Vanna Health and COMHAR will be hosting a Community Fall Fest for members of Vanna Health and COMHAR on November 7, 2024. Come socialize, paricipate in games and craft activities, enjoy open mike time, and share your goals.
Learn more about
National Disability Employment Month (NDEAM) 2024
Observed each October, during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or “NDEAM,” we celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. NDEAM’s purpose is to confirm our commitment to ensuring disabled workers have access to good jobs, every month of every year. That’s the spirit behind this year’s official theme: “Access to Good Jobs for All.”
The “Situations and Solutions Finder” offers examples of workplace accommodations shared by users of the Job Accommodation Network, a service of the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. The database draws its examples from organizations large and small, across industries, and from the private and public sectors. The tool allows users to filter and save results by disability, limitation and/or occupation.
“Accommodations are at the heart of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and they’re about maximizing productivity for workers with disabilities, plain and simple,” said Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams. “By allowing people to learn what has worked for others in similar, even if not exactly the same, situations, this new resource empowers employers, as well as employees or job applicants themselves, to ensure disabled workers have access to what they need to do their best on the job.”
For more information about COMHAR’s employment opportunities for the neurodiverse population visit our website.
On Friday, September 27th, COMHAR hosted a Mural Arts dedication in partnership with the Porch Light program. The mural artist, Marisol de la Garza worked with COMHAR program members to create the mural entitled “The Path Through Connection”. Jane Golden, Executive Director of the Mural Arts Program, mural artist Marisol de la Garza, Trapeta B. Mayson, COMHAR’s Interim CEO, and Malik Gray from DBHIDS all spoke about the importance of Art in the Recovery process. Their words were brought to life when members who participated in the creation of the mural shared how art has become a valued element of their personal recovery journeys.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony followed the presentations. The mural is located on the Lehigh Ave. wall of COMHAR’s administration building at 100 W. Lehigh Ave.
The theme for 2024 Hispanic Heritage Month, Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together, seeks to recognize the trailblazers who have paved the way for all who have followed. This theme invites us to celebrate Hispanic Heritage and our history, while building up the generations that will follow our lead in the future.
National Hispanic Heritage Month traditionally honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latino Americans as we celebrate heritage rooted in all Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equitorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week, under President Lyndon Johnson, and expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period. It was enacted into law on Aug. 17, 1988. During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate the immeasurable impact Hispanic and Latinx people have made in our nation. We honor those who inspired others to dream, study, work, serve and succeed. For us at COMHAR, this also means acknowledging, appreciating and celebrating the proud legacy of Hispanics dedicated to the members and residents of COMHAR.
Please take a moment to thank all of COMHAR’s Hispanic team members who make a difference in our members’ lives every day!
Trauma-informed care is all-the-rage in today’s human service landscape, but often times agencies miss the mark. Pamela Fludd, however, is a sharpshooter in this regard, as she has developed a keen understanding of what really goes into trauma-informed services. She has supported a particular member for the last six years, during which time she has forged a remarkable relationship. The person she supports has suffered myriad traumas that have resulted from her experience with the mental health system and her own lived experience. As a result, she has a history of being untrusting, difficult to support, and, at times, violent. Pamela was not deterred by this history, knowing that there was more to this incredible woman that had to be understood.
Pamela embarked on a journey of patience, consistency, and understanding to develop a relationship with this individual. Additionally, she provided an environment of respect and fairness, something that the resident could come to rely upon and trust. It was upon these tenants of safety that their relationship began to flourish. In fact, it has been so successful that the individual has been able to generalize these relational skills with others and is now living a much more satisfying and enriched life, full of meaningful people and activities. Pamela has helped this individual move beyond trusting their relationship to the point that she can trust herself, which has led to increased independence and self-actualization.
The growth that this individual has experienced is nothing short of remarkable and can be directly attributed to the caring and understanding relationship that was developed with Pamela, and then with others. Pamela has given this person an irrevocable gift – the ability to live a life of fulfillment.
