Imagine That...July 2021
In Loving Memory of Dana Hackett
Help support Imagine!
Crafts at the Kennedy House!
Zach and Tonya out whale watching!
Zach, trying to spot a whale!
Jordan and Abra enjoying a walk!
Jordan, excited to be getting her hair done!
Ryan, enjoying the day!
White Smoke and Fireworks
colorful-poppies.jpg

Dear Imagine friends and family,


Greetings to you all. As most of you already know, Charlie Miller is our new Director of Services. He will be writing a monthly column of this newsletter which will share lessons guiding the development of our services. Examples might include needs noticed to be shared by several people Imagine serves or new techniques that seem to be working and might work for others. His goal in essence is to share what he and the team are learning about how to serve better. The preamble to his column, "The Service Sector," is below.

In June, the Risk Management Committee met and agreed that the pandemic has progressed to a point where more factors can be considered in how we protect one another. We have created a new policy asking for home-by-home assessment and offering the possibility of variations from our current infection control strategies.

The quick summary is: For now, across the client homes, the COVID prevention protocol in use since March still holds. Facilitators will conduct assessments in conversation with our clients, their caregivers, families and friends. The assessment will take into account risks both in the home and in the networks that meet there; compelling concerns around such things as masking and social comfort; and, of course, the preferences of all. Teams that want to change the protocol, for example, to allow supporting clients into more crowded areas or maskless work in the home can express that to Patty and I. We wlll review the assessment and consider the change. The new policy is here.

One more note about the COVID-19 pandemic: The latest Variant of Concern, called the Delta Variant, is much more contagious than previous ones. The existing vaccines are still effective, and we don't expect anything like the November-January surge, but it has caused an increase in cases in the nation, locally and, especially, across the state. It still bears taking precautions not to be involved in perpetuating this burden. And if you are still not vaccinated, please do consider it. Those of us who already have been are feeling well, better and a little bit righteous.

The now quarterly telemeeting for families and conservators of those we serve is back on July 28th. If you are not a family member or conservator of an Imagine client, you are welcome, too.. Let Lili know if you want to join us in July and she'll see you get the information you need to connect.

Further down, this month's newsletter includes the following:

In our Human Resources column this month, Patty's note about Imagine's open door policy.

Our Person Centered Evolution column this month is a presentation for Charlie, Dan and the Facilitator team on where we find ourselves in the process of embracing, engaging and benefiting from person-centered thinking in our services..

Our regular column by Susan Douglass, a parent and board member: Community Connections. This month, Susan invites you to feasts.

Our usual stuff in the columns around advocacy, self-determination, transparency and the Imagine Endowment.

The appreciations this month are for Daniela and Dean, Imagine's brand newest client. I assure you, alliteration is no obsession here.

As ever, if you have any questions, feedback or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can write me here. I look forward to hearing from you.

Gratefully yours,

Doug
The Imagine Endowment
We have started an endowment to support Imagine's future. Beginning next year, Imagine will receive regular payments of the returns from these funds. Initially, we expect the impact to be small but as the endowment grows, it holds the promise of helping Imagine help others through hard times to come.

If you are considering a gift to the endowment, either right now or as part of a giving plan or bequest, we have information available here. And thank you.

To make direct contributions please make checks payable to; The Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County.  Designate the "Imagine Supported Living Services Fund". Mail to;   Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, 7807 Soquel Dr., Aptos, Ca.  95003.


-Submitted by Doug
The Service Sector
Greetings Imagine Family, 

Firstly, I want to say thank you to all of you who reached out with positive messages following the announcement that I was taking over the Director of Services position. It further cemented my desire to do the job to the best of my abilities and do what I can to support Imagine maintain such a great community.

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and the new FHA Facilitator I'm currently focused on hiring. It’s important to me that I really get to know you, so we may both be surprised at how long it will take to find quality time. I hope that if it takes a while for me to visit, you'll be patient, understanding that each of you is too important to rush. Having said that, I encourage you to reach out to me directly any time you feel it is urgent.

Finally, I look forward to connecting with you each month through this newsletter to give you a little bit more of an insight on the goings on of the management team here at Imagine. This will aim to serve the purpose of transparency but also potentially trigger some larger conversations within our community that may help us improve our systems and generate new ideas for a variety of issues.

That’s all from me for now, see you all soon!

Happy July everyone!

Charlie.
HR Corner
Hello all, 

You may have concerns about the change in leadership. For many of you, Julie has offered a good ear, considered your needs, felt your feelings and made you laugh. Periodically, in this column, I write to you about our open door policy, reminding you that you can always reach out to me, to Doug and to Julie.

I want to assure you all that, in the search for a new Director of Services, we are discussing and considering the importance of the empathy, openness and candor you have been able to expect from Julie. The open door policy will remain. We can't promise the next Director of Services will be as funny.

But we do want to assure you that the next Director of Services will be expected to get to know you, to understand what makes life harder or easier for caregivers and to do his, her or their best for the whole community. While they get used to their new role and you get to know them, please remember that Doug and I are here to hear your ideas, wishes and concerns. You can write to me here, and Doug there.


In Good Health, 

Patty Lopez 
HR Manager 
Imagine Supported Living Services 
831-464-8355 ext. 112
Cell: (831) 325-7760
Person-Centered Evolution

Facilitator Dan Dahl and then-Facilitator Charlie Miller presented to the board on our growth in using Person-Centered Thinking tools. With the other Facilitators, they used one such tool to summarize where we are, what we are experiencing using the tools and where we plan to go from here. Attached is their presentation.

Submitted by Doug (But really Dan and Charlie)
The ImagineNation Wander
Thank you to everyone who participated in the ImagineNation Wander!

Imagine appreciates everyone who participated, donated, and fundraised. We are excited to be sharing 10% of what we earned with CAB of Santa Cruz County. We would also like to thank Aveanna Healthcare for sponsoring our event. The fundraiser brought in half of our $10,000 goal and we feel grand and grateful.

There are t-shirts available to everyone who sponsored, gave, and participated. If you would like one, please contact us here with your shirt size.

#ImagineNationWander #ImagineSupportedLivingServices

-Submitted by Lili

Self-Determination
This month, the Independent Facilitator Roundtable will be this coming Wednesday, July 7 at 11AM. The Zoom link is right here. I'm pretty sure. If it doesn't work, email me in a hurry.

Self-determination is due to become available for all regional center clients this summer. The system is more than a little creaky but the opportunity remains valuable. If any of you want someone to discuss it with, please feel welcome to write me.


-Doug
Community Connections
FAMILY POTLUCK LUNCH              
SATURDAY JULY 24TH 12-3PM
Imagine clients and families are invited to a potluck lunch gathering at the historic Piedmont Court on the west side of Santa Cruz. Come enjoy mingling in the spacious courtyard and lobby. Contact Susan for details, group size is limited. 

MEET AND GREET WITH CHARLIE MILLER 
SUNDAY AUGUST 15TH  2-4PM
Come welcome Imagine’s new director of services! Bring drinks or nibbles to share, get to know Charlie a bit, and make new Imagine friends. Contact Susan for details, group size is limited.

Susan Douglass  
Imagine parent and BOD member   
831-818-2501


Susan Douglass  
Imagine BOD and parent   
831-818-2501
g
Transparency At Imagine
Our next board meeting will be held August 18th, at 11:00. Write to Lili if you'd like to attend. Imagine's finances did not immediately rebound following the end of the riskiest part of the pandemic and we'll discussing why and how to repair the trouble.

We are still recruiting board members. We are working to diversify the board and to add a GAAP-trained treasurer. An attorney wouldn't be bad either.

Our auditing process remains a mess but here is our new Form 990. The Form 990 is an annual filing required of non-profits like Imagine. It includes details of our operations and finances, including how funds are allocated. All of our mysteries wait within for an able detective.


-Submitted by Doug
Advocacy Corner
The state budget process is winding up six weeks late. There is some good news and not much bad, but still not enough detail to know what it all means for Imagine and other supports available to the community of people affected by developmental disability. We know that there is funding to pay for the final minimum wage increase of this cycle, that our most recent rate increases are no longer scheduled to elapse and that there are to be additional rate increases going into effect April 1, 2022. I challenge you to read the whole 174-page trailer bill and come back with any information more specific than this paragraph.

As we learn more about the methods the Department of Developmental Services intends to use to carry out the rate increase and other priorities, we will let you know.

As ever, Imagine's advocacy gets split between management's work with the California Disability Community Action Network (CDCAN) and whatever you all choose to do. Consider a conversation with a legislator. If you would like to receive CDCAN updates, write to Marty Omoto, which you can do by clicking here.

-Submitted by Doug
Appreciating Daniela... 
This month we would like to recognize Daniela for all she does! She has done a great job as Facilitator for the Summit Program, and we can't wait to see her transition into an SLS Facilitator soon.

Thank you for all your hard work, Daniela! We appreciate you!

-Submitted by your peers at Imagine

I have very much enjoyed working with Daniela. She has been calm, candid, responsive and present with me and the other direct care staff at Summit. There are many ways that team morale can be measured or estimated and all have shown a great improvement during Daniela's leadership. This might be the best metric: After Daniela's transfer was known, I took the chance to speak with several of our colleagues at Summit about what they wanted in their next Facilitator. Every answer I got can be summarized as "Another Daniela, please." Thank you, Daniela, for strengthening the Summit program. I look forward to appreciating your work in our SLS program.

-Submitted by Doug
Spotlight on Dean...
Dean is excited to start his new life in Santa Cruz. He loves to bike on his tandem and trike, swim, play with balls of all kinds, and hang out with people! Dean has an older sister, Emma, and a younger brother, Nate, whom he calls "tee." His family lives in Mountain View where Dean grew up. His friend and teacher calls Dean the "mayor" because so many people know him around Mountain View town, especially on his tandem bike! In addition to being outside and active, Dean LOVES music... making it, drumming to it, and listening to all kinds!
 
Dean finished four amazing years living in Boston where he attended Perkins School for the Blind. We all learned how well Dean does in a supportive, active, interesting environment and we look forward to getting to know all of you at Imagine. 

-Submitted by Sarah
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Staff Birthdays

John B.
Giovana
Brittany
Grace
Anna
Vanessa M.
Julissa
Amy
Cynthia V.
KiAna
Alex T.
Isaac
Faviola
Jai
Kenia
Tlayeli
Carrie
Sam M.

Staff Anniversaries

Yessica - 2 Years!
Kiana - 2 Years!
Yvonne - 3 Years!
Andrea E. - 4 Years
Yaneth - 2 Years!
Jennifer - 1 Year!
Cynthia H. - 5 Years!
James L. - 4 Years!
Charlie - 3 Years!
Nneka - 2 Years!
Maria - 1 Year!
Faviola - 2 Years!
Imagine Supported Living Services
9065 Soquel Drive
Aptos, Ca 95003
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