Feature
DES PLAINES, IL — Mohamed Siddiqi loves helping people.
As an independent living coach at Trinity Services, Siddiqi works one-to-one with people who have developmental disabilities. For 21 years, he has served people at Trinity in this role, helping them with their everyday needs and ensuring that they are living full, abundant lives.
Recently, Siddiqi was awarded the Arc of Illinois’ 2018 Direct Support Professional Award for his outstanding service to the people he works with. This is a prestigious honor for DSPs in Illinois, setting award-winners apart as true leaders in the field.
What makes this award particularly special for Siddiqi is the fact that he began working in this field by chance.
Originally from India, Siddiqi spent roughly 20 years in Saudi Arabia working for a company that manufactured and installed bank equipment. He specialized in the installation of vaults, which was physically laborious and tedious.
With his family, he moved to America in pursuit of better education for his two daughters. Today, both daughters are finishing school. His oldest will soon be a medical doctor, and his youngest will soon have a degree in communications.
Despite the successes of his children, moving to a new country was not easy for Siddiqi. He did not know English when he first arrived here, and because of the physical demands of his past profession, he could no longer work in that field.
He worked at UPS for one year but found the work to also be too taxing on his body. When he saw an opening for a driver at Trinity Services, he applied for and accepted the job.
“I had no experience with people with disabilities,” he said. “Where I came from, I never saw people with disabilities. The first days were very, very hard.”
Siddiqi’s unfamiliarity with the disabilities field initially made him second-guess his career choice. His wife encouraged him to give it at least two weeks before quitting, and in that time, one interaction in particular helped him decide to stay.
After driving people from their community day service program to their home, Siddiqi was getting ready to leave.
One man had a different idea, however. Not wanting Siddiqi to go, he reached out and grabbed Siddiqi’s hand.
Siddiqi’s colleague, who was working at the house, asked him to stay for a couple of hours. Those two hours turned into a full shift, and in that time, Siddiqi realized what an impact he could have in this field.
Family members of people supported by Trinity Services have noticed his impact.
Tim Sassen is the older brother of Matthew, who lives in a group home at Trinity. Sassen said he has tremendous admiration for Siddiqi because of the attention to detail he has with each individual person he works with, including Matthew.
Matthew is particular about having his hair cut a certain way, and each week, Siddiqi cuts Matthew’s hair beautifully, Sassen said.
“He has a remarkable sense of patience and a way of repeating these small acts of kindness,” Sassen said. “He has a very keen sense of Matthew’s limitations and a keen sense for people. I have the ultimate sense of gratitude knowing Matthew is in good hands.”
Siddiqi’s dedication to helping others does not stop with those he serves. It extends to his coworkers and supervisors. He answers phone calls 24/7 and is always ready to report to work. Often, he works 16 hours a day or more.
That has not gone unnoticed by his supervisor, Jen Hodges, network director of Trinity Northwest in Des Plaines.
“He’s someone I can always count on, and without complaint, he goes where help is needed,” Hodges said. “He has worked with every single person and situation here, and he is never stressed out by challenging situations.”
When he received the award from the Arc, Siddiqi said he felt happy and supported by his colleagues.
“Everyone is very nice, and they encourage me,” Siddiqi said. “It’s a really good feeling. Without support, nobody can do anything, but my managers always support me and trust me.
“I’m staying here. I like to work. My nature is to help people.”
Trinity Services, Inc. is a 68-year-old, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness flourish and live full and abundant lives. Trinity serves more than 3,500 people in more than 30 communities in northeast, central and southwest Illinois. To learn more, visit www.trinity-services.org.