Article

Moments that Matter

Last week I received an email from Carrie Karczewski, our district manager at the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services in South Bend.

It’s a story that she proudly shared with me and I, in turn, am happy to share with you. This encapsulates the core of FSSA’s Mission – Helping people. It is the story of how staff (one from BDDS and one from Vocational Rehabilitation) go the extra mile for a person in need.

A gentleman in South Bend went to BDDS with complex needs. He had nobody to help him navigate public assistance and without aid, he could not obtain the necessary BDDS documentation or complete a SNAP application.

He came to the BDDS office to apply for services. One of his challenges is that he is deaf with limited sign language abilities and therefore has trouble navigating any service. Furthermore, the man has limited transportation and can’t use a phone, so getting the needed documents from doctor’s offices etc. was impossible. Joy Gathright, a service coordinator in Carrie’s office, along with VR case coordinator Amy Pringle, collaborated to help the gentleman. Amy assisted with sign language translation and Joy with getting him services.

For him to be eligible for our services required several documents. Unable to get them himself, Joy assisted by making phone calls to almost a dozen doctors that he had seen over the years to obtain a document listing his diagnoses. This made even more challenging since most of the doctors who had worked with him are now retired. After many attempts of trying to reach the doctor that he is currently seeing, Joy was finally able to obtain the necessary confirmation of diagnosis document.

During meetings with him, Joy and Amy found out how truly special he is. They enlisted the help of another interpreter who was instrumental in obtaining all the needed information for his eligibility determination. During their meeting, Joy, the interpreter, and the man also completed a phone interview for his SNAP benefits. Carrie then helped explain in detail how our services will help and what we can offer him. He was so excited at the potential to have someone help him with his activities of daily life. You see, he is alone most of the time. He says he badly wants to know how to do his own banking and manage his own money and he yearns for independence. He just didn’t know where to start or how to make this happen. Having staff present to help teach and train these life skills will be invaluable for him.

Joy and Amy really went above and beyond what is expected of them. They helped knock down every barrier in his way. BDDS is now searching for a supervised group home for him.

Carrie mentions that she is truly blessed to work in the team in South Bend who will go over and above what is required of them to see that a person receives the benefits they need to remain independent.

And I am truly blessed to work with and know that our colleagues at FSSA do go the extra miles to help. It’s stories like this – true moments that matter – that make me proud to work with all of you at FSSA.

Dan

Note: If you have any examples or stories of work you and your colleagues do that matters, please send them my way. You can send them to me at SecOffice@FSSA.in.gov with the heading Moments that Matter. These stories will be archived on The Hub here.