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PHOTO CAPTION: Trinity Services Independent Living Coach Jacque Anderson (front) poses for a photo with men she supports (left to right) Robert Brown, Sam Challa, Charles Paslawski and Brian Zon.

 NEW LENOX, IL — Jacque Anderson makes it her mission each day to help at least one person she supports experience a sense of accomplishment. Today, Anderson was honored for an accomplishment of her own, as she was named the 2020 Direct Support Professional of the Year for Illinois by the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR).

Anderson has provided support to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities as an Independent Living Coach, or Direct Support Professional, at Trinity Services for eight years. She describes herself as someone who likes to try new things and have new experiences, and she uses this aspect of her personality to help the people she supports have more experiences, as well.

In receiving this recognition, Anderson joins 54 other recipients of ANCOR’s 2020 Direct Support Professional of the Year awards, chosen from a field of 300 nominees.

Anderson supports a group of approximately 20 men who attend Trinity’s Community Day Services program New Lenox Woodworks. At the program, the men contribute to the creation of wooden items like Adirondack chairs, picnic tables, candle holders, decorations and more. These items are sold to the public, and proceeds help support the program.

Though the program has a variety of staple items that people take interest in year after year, Anderson always thinks outside of the box. She comes up with new project ideas for the men she works with, as well as new ideas for what they can do during downtime.

“I had them build dreamcatchers and taught them about Native Americans,” she said. “We’ve cooked brownies and cookies together. If there’s something we haven’t all experienced, we try it together.”

Regardless of a person’s abilities, Anderson finds a way to get everyone involved in the day’s activities. She also continually pushes herself outside of her comfort zone around the men she supports, creating a comfortable environment for them to try new things, too.

This innovative approach to work and life is why Anderson’s supervisor, Ryan Nieders, nominated her for the DSP of the Year Award.

“She’s a very hard worker and very energetic,” he said. “She brings a ton of ideas to the table during our morning meetings or individually with me. She is always coming up with things to do for our program participants. She is pretty much always smiling and telling jokes or just making people laugh, in general.”

Trinity Services’ Director of Community Day Services Stephanie Behlke Leigh added, “Jacque is creative and always thinking of ways to bring additional depth and content to our programs. She has a talent for exploring personal interests and developing an activity or experience to connect with people.”

Anderson credits Nieders for allowing her to express her creativity. She said he never puts boundaries on her ideas and always encourages her and the program participants at New Lenox Woodworks to try new things.

When Anderson and the men she supports made dreamcatchers together, she ensured that everyone had a hand in the process, including people who have difficulty with fine motor skills.

“We all did it,” Anderson said. “I try to find what people can do and try to make it where it’s not so difficult for them so they don’t get discouraged.”

One man struggled with verbalizing his thoughts and would get frustrated because of this. Anderson decided to learn sign language alongside him, teaching him three words each day and making a game out of the learning experience. She said he caught on quickly.

Anderson has taken the men on a hike to Starved Rock State Park, taught them how to make winter hats out of yarn, helped them create artwork for their game room at New Lenox Woodworks and so much more. Last winter, she saw some logs laying by the side of the road and picked them up to help the men make candle holders, planters and decorations out of them.

Leigh added that when the program was making drums, Anderson found bouncy balls to use on the heads of drumsticks to add personalization to the instruments.

“Jacque is a lifelong learner eager to take on any new skill, and she helps to instill this value in the people around her,” Leigh said. “If you are around Jacque, you will grow, and you will flourish.”

“They teach me as much as I teach them,” Anderson said of the men she supports. “It’s a give and take. I come away learning something I didn’t know, and they come away learning something they didn’t know. I enjoy that they’re willing to try new things and explore with me.

“I want them to have a sense of accomplishment each day. If I get one person to accomplish something, I did my job.”

Though Anderson is currently unable to work with the men she normally supports because of the coronavirus pandemic, she continues to support people with disabilities by helping out in a residential location. She also continues to go above and beyond. When she and her colleagues were running low on disinfectant, Anderson made a special early morning trip to the store to buy some.

“Jacque is flexible and passionate,” Leigh said. “When she was reassigned to a residential role during the COVID-19 crisis, the network director and the residential staff extended gratitude over the opportunity to work with her.”

“We are so proud of Jacque for all the creativity and genuine care she brings to the people she supports,” said Thane Dykstra, Ph.D., president and CEO of Trinity Services. “Jacque has brightened the days of program participants and her colleagues for years, and this recognition is well-deserved. We are grateful that ANCOR chose to recognize Jacque at this level.”

Since 2007, ANCOR’s annual DSP of the Year awards recognize outstanding professionals who deliver long-term supports and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The awards celebrate the important role DSPs play in ensuring individuals with I/DD are included and empowered in the community, and raise awareness about a direct support workforce in crisis. Inadequate investments in this essential workforce have led to turnover rates in excess of 50 percent and vacancy rates that average 18 to 20 percent nationally.

“ANCOR and our Diamond Partner, Relias, co-present the DSP of the Year awards program each year precisely because of people like Jacque Anderson,” said ANCOR Chief Executive Officer Barbara Merrill. “Her commitment to ensuring the inclusion of people supported by Trinity Services enriches not only the lives of those individuals, but the broader Illinois community at large. Without committed direct support professionals like Jacque and all of this year’s outstanding award recipients, people with I/DD would have severely limited opportunities to be part of the community.”

Robert Budd, president of the ANCOR Board of Directors and chief executive officer for Family Residences & Essential Enterprises, Inc., in Old Bethpage, New York, stated, “As someone who started his career providing direct support, I have a deep admiration for people who can overcome their own personal obstacles to show others in the community all that is possible when people have the support they need. Our DSPs rarely receive the recognition they deserve, and so I’m proud of our national association for acknowledging the critical work of Jacque Anderson and all of our phenomenal awardees.”

The 2020 DSP of the Year awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, May 6. Members of the press interested in viewing the awards presentation should contact Sean Luechtefeld, ANCOR’s Director of Communications, at sluechtefeld@ancor.org or 850.714.3131.

For 50 years, the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ancor.org) has been a leading advocate for the critical role service providers play in enriching the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). As a national nonprofit trade association, ANCOR represents 1,600+ organizations employing more than a half-million professionals who together serve more than a million individuals with I/DD. Our mission is to advance the ability of our members to support people with I/DD to fully participate in their communities.

Trinity Services, Inc. is a 70-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 roughly 3,500 people in more than 30 communities in northeast, central and southwest Illinois. To learn more, visit www.trinityservices.org.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Trinity Services Independent Living Coach Jacque Anderson (left) helps James Hesson dye Easter eggs.