Imagine That... August 2022 |
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In Loving Memory of Dean Wilson and Dana Hackett |
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We have an endowment to support Imagine's future. Beginning this 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
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The Gathering of Extraordinary People |
The Gathering is back, August 19. If you are new to our community, this is an annual event created by our friends at Mainstream SLS a pair of decades ago and organized for nearly that long by Imagine, in partnership with other local agencies. Its purpose is to honor together our peers with I/DD diagnoses and the creativity they bring with them.
There will be sports for the sporty, arts and crafts for the crafty and a talent show so Chris can sing "With or Without You" with opening acts. A healthy, homemade lunch is available to those who sign up in advance, We ask individuals who attend to pay $5 towards the cost of their lunch and that cost includes lunch for their caregivers', if any. The rest of the event is cost free to whoever shows up. To warn us you're coming hungry, please fill out this form. If you have any questions, thoughts or ideas about the event, please write to Norma.
-Submitted by Doug
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Hello Everyone,
We have all been experiencing times of crisis for the last couple of years and Imagine as a whole has experienced the results of each of these crises.
COVID, quarantine and even well-earned vacations have reached a point where most of our teams are short staffed. I would like to begin by thanking each person at Imagine that does direct care. You are truly what makes our agency keep running. I would also like to acknowledge how difficult this must be.
Understandably, our committed employees that continue covering the holes in the team's schedule can experience burn out. Now is the perfect time to engage with your Facilitator and communicate with your team to understand how to support each other. Even if your current schedule does not allow for you to cover open shifts, being sympathetic with your team and communicating extra effectively can greatly reduce stress.
Imagine is committed to understanding, offering support and as many resources as we can in order to promote good mental health amongst our employees. Admittedly, we will not be able to help with all of the issues that you may experience in your personal life, however, we would like everyone to feel confident that we will offer a safe space for you to communicate and offer empathy when and where we can. Imagine does offer an Employee Assistance Program where you can get access to a crisis counselor and schedule up to three free sessions. Additionally, we have used a counselor and mediator in the past to aid our staff in having difficult conversations either with coworkers or their Supervisor.
If you are having a hard time at work, I urge to let us know. On our end, please rest assured that we are constantly working on our open shifts.
A quick reminder regarding our Referral Bonus Program:
Imagine is offering an elevated bonus for referrals. Imagine will pay $200 for part-time and $400 for full-time referrals, respectively. Referral bonuses will be paid out after the employee has worked a full pay period.
Instructions:
- When you have referred someone, make sure to contact me or your facilitator to let us know they will or have filled out an application.
- Let your referral know to list you as a reference in their application.
- If your referral does not complete all of their scheduled shifts during their first pay period working at Imagine, we will not consider this a successful referral and you will not receive a bonus. Please keep reliability in mind when referring someone to us!
As always, please remember that I am available if you need to talk about a issue on your team, or an issue in your personal life that might affect your attendance or work performance.
In Good Health,
Patty Lopez
Asst. Director of Human Resources
Imagine Supported Living Services
831-464-8355 ext. 112
Cell: (831) 325-7760
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Hello Imagine Family,
July saw the much-needed increases to our staff wages. We are hopeful this will help our current employees and support recruiting new staff. The higher rates are below the rate we feel our direct care staff deserve, but we celebrate the progress. There are some potential state budget updates at the end of the year that may help us reward staff that have been with Imagine for a long time with additional raises. Though its little consolation it is worth noting Imagine does and will continue to prioritize direct care pay in our budgeting process.
The pandemic has been extremely challenging in July and further tested our already strained system. To add to this there is little news of when we might see some relief. As an agency, we continue to see dedicated staff step up and get us through this time. We must continue to focus on getting through these difficult months and await the pandemic softening, recruitment improvements and budget increases. I’m optimistic we’ll get there but I empathize with anyone who is struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This month I wanted to revisit Imagine's emergency response system. For staff and families not feeling supported or not being able to get help when needed can be extremely stressful. Understanding the levels of support at Imagine is an important part of initial training and intake but should be actively talked about to be transparent. During business hours 8a-5p Monday-Friday facilitators are the first call to seek support for their teams. If they are unable to answer due to being in a meeting leave a message requesting a call back with a brief description of the level of urgency. If the need can’t wait for the facilitator to become available, you can call the office line where Norma at the front desk can alert available members of the management team to support. Doug, Patty and I are also available to field emergency calls if you’re not getting through the regular channels. Outside of business hours we lean on Imagine's two emergency numbers to field calls and provide support. I would also encourage leaving a text and voicemail if no one picks up as on-call persons are known to take a shower or a bathroom break from time to time where the phone may not be readily available to pick up. If situations become complex or more than two on call staff can handle Doug and myself are notified and become part of the support and strategizing of the problem. Below are the two after hours crisis support numbers:
Frontline: (831) 428-1731
Back up if frontline doesn’t answer: (831) 428-4353
At Imagine we know unpredictable situations can arise and how it feels when you don’t have support whether you’re a consumer, direct care staff or family member. We may not get it right 100% of the time but our goal is to have a strong support system to be there when needed. Note, for extremely urgent emergency response where minutes count, 911 should be called before the pagers.
Thanks everyone, August awaits!
Charlie.
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Self-Determination is now available for any regional center client who chooses it but it seems to be a slow process enrolling. If I can be of any help, please feel free to contact me. I'm pleased that there are a few current and recent Imagine employees who are developing Independent Facilitation practices and I'll be glad to connect them with those looking.
This month, the Independent Facilitator Roundtable will be Wednesday, August 3 at 11AM. The Zoom link is right here.
For people interested in Self-determination, there is also a monthly zoom event to introduce individuals and families to Independent Facilitators.It's the third Friday of each month and the time is supposed to rotate but we seem stuck on 2:30-4. Let me know if you're interested and I'll send the link and confirmation of the time.
-Submitted by Doug
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Thanks to those who turned out for lunch on a beautiful afternoon at Common Roots Farm! Keep the farm in mind if you have the urge to be outside around great people while making a contribution to a great project.
Keep an eye out for the ImagineNation Wander coming up on Saturday September 24th. Be thinking about where you are going to wander (think photo op!) and with whom. And if the fundraising aspect interests you, be thinking about who would be excited to support the Imagine community. Save the date and look for more details to follow.
Susan Douglass, Imagine parent, BOD member
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Our next board meeting will be August 17t. Write to Norma if you'd like to attend.
We have finished our 2020 IRS Form 990. Now that might sound boring and, honestly, the Form 990 is not organized for suspense and narrative impact. But this is an important transparency tool in which Imagine, under penalty of perjury, reports to the public about what we do with our funding, potential conflicts, etc. If I've inspired your fascination, you can review it here. You can also find it on our website. Our catch-up audits are in process but not obviously on a catching-up trajectory.
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.
-Submitted by Doug
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At the present moment, the biggest advocacy challenge is figuring out what recent changes in regulations, funding and prospects actually mean. This is doubly true in this moment when the Department of Developmental Services seems to be struggling to define its own interpretations. We're glad for most of the changes under way. This sort of chaos is a real opportunity for advocates but also confounding to their coaches. Feel free to get in touch or track the many projects in process and find a way to influence them.
As always, thanks to Marty Omoto of CDCAN for amplifying the transparency and circularity of information between the community and policy-makers. If you would like to receive CDCAN's extensive reporting, write to Marty. CDCAN's work is entirely funded by the donations of those of us who benefit. Write to me or to Marty if you'd like to kick in.
-Submitted by Doug
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I would like to acknowledge Damien who is in our FHA program as our client spotlight of the month. The pandemic hasn’t been an easy, and recently hit hard at imagine. Damien has really shown us all the strength and resilience that he holds in these past few months. Damien is such a great addition to the Imagine family!
-Submitted by Stephanie
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Some Imagine employees make an impactful, professional career out of direct care and some provide high quality care while preparing for other professional careers. Cynthia H. fits in both categories. To my recall, she currently works with her fourth Imagine client, Scottie, after having been a key member of Dianna, Cindy and Dean's teams. She's also a student, preparing for another career in which we are sure she will excel. But professionalism, compassion and intelligence pay off even in long-term temporary positions. I was reminded of how valuable this is on a recent shift when I was covering for an employee out sick and relieved Cynthia. She was patient, knowledgable, resourceful and clear, explaining to me how to proceed and providing resources. I was able to provide better care to our client because I'd had her help.
Cynthia has been with Imagine for six years as of last week, not only providing great care but also helping fellow caregivers give care better. Thank you, Cynthia.
-Submitted by Doug
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Birthdays & Anniversaries |
Staff and Client Birthdays:
Jen A.
James T.
Luis V.
Steve C.
Rolando R.
Peggy M.
Erika N.
Mikayla N.
Sidney M.
Janet S.
Maria Z.
Leslie R.
Aliah R.
Saray S.
Staff Anniversaries:
David C. - 6 Years!!
Sarah J. - 6 Years!!
Gregory B. - 16 Years!!
Alejandro F. - 3 Years!!
Julissa Z. - 4 Years!!
Jen A. - 4 Years!!
Noelia C. - 3 Years!!
Amanda R. - 2 Years!!
Stephanie U. - 2 Years!!
Antonia L. - 2 Years!!
Dina S. - 3 Years!!
Thank you for your commitment!
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Imagine Supported Living Services
9065 Soquel Drive
Aptos, Ca 95003
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Please remember to shop at
and choose Imagine as the charitable organization to receive a donation of 0.5% of each purchase!
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