Kevan Aranda was recently hired as the coordinator of AIM's new Community Habilitation Program. He sat down to answer some questions about himself and the program.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to AIM.

A: I first realized that I wanted a career in which I would be able to help people in 2005 when I was deployed to Slidell, Louisiana, for disaster relief following Hurricane Katrina. After leaving the military, I started in this field as a part-time residential direct care worker while attending the Social Work program at Mansfield University. While working on the residential side of OPWDD services, I worked my way up through the ranks and ultimately became an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) manager. While I truly enjoyed my time working in and managing residential services, I decided that it was time to pursue something different in the field. I wanted to become more involved in the service planning and coordinating side of OPWDD services.

Q: Tell us about the Community Habilitation Program and how it helps people.

A: The Community Habilitation Program here at AIM gives consumers the tools to become more independent in many aspects of life. The Community Habilitation Program is a person-centered service that allows a consumer the opportunity to decide what skills they wish to further develop. The skill areas that can be developed through the Community Habilitation Program include social skills, community integration, cooking/food shopping skills, money management, basic hygiene skills, public transportation, and interest exploration.  

Q: What are some of the challenging aspects of the job?

A: One of the most challenging aspects of the job is assigning and scheduling a staff for an individual to work with. With this program being person-centered, the services are offered when the individual needs them, rather than what's more convenient for AIM. Another challenging aspect of the job is ensuring that the services being provided are what the individual truly needs and wants to receive.  

Q: What are some of the rewarding parts of the job?

A: The most rewarding part of the job is seeing the excitement for both the individual and the families while we are developing the service plan.  Being able to provide a platform that allows an individual to truly become more independent is what we all strive to achieve.

Q: What do you like to do outside of work?

A: Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my son, Harrison, and my fiancée, Heather.  Harrison was born on Oct. 13 of last year, and he is our first child.  Spending time with my family has become what life is all about.  My passion is the outdoors. When I'm not at work or with my family, I can be found either on a bass boat or in the woods hunting.  I'm very excited to introduce my son to the outdoors in the near future.