My co-workers tell me how astounded they are that after 31 years in the community, most people in Southwest Colorado still have little idea what exactly we do at Community Connections.
Let me help clarify. Community Connections has nothing to do with internet or broadband services. We are not associated with the Sheriff’s Office or any diversion or correctional program. We are certainly not a dating service.
The mission of our organization is to create opportunities for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live healthy and fulfilling lives in their communities.
That is what I believe makes us invisible.
If we were a big institution or ran large group homes or sheltered workshops, there would be facilities to see and associate with the people living or working there. But that’s not how we operate. When people authentically live in their communities, they blend in. That’s the point. It’s your neighbor, your co-worker, the lady teaching your kids at preschool or the man helping you get your groceries to the car.
You don’t think “Oh, that’s Community Connections.” That’s Jane or Betty or Fred or Bob. If CC is really doing our job, you never see us.
When we are doing our work well, we are helping people with intellectual disabilities find jobs and supporting them through the training process. We are helping them figure out where they want to live and who they want to live with and then helping them find that place and move in. If they need help getting out of bed and getting clean and dressed in the morning, we are there supporting them.
Sometimes, our employees provide this support. They go to people’s houses and support them there. They help them with tasks in the community. They help them learn new skills and reach their goals.
Other times, the support is from people we call Host Home Providers. Host Home Providers open their homes to people with disabilities and that person becomes like another member of the family.
We also may be providing support to young children and their families. It might be financial support to help a family raising a child with a disability to purchase respite or get the special equipment their child needs. Sometimes, it is having a professional like a speech or occupational therapist to come to a young child’s home and support the child to meet his or her developmental potential.
When we are doing things right, we are in the background.
I don’t want to change that. I want people with intellectual disabilities to be fully included in their communities and without being labeled by the support they receive. But to do that, I need you all to be part of our vision as well.
That’s why we need you to know us, not by our name, but by the inclusive, connected community we are trying to create.
Tara Kiene is president/CEO of Community Connections Inc.
