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Making It HappenDan Dan is a friendly and outgoing man who lives in Lethbridge. He has been with Independent Counselling Enterprises since 2008. He started out living in a support home with ICE; he set a goal that he wanted to have his own place and with a lot of support from his front line staff at the time he was able to achieve this goal. He moved out into his own place in 2015 and he has done a great job of managing the challenges of living independently. One of the things he has wanted for many years was to have a pet. He currently has two cats and he is very proud that he can call himself a pet owner.Dan loves the outdoors; he enjoys hunting, fishing and hiking. He is an avid photographer and has taken many breathtaking nature shots. His interest in photography started while he was in high school. He was in a graphic design course and he took a few photographs, the response he received from others was overwhelmingly positive so he continued to take pictures as often as he could. His love of nature really shows through in the photographs he takes. Dan was happy with doing his photography just for himself but his ICE staff felt he had a real talent that should be explored more extensively. She suggested he enter his photos in contests around Lethbridge as a way to help him recognize that talent in himself. He was a bit nervous about this at first but with staff support he went ahead and entered some of his favorite shots. This led to him winning a number of awards for his skills. With his increased confidence and continued staff support he started to believe in his ability as a photographer. He has made calendars and given away his photographs as gifts. He has also sold many of his pictures. If you come to the ICE office in Lethbridge you will see many of his works displayed on the walls. Dan recently went on a trip to Victoria and came back with some really amazing photographs. He is interested in entering contests again and continuing to grow his photography business. It is always inspiring to see someone like Dan who is able to follow his passion. Ryan Ryan has
received support services from ICE since August of 2001. Ryan takes pride
in his reputation as a hard worker. This summer that reputation helped get
Ryan rehired at a job he loves. Ryan had previously worked part time as a
dishwasher at the Stony Convention Inn for a year and a half when the Inn
underwent a change in management and he was laid off. This June when Ryan
and one of his support staff dropped by the Inn they were surprised to
overhear a previous co-worker identify Ryan and praise his work skills to
the new manager. That was an opportunity too good to miss! Ryan reapplied
on the spot and was hired back on as an employee of the Inn. Now Ryan is
once again enjoying the busy atmosphere of the kitchen at the Inn. He
washes dishes, completes food preparation tasks, and flattens boxes with
enthusiasm. His co-workers at the Inn enjoy working with Ryan and count on
him because he is hard working, flexible and dependable.DeanDean is an outgoing and energetic man who has used ICE's services since February 1998. He does not like to sit idle. He has many commitments both volunteer and paid work that keep him busy throughout the week. Dean has been volunteering at the Edmonton Public Library as a Library Access Volunteer for over two years. He takes books from the library and brings them to people who are not able to visit the library due to health or medical reasons. This is a perfect job for Dean as he loves to travel on the bus and this job takes him to all corners of the city. Dean has become acquainted with many bus drivers and has been invited to and attended at least one Edmonton Transit System driver’s retirement party. Dean also volunteers at St Michael’s Seniors Lodge. Depending on the day and season he works in several different departments. In the Kitchen he labels the cabbage rolls and pyrogies that the ladies make. In the pharmacy he helps recycle materials by discarding old bubble packs and making sure confidential information is stripped before the packs are recycled. He also helps put stock away in the central storage room. One of Dean’s favorite duties is organizing the beverage container recycling. He also helps with taking the lunch trolleys up to the various floors. Dean is also responsible to porter residents to the beauty salon or down the street to the Lions Center to play cards. When asked Dean explained that his three favorite duties at St. Michael’s are working in the pharmacy, helping with lunch carts and recycling the beverage containers. Since Dean began volunteering at St. Michael’s over two years ago he has become part of their community. Dean is employed during the summer months delivering the Edmonton Examiner Newspaper to houses in his neighborhood. Dean has come to know most of the people on his route and they often greet him at the door. Having a job allows Dean to have some pocket money to use to for things he likes to do in his spare time such as going to Klondike days, movies or visiting museums. It also allows Dean to save money for summer camp. Dean is connected to his community is many ways. He works and volunteers within the community that he lives, providing important services. He is respected and valued by his coworkers and neighbors. Dean is an important person within his community with opportunities to participate, be a part and to contribute meaningfully. AllanAllan started services with I.C.E. in August 2003. Initially, Allan was receiving respite supports with the intention of transitioning Allan into a support home. Allan and his family, (Wayne his father and Donna his step mom) whom he had been living with at the time, met with potential contractors, deciding on a suitable candidate. This gentleman provided Allan with respite support and then commenced support home services with Allan. Initially Allan was going to transition into the support home model October 1, 2003 however due to difficulties at home and Allan’s comfort with his potential supportive roommate, this date was rescheduled as September 1, 2003. To date Allan continues to be provided with support home services with this same gentleman. Originally Allan was receiving employment supports through another agency whom was no longer able to continue due to emotional difficulties Allan was experiencing at the time. Allan and his family with PDD explored other vocational programs, however for various reasons, Allan did not commit to any of these other programs. Allan then obtained part time employment in September 2003 at Montana’s, where he worked independently. Allan maintained this work placement until March 2004 at which time he was dismissed due to, according to his work supervisor, “Allan’s inability to keep up to the demands and stress of the job”. Allan and his support team then decided that Allan would benefit from receiving employment preparation supports through I.C.E. Allan would be provided with a support staff that would help Allan maintain an update resume, fill out applications, attend interviews and act as a liaison between co-workers and supervisors in the work place. Allan started his employment program with I.C.E. on June 2 2004. Staff assisted him to explore employment options and on July 20, 2004, Allan was offered a position at Wal-Mart. Support staff accompanied Allan to his training shifts and assisted him in the work environment through until the end of August 2004, at which time it was deemed that Allan was able to successfully maintain his job, independently. Allan continues to work at Wal-Mart and states that he is very happy there. KevinKevin has been with ICE since 2001. Kevin has stated that he enjoys working with his ICE support worker. Kevin is very supportive to his family and helps out whenever he can. It has always been a personal goal for Kevin to obtain his drivers licence. On April 25, 2003, arrangements were made for Kevin to take an oral test and subsequently, he received his learner licence on his first try. Kevin attended a 2-day drivers training course but was not successful in obtaining his driver’s licence. As a result Kevin continued to practice and made three more attempts to obtain his licence before being successful on July 3, 2004. Kevin has purchased two cars which he spent time on repairing to ensure the vehicles were mechanically sound. Kevin recently had saved funds to register and insure the vehicle under his own name. Kevin is very proud of the accomplishments he has achieved. Kevin’s personal accomplishments have developed into a vocational interest, as Kevin would now like to find employment as a driver. JeremyJeremy is a young man who began services at ICE in April 2004. Jeremy lives with his parents and brother and has expressed a desire to move out on his own one-day and start a family. Jeremy has a variety of interests including sports, acting, furthering his education and being involved with his church. Last month, Jeremy participated in a field trip with his church to Wisconsin. Jeremy receives services through ICE in an employment preparation program. He was matched up with a support worker and together they compiled a list of his skills and interests. From there, any final touches were added to Jeremy’s resume and then the arduous task of searching for a job began. Jeremy’s job search took approximately two months and reported to have handed out approximately eighty resumes. Jeremy’s hard work did pay off as he is currently employed as a security guard at Canada Olympic Park. Jeremy’s support staff visits him throughout the month as a monitor to ensure that Jeremy and his supervisor are satisfied with the job situation. TrevorTrevor was introduced to ICE in June of 2003. At this time his ability to reside in the community was questioned due to his verbal & physical aggressions. In the past Trevor was involved with other service providers which resulted in discontinuation of service. Ice implemented positive strategies & planned procedures in an attempt to provide long term consistent care for Trevor rather than discontinuing service. In the last year Trevor has maintained a consistent living arrangement which has created opportunities for him in the community. Trevor has experienced fewer escalations which have allowed him new and fresh approaches to community living. SheilaSheila has been a recipient of ICE's services since February of 2001. She lives in the community with two roommates. Sheila’s challenge with aggression was holding her back. The first step for Sheila was understanding her escalations and with the help from ICE staff was able to develop positive practices to help her deal with community settings. She now has a VERY active purposeful life and attends work with very few absences. She has also established supports from outside the group home. Sheila is now engaged and looks forward to a higher level of independence as a married woman. Sheila has accepted her disability through education and support and continues to work on her own personal goals. VictorVictor became involved with ICE in August of 2002. He came to us from an institutional background and upon his arrival was used to restrictions and structure with very little freedom. ICE staff worked with Victor to promote his freedom of choice and helped structure his daily activities. In the past two years he has attended day program activities, created support outside the home and successfully accessed the community through public transportation. Victor through increased communication with staff has enhanced his ability to make choices. He has become a contributing citizen in the Edmonton area. |