January 2017 Mosaic in Northern Colorado Newsletter

possibilities january 2017

a publication of Mosaic in Northern Colorado | www.mosaicinnortherncolorado.org

Meaningful Life SEASON’S GREETINGS! Gift Giving Day Continuing their annual giving tradition, Kim and Darrin Files hosted Mosaic’s Gift Giving Day in December at St. Peter’s Church in Fort Collins.

The day started at 8 a.m. as the Files pulled up their rented U-Haul to the back of the church and started unloading hundreds of gifts, stocking stuffers, and winter necessities, all to be given to the folks Mosaic serves. In all, more than 100 people come through the event, stopping in to enjoy refreshments, presents, and holiday cheer. Even Santa made an appearance, delivering all the presents to the men and women served by Mosaic.

This was a truly special day, epitomized by the number of smiles and hugs given out. Thank you Kim and Darrin for continuing this most cherished holiday tradition.

“It was truly a special evening for those involved in the performance.”

Mosaic’s Christmas Pageant Keeping with the theme of Christmas traditions, Mosaic hosted its 15th annual Christmas Program at Crossroads Church in Loveland in

December. The show featured Christmas classics sung by the choir, a reading of the first Christmas story, and was capped with a number of individual performances of singing and dancing. Just like at gift giving, Santa even made an appearance. After the show, everyone met in the lobby to enjoy refreshments provided by our wonderful volunteers Gloria Krob and Meitty Bells, whose involvement was essential to putting on a great show. It was truly a special evening for those involved in the performances as well for those in the audience that night.

We have some very talented people at our agency.

People in service perform during the Mosaic Christmas Program.

Mosaic staff at the Christmas Gift Giving Day.

Mosaic staff gets a visit from Santa during the GIft Giving Day.

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From the Executive Director BE BOLD! by Sally Montgomery In March 2016, we completed a three-year transition of our group home services to our Mosaic at Home services, which you might know as host homes. Our goal was to offer more personalized services that Sally Montgomery Executive Director give each individual more choice in where they live and who they live with. More than 60 of the people we supported in our group homes had the opportunity to make those choices. The changes in their lives have been inspiring! You know that saying “it is never too late to change”? I have seen it in action.

People who were quiet and even withdrawn during their time living in a group home have come out of their shell and are smiling and interacting more than ever. Some folks we support are challenged by too much noise and activity. For the first time they have the chance to live in a place that gives them a chance to relax and unwind. We are seeing fewer hospitalizations and better health outcomes for people. That means fewer medications and a higher quality of life. We are serving more than 90 people in our Mosaic at Home services.

participating in wellness activities and learning how to make great choices about the food they eat and making sure they are getting enough exercise.

I joined a group of people we support for a dinner social that they have on a monthly basis. It was a great evening and I noticed that more people were ordering side salads instead of fries.

You can bet I made better choices than I usually do that night! For years this dinner was an event that staff organized. This past year, the group took over the organizing and now are doing it on their own – friends getting together and enjoying a night out.

There have been many exciting things happening in our other services as well. We support more than 60 people who live in their own home/apartment or in their family home. Many are now

Families, our providers and staff come together every day to create opportunities for the individuals we support to live a full life. Our community partners step in to offer resources and build networks beyond

In Colorado, family members can be paid to provide services under Family Caregiver. This is a terrific solution for many families who want to provide the supports themselves and need to be earning an income. This past year we have started to see an increase in families looking to Mosaic to be their provider agency to oversee services. In response, we have been working with family members to see how we can provide the monitoring and supports required, but offer flexible options that fit each family’s unique needs. It is a challenging and exciting area of growth for us.

Mosaic Moments is published by Mosaic in Northern Colorado | 6833 N. Franklin Ave. Loveland, CO 80538-1180 | 970.461.2400 | www.mosaicinnortherncolorado.org Executive Director Community Relations Manager

sally.montgomery@mosaicinfo.org david.koch@mosaicinfo.org

Mission Embracing God’s call to serve in the world, Mosaic advocates for people with intellectual disabilities and provides opportunities for them to enjoy a full life.

Integrity at Mosaic If you have a concern, call our national Confidential Reporting Hotline at 800.443.4899, or email integrity@mosaicinfo.org

our doors. Thank you for joining us in this journey! I am grateful and humbled to be a part of such a caring community.

Upcoming Events

Mosaic in Northern Colorado 11141 Aurora Ave. Urbandale, IA 50322 Feb. 9 | Noon – 1 p.m.

Join us for a free one-hour event called Discover the Possibilities, where you will learn about the services Mosaic offers, take a tour of the agency and hear stories of how we are making a difference in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities at Mosaic in Northern Colorado.

To attend, please RSVP with Dave Koch at 970.294.5667.

Night to Shine February 9 Mosaic is proud to be an official host of the Tim Tebow Foundation’s Night to Shine, a formal special needs prom for the Northern Colorado community.

The event is complete with a limo ride, a red carpet entrance, live band, catered food and much, much more.

Visit noconighttoshine.com to sign up as a participant, volunteer or sponsor.

Relationships Mosaic is an affiliated social ministry organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a member of Lutheran Services in America.

Non-discrimination Mosaic will not discriminate in matters of employment or service delivery on the basis of race, creed, age, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status or veteran status.

To be added or removed from the mailing list or to receive information via email, please contact Mosaic at the address given. ©2017 Mosaic. All rights reserved. Mosaic is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

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Giving a Voice MOSAIC DSP SPOTLIGHT Mosaic in Northern Colorado is very fortunate to have some of the best staff and providers in the area! Our providers are great at getting to know our clients personally and providing the type of support that works best for each person. We will never truly be able to show how much we appreciate our Professionals long nights, extra miles and constant commitment to those we serve, but we thought we’d try by highlighting two of great Direct Support Professionals, Desarae Williams and Alexis Dickson.

Desarae Williams For the last 14 years, Desarae Williams has demonstrated a high level of commitment as a direct support professional working with people Mosaic serves. Desarae works in Support Living Services, helping with folks to increase their independence and work on self-directed goals.

During her time as a DSP, she has built long-standing and meaningful relationships with many of the people supported by Mosaic. Sometimes

Desarae and a person served by Mosaic.

that means phones calls off the clock to check in on an individual, changing her schedule to better accommodate those we serve, or by inviting someone we support to join her family for Thanksgiving dinner

because she knows it is a difficult time of year for this person.

She is also a friend to everyone she knows. This is such a gift to those she serves. On example is when she organized a surprise party for someone she supports who really needed a nice surprise. She arranged to have staff, friends and even our executive director hide at his apartment and celebrate him with cake, presents and a heartfelt “surprise” when he returned home. The look on his surprised face said it all. Desarae is a shining example of our mission in action; thank you Desarae for your hard work and commitment!

Alexis Dickson Alexis Dickson has worked for Mosaic for many years, both as an employee and as a host home provider. Alexis is recognized this year for her work as a Mosaic at Home provider, which comes with its own set of obstacles and on-the-job learning. Alexis serves an individual named Zach. She has known and worked with Zach for seven years, both when he lived in the group home, and this last year as his Mosaic at Home provider. Alexis puts all of Zach’s needs and wants at the forefront of her life and pushes for him to make new and strong community connections. She is solution oriented and is always able to find a way to get involved with what Zach likes to do. An examples of this is maintaining Zach’s participation in the group Athletes in Tandem where Zach is able to participate in running and swimming events with a partner helping him along. This is something that he truly enjoys and has brought great happiness to his life.

On top of keeping Zach involved with the community, Alexis also helps to keep Zach’s family involved with all of the activities he does. She has done so by opening up her calendar and creating a “social calendar” for Zach so that his parents, brother, and grandma are able to see where Zach is on a given day. It gives them an opportunity to join in on the fun.

Alexis and Zach in the swimming pool.

One thing is clear when watching the two interact; there is a very visible sense of comradery that permeates the relationship. Whether it’s a camp-out night in their back yard, or figuring out the logistics to get a spa tub into Zach’s bedroom, Alexis never rests until Zach has both his wants and his needs met.

© 2016 Mosaic Mosaic is an affiliated social ministry organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a member of Lutheran Services in America.

Mosaic will not discriminate in matters of employment or service delivery on the basis of race, creed, age, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status or veteran status.

Language Assistance Services Español (Spanish): ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1.877.366.7242 Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese): CHÚ Ý: Nếu bạn nói Tiếng Việt, có các dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ miễn phí dành cho bạn. Gọi số 1.877.366.7242

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6833 N. Franklin Ave. Loveland, CO 80538-1180

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A life of possibilities for people with intellectual disabilities.

Caring Community THE SEASON OF GIVING! Donated Hand-Knitted Granny Square Afghans: Mosaic has the best donors!

This year Jean Weiss donated more than fifteen hand-knitted granny square Afghans to be given out to people we serve. Program managers chose the colors for each person who

Jean Weiss with her granny square Afghan.

was to receive one and wrote a lovely Christmas note to go along with it.

This simple gesture showed how much we at Mosaic think about those we serve. All at Mosaic say thank you

to Jean for her generosity! These blankets are sure to create warm memories all winter long.

Delivering a very merry Christmas: While most people gather with family and loved ones around this time of year, it is important we do not forget those who no longer have their families in their lives. While unfortunate as this is, it can often be a reality for those we serve. However, Mosaic staff is dedicated to going above and beyond for those who don’t have that support during the holidays.

This was exactly the case this year for one individual we serve. He lives on his own, and has infrequent contact with his family. Due to this, the holidays are a very difficult time for him. Our employees decided that we had to do something. We were able to find money to buy him presents out of the employee campaign fund. The

fund comes from donations made by our employees out of their paychecks to support people we serve.

Mosaic staff stuff the tree with presents.

Erika Ecklund and Desarae Williams took their personal time to go shopping for this individual. Keeping in mind his favorite sport team, the Broncos, they assembled a sizable package of gifts containing that relate to his love of this favorite team and to football. This is the fifth year these two have gotten together to provide a Merry Christmas to someone who would otherwise go without. Thank you Erika and Desarae for living our mission every day!

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