Monday, Sept. 12, 2016

(This appeared on Mosaic's blog, www.mosaicpossible.org, today.)

by Linda Timmons

A few weeks ago I shared the results of our Family Satisfaction Survey, stating my pride in the people who work at Mosaic.  Families said that Mosaic works hard to “make a positive difference” in the lives of the people we serve.

This week, we’re recognizing and thanking the group of employees that make that happen every day.  September 10-17 is Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week.   

There’s an irony in that title.  We recognize them for the great work they do, but not often enough.  Direct Support Professionals (DSPs for short) are those folks who, every day, protect the health and well-being of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and help the people we support lead the life of their choosing.

We themed this week’s recognition around Heart because DSPs give from the heart.  They act as mentors, friends, guides, coaches and teachers.  They bring compassion, kindness, creativity, listening, excitement and encouragement.  They nurse hurts, celebrate successes, protect dignity, offer opportunities.  They laugh with, cry with, sit with, walk with, talk with and just be with the people Mosaic serves.  

DSPs are some amazing folks.  I am often in awe of their humility – and honored to recognize their work.  But, there’s the irony.  Most DSPs don’t want you to notice them, they want you to see the people they support.

We’ve launched a Facebook campaign this year to ask people to write a bit about their favorite DSP.  We want to hear stories about the impact that DSPs have made on people’s lives.  If you know a Mosaic DSP that you’d like to honor in that way, please visit our Facebook page and share.  (You might also win a gift card to take a DSP out for coffee and say, ‘thank you.’)

I think you’ll enjoy this short video about one of our DSPs, Hattie.  You will see how much she loves her job because she is helping others succeed.  Hattie represents the feelings of many Mosaic DSPs.

Please join me in saying “Thank You” to our DSPs.  They truly are the heart of our mission.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

They like you, they really like you!  

Results from the family/guardian satisfaction survey showed that people see the positive difference Mosaic is making in the lives of people served.  That survey item received the highest ranking, a 4.64 out of a possible 5.0.  The next highest score came in overall satisfaction, which rated a 4.54 out of 5.0.

Community involvement, respect, work, and many other areas were covered in the survey.  You can read the full results online at mymosaicinfo.org > MyCorporate Services > Specialized Services > Resources > Family Satisfaction Surveys.

“Overall we had really good feedback that affirms the positive impact of many of the priority areas we’ve been addressing,” said Linda Timmons, Mosaic President and CEO.  “It also affirms that direction for our future and priorities regarding staffing and personalized services.”

The biggest challenges represented in the survey results include staff turnover and how that affects relationships, and meaningful work opportunities for people.  

Also included in the results are a comparison of responses from 24-hour residential versus host homes, general comments people included in their responses, and other data.

Mosaic sent 2,588 paper and 849 online surveys to family and guardians in 2016, an increase of 450 surveys from the number sent in 2015. Response rate for online surveys was 40.10 percent (highest response ever received), with paper surveys receiving 28.75 percent responses, for a total response rate of 31.49 percent. The total response rate is an improvement of 3.82 percent compared to 2015.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Haven Baudino said that becoming a host family for Tommy Parsons was like a calling, something she knew she had to do.
 
“I had thought about it for a while, and one morning I was sitting thinking about it and I woke my husband up and I told him I had to do it,” Haven states in an article in the McDonough County Voice.  “It was the first he’d heard of it and he thought I had lost my mind because he’d never heard me say anything about it at all.  And he was very supportive.”
 
Haven was a Mosaic employee at the time, working in human resources.  She and Tommy had developed a friendship in the years he had received services.  With the full support of her husband, Jayson, Tommy became a part of the family in 2015. They became the first host home for Mosaic in Macomb (Illinois).
 
Now, Haven said, Tommy is thriving.
 
Tommy still participates in a day program.  But he vacations with Haven and Jayson, goes to hockey games with them, enjoys his favorite TV shows with Jayson – they shares their lives, like a family.  
 
He also has had many new experiences.   
 
When he lived in a group home, Tommy wasn’t able to have a dog.  He now has Molly Parson, a miniature pinscher (Haven and Jayson have two dogs of their own).  He also started kayaking this summer, something he has wanted to do for quite a while.
 
After receiving lessons on boating safety, rules and regulations, Tommy first took a ride in a row boat, a step toward his goal.  When he handles it all so well, Haven put plans in place for Tommy to try a kayak.  On his first day with the kayak, Tommy glided around the lake on his own for more than three hours.  
 
It is clear that Tommy is happy in his host home.  And Haven?  
 
“It is a lot of work,” she said, “but it’s very rewarding.  It’s life changing in a good way.”
 
Congratulations to Tommy on his successes.  Thank you to Haven and Jayson for helping Tommy succeed.  A world of possibilities awaits.

Friday, June 3, 2016

This post by Linda Timmons appeared today on the Mosaic blog, MosaicPossible.org.

Sometimes something in plain sight remains hidden.   
 
That is the case for Mosaic’s host home services.  For more than 20 years, we’ve provided host home services in locations across the country.  It is a relationship-based model where the person receiving services lives with the person providing services in their home.  They live pretty much like roommates or an extended family.   
 
That’s why host home services are hidden in plain sight.  Host homes don’t look like group homes with staff members coming and going; they look like any other home in the neighborhood, or any other apartment in the building.  
 
Host homes have proven to be highly successful, both for the person receiving services and the person providing services.  They often create long-term, caring relationships.
 
Mosaic is expanding our host home services and we’ve created a new host home brand called Mosaic at Home.  To help people understand how it works, we’ve created some videos that tell the stories of people receiving services and people providing services.   
 
In this first video, you’ll hear some Mosaic at Home providers talk about why they do what they do.  Like all direct support work, it takes the right kind of person to be a Mosaic at Home provider.  And, like many of our direct care professionals, we’ve got some pretty amazing people as Mosaic at Home providers.
 
You’ll hear more about Mosaic at Home in the coming weeks and months.  It’s not a new way of serving people, but it is becoming a more popular way of serving people.  When you listen to the stories, I think you’ll see why.

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