disabilities Services Division Employment Staff