You must first be a believer if you would be an achiever.
Late last year, something happened that humbled me more than anything else in the five years that I’ve worked at the Catholic Community Services (CCS) Community Living Program in Tucson: I was chosen as our 2009-2010 Employee of the Year.
I have been assisting people with disabilities since I was in high school. I do this work because I love it, to accomplish goals, and to feel that I am contributing to something. I usually don’t feel as if anyone other than the person I am assisting is aware of what I do. If you’d asked me about that, I would have said it didn’t matter, but this award has made me realize how good it feels to have your work acknowledged.
It has also made me think about the road that led me to this profession that I love. Continue reading »
This spring, the DCA’s Voices Institute will introduce a state-level training program for people who want to improve the lives of direct support workers and the people they support. If you’re a direct support worker or a long-term care recipient in Wisconsin who has a passion for that cause, we’d love to see you there!
In this video, shot by and starring graduates of the 2009 Voices Institute National Leadership Program, direct care worker advocates speak out about why they love their work and what needs to change.
A is for the admiration I received
W is for the wonderful people
E is for everything I appreciate about the people of the DCA
S is for that special someone who gave confidence that I could do it
O is for the one thing that made a big difference in my life
M is for the many new friendships I made
E is for the experience that will make me a whole lot better person
DCA board chair Vera Salter teaching members of the 2009 class
“Let the root thrive” was the birthing motto of the Voices Institute inaugural class, inspired by the lakeside location of the DeKoven Center in Wisconsin, where the first graduates launched DCA’s signature National Leadership Program (NLP) to turbo-charge direct care worker leadership and activism.
When I wrote, after the first class graduated, that the inaugural program was one “historic and successful step forward for the movement to empower direct care workers and to fix our broken long-term care system,” I was dreaming of the possibilities. From September 27 through October 3 of this year, direct care workers once again proved their capacity to make the seemingly impossible happen, and to claim the respect they deserve as professionals. The roots are thriving at the state and national level, and the new class of graduates have a place from where to build national policy success. Continue reading »
Connie Kreider with fellow graduate Tony Wells at the 2009 VI NLP
B– breathing and inhaling the amazing week
E– entering and walking down a new path of leadership
L–learning and leaving footprints for others to follow
I–internal peace and tranquility
E–experiencing renewed strength and feeling blessed by walking on hallowed ground
F–friends for a lifetime, feelings of one unbreakable strength and renewed passion
E is for encouraging us to change
N is for new core beliefs developed
L is for the love we have for being DCWs
I is for I believe in myself
G is for all the good changes we can make
H is for our hearts of gold
T is for teambuilding skills we learned
E is for effective advocating
N is for all negative beliefs left behind
I is for inspiring us to change
N is for new friendships made
G is for our growing edge as leaders
T – It’s about tolerance and inclusion
E – It’s about effectiveness with less efficiency
A – It’s about Acts of Congress and the legislature
M – It’s about message crafting and staying on point
W — It’s about wages and top-line revenue
O – It’s about opening minds and wallets
R – It’s about respect with results
K – It’s about kinships and the human kindred spirit
Brenda (L) with Jackie Merkel at the 2008 Voices Institute National Leadership Program
A is for the award-winning experience
W is for a wonderful, worthy cause
E is for exposure to new ideas
S is for soothing smiles and soul
O is for the overwhelming openness of my newfound friends
M is for meaningful memories
E is for everlasting
Brenda Nachtway
DCA Direct Care Worker Specialist and graduate of the 2008 class of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program
I is for the inspiration I received from the other workers
N is for the newfound confidence that I have in myself
C is for the catalyst of change I have become
R is for the roar I have developed
E is for the extra friends I’ve made
D is for the defining moments that have changed me as a person
I is for the insight I have about myself
B is for the belief I now have in myself
L is for the lion I’ve become
E is for the endless memories I took home with me
Tracy Dudzinski
DCA Board member and graduate of the 2008 class of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program
