Expressing Himself Through Art and Work: How VOA Southeast Has Helped William Grow

When Larita Robinson first met William in 2008, he was in a very different place. 

Born with autism and an intellectual disability, William, now 55, used to have difficulty communicating due to persistent verbal tics and repetitive behaviors. For the most part, he wasn’t comfortable interacting with others.

“Now he can hold a conversation without having those tics or repeating those same actions,” says Larita, a Residential Coordinator for VOA Southeast. “He’s more attentive to detail now. He can focus on specific tasks fully and work on them step by step”

 “It’s amazing to see how far he’s come.”

Finding a Place to Grow

Today, William lives in a quiet suburb of west Mobile in a charming little house that he shares with four of his friends, who like him have intellectual and developmental disabilities. There’s 24-hour-per-day support from VOA Southeast staff members and nursing support as needed.

It’s a pleasant little neighborhood. There are two churches, a grocery store, and a bank. There’s even a pet store around the corner that’s a favorite with William and the other residents.

William and his house-mates have built relationships with folks in their neighborhood. Neighbors drop by for coffee and conversation. Sometimes they come to bring them gifts—especially around Christmas. As they walk up to the front door, they’re likely to spot some of the Christmas decorations William helped put up.

“He always loves decorating for the holidays,” says Larita. It’s one of the many ways William helps around the house. He takes out the trash, he waters the plants—but William’s got a particular eye for decoration because of his talents as an artist.

“He’s an excellent painter,” says Larita, “and he’s really talented with crayons and colored pencils.” Over the last decade, she’s seen William’s talents grow. Some of his art was even selected for display at the state capitol building in Montgomery.

William also likes to give pictures as presents.

“He’s a very pleasant guy,” says Larita. “He’s very kind at heart. You may catch a big smile from him every now and again. He’ll give you these unexpected, indescribable hugs.”

Building Independence through Supported Employment

William works as a stocker at Dollar Tree. It’s his first “community employment job”—that means it’s his first job where he works with people from the community rather than in a supervised setting specifically designed for people with developmental disabilities. 

Back in 2008, William worked at a greenhouse. The job focused on simple tasks and he was always under direct supervision. Now he’s learned to work much better on his own, completing complicated tasks without direction. 

William works with a job coach named Patrick. Through VOA Southeast’s supported employment program, individuals are paired with job coaches who work with them one-on-one to help them find meaningful employment. Coaches like Patrick provide supplemental on-the-job training to make sure their clients understand and can perform their job duties properly before they’re left to do the work on their own.

Together with Patrick’s guidance and some job skills and training programs, William transitioned from working at a warehouse to his new job at Dollar Tree.

William just started recently, so Patrick still comes with him to work each day to help him manage new questions or unexpected situations as they arise. Soon, though, Patrick will take a more hands off approach and let William do the work on his own.

“This job is really important to him, so to see it come forth is really great,” says Larita. “To see him reach this milestone—to have employment security and job training—I’m really, really pleased to see how much he’s done since I first met him.”

It’s not William’s dream job, though. That would be McDonald’s. He wants to make the hamburgers.

Person-Centered Planning

William’s progress has been guided by his own choices and his own wishes. That’s because VOA Southeast’s person-centered planning model is central to the way we work with people with disabilities.

Everyone is different, and person-centered planning means our staff members work closely with clients to make sure they receive the appropriate level of care for their particular goals, needs, and circumstances.

“Our vision at Volunteers Of America Southeast is to reach and uplift all people to empower them and enrich their particular lives,” says Justin Flowers, Director of Developmental Disabilities. “We want to make sure everything we do for our clients is done on a one-to-one basis geared toward that person. So we’re always looking for ways we can personalize our clients’ bedrooms, personalize where they live, how they dress every day, etc.”

Through interviewing clients and the counselors and staff, who’ve worked with them most closely, case managers at VOA Southeast get a sense of the whole person: their needs, their interests, and their goals.

“When they’re out in the community, we see what gains their interest and what they seem to enjoy,” says Larita. “We ask them questions, we find out their likes and dislikes, then offer them choices.” 

“Then we sit around the table as a team and we discuss what we call ‘support goals.’ We figure out what they want to learn, what they want to do, and we create learning opportunities from there. A lot of it is trial and error, figuring out what works for that person.”

For people who aren’t able to communicate verbally, the team bases their decisions off behavior, gestures—any signs they can use to interpret what their clients want and where their interests are.

“We work with a wide range of individuals,” says Nycole Jordan, Regional Services Director. “One person might need transportation to go to work, while another person can catch the bus. Someone might need help with their medication, whereas someone else just needs help going to the pharmacy.”

Day Services and Community Engagement

Things like a trip to the pharmacy or the grocery store may seem small, but they’re essential steps for keeping people with developmental disabilities engaged with their communities. Whether they’re living independently or in a supervised setting like William does, these sorts of activities help our clients forge connections with the world around them.

At our Day Services Center in Mobile, AL, about 80 participants come from all over to spend time with each other and make daily trips out into their community. Some, like William, live in residences staffed by VOA Southeast. Others live with their families or live independently. Some are referred by outside agencies.

Five days a week, clients arrive at 8:30 am and they depart at 2 pm. During that time, they participate in enrichment and educational programs. They learn life skills and how to cook for themselves; they learn about jobs and prepare for job interviews; they learn about their individual rights and how to take care of themselves.

“Everyone has a right to healthcare access,” says Larita. “We support them by advising them about their medical health and keeping them involved with their nursing and their doctors’ appointments.”

They also have daily field trips where they spend time out in the neighborhood: they go shopping at the mall, they take trips to nearby parks, they volunteer with other local community groups. Sometimes they just go fishing.

Employees from VOA Southeast work closely with their clients to learn their likes and dislikes, what they enjoy, and what opportunities they find most enriching. Activities are tailored to give people the best chance to grow and expand their interests and engagement with others.

Together, clients and volunteers participate in seasonal activities. This November they celebrated Thanksgiving together, and earlier in the year they had a tailgate party for the Iron Bowl. Everyone came wearing a different jersey supporting their favorite team, either Auburn or Alabama.

Help Support Our Work by Giving to VOA Southeast

Our organization positively impacts the lives of over 54,000 people each year. By emphasizing independence, personal choice, and productive employment, VOA Southeast enriches the lives of hundreds of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Georgia and Alabama. We rely on your support to make these programs a reality. Your contributions are what enable us to continue our work. Please consider donating today. Every contribution makes a difference

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