Good News Friday!

Jul-03-2020

Employees

MITC Software is awarding $5,000 in September and another $5,000 in December to Direct Support Professionals (DSP) who stand out and go above and beyond to provide exemplary service during the current emergency. We nominated several Imagine! employees for this award, and their stories are so impressive we thought we’d share them with you as well! For the next few weeks, we’re going to occasionally be sharing information from our nominations, using the question and answer format from the MITC nomination form. We don’t know if any of our nominees will be selected as winners, but we already know Imagine! is a winner just for having them on our team – and that they are our Health Care Heroes!

Today, we highlight Tyler Little!

 

How did the nominee demonstrate outstanding commitment during the emergency?

Tyler had only been with Imagine! for about 2 months prior to the pandemic. When the emergency struck and we experienced a staffing crisis, the very first day Imagine!’s Community & Employment Services sought coverage, Tyler jumped right in to picking up shifts at the group homes (specifically Imagine!’s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome.) From the start, we asked for help, and he showed up. He brought fun with him too: he immediately sought ways to improve the in-home experience for residents. Imagine! had previously purchased 3D Virtual Reality (VR) devices, which Tyler brought into the group homes to engage the residents in skill building, socialization, and independent technological access. During his time at Imagine!’s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, Tyler has built wonderful relationships. We’ve received nothing but amazing feedback from the site supervisor: Tyler has “been a godsend,” by picking up extra hours, and even taking on being an on-call supervisor for weekends.

 

How did the nominee champion the individual(s) they support and assist them in meeting goals during the emergency?

One of the residents at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome is a published author; Tyler has been helping her with making time to write & edit during this time. She was recently featured on the Community Foundation of Boulder County’s blog (https://www.commfound.org/blog/grantee-spotlight-imagine)! She cited the projects her & her housemates have been working on as a positive outlet, stating that activities with staff around the house are helping her to keep busy.

Tyler has also been using his knowledge of Spanish to help communicate with a resident whose primary language is Spanish. Normally, there are very few staff able to interact with this individual as a result of the language barrier. However, Tyler & this resident have taken to one another quickly: they’re teaching each other both English and Spanish! During many of Tyler’s shifts, you can find them carrying on multilingual conversations. This seems to bring great joy & empowerment to that individual and Tyler both, as well as inspiring other residents to explore multilingual communication.

 

How did the nominee support the individual in creating and maintaining friendships and relationships during the emergency?

Beyond his duties in the group home, Tyler has been doing 1:1 in a client’s home at the request of that client’s provider. Tyler has spent his time with that individual facilitating therapeutic recreation, accessing positive social activities over Zoom with peers, and providing essential 1:1 supports for interacting virtually with those he would regularly see at Program.

 

If the nominee has done something else that does not quite fit into these categories, let us know.

As mentioned previously, Tyler sought out the extra responsibility of being an on-call supervisor after the emergency began. He took on that responsibility unbidden, but since then he has been encouraged by supervisors within Imagine! to seek leadership roles, which speaks very highly of his capacity as a team leader.

Tyler also takes steps to improve morale among the team. During weekly staff meetings, he comes dressed up in various costumes & with a fun background, just to cheer people up.

His coworker Emily Coffee commented over the phone: “I noticed the perceptivity in his questions during the all-staff meeting today. Each one of them was geared toward the best, most beneficial solution. Tyler is clearly, genuinely invested in the well-being of his team and the individuals he serves.”

 

How does your DSP stand out from everyone else?

Tyler is incredibly motivated, which is inspiring. He’s industrious (hard-working) and so willing to learn, as well as to admit areas where he needs more training. When he was applying for the leadership role, he was very transparent and upfront about his prior experience. Nevertheless, he’s proven a great fit for the position. He hasn’t let the learning curve of the job stop him one bit, and we’re all grateful to have his input on the team.

Above all, Tyler is brave and kind. I’ve been blown away with how willing he is to jump into the unknown. He goes well beyond just going to & from work every day: even his free time is spent benefitting us all. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Tyler has been making masks for everybody (clients & staff,) and distributing them free of charge, on his own time.

 

Include a description of the effect of their activities on the lives of the individual(s) being served.

Most importantly, Tyler has brought consistency to Imagine!’s Bob & Judy Charles SmartHome since the start of the pandemic. This reliability has proven important for so many reasons: for our residents, routine is essential to preserving relationships, facilitating positive behaviors, and maintaining a meaningful existence. These goals are especially important during this time of upheaval! Through providing his energy and support, Tyler has shown himself immensely dedicated to the wellness of each of our clients and the community as a whole.

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