This week, we are celebrating our incredible Direct Service Providers (DSPs)! Their dedication and compassion make a world of difference in the lives of our participants with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Thank you all for providing high-quality support and being the backbone of our IDD support system. We are continually impressed by your commitment to supporting our participants in leading full lives. #nationaldspweek #impact #disabilities
Please join us in welcoming Anthony, our new Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), who joined the Las Trampas team in July! With over two decades of experience working with adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), Anthony is thrilled to be back in a clinical role. He is passionate about building strong relationships with our participants and empowering them to “develop skills that allow them to live the life that they want.” We are incredibly grateful for Anthony’s valuable skills and expertise. A fun fact: Anthony moved to the Bay Area from the East Coast in 2015!
We had a great time celebrating our amazing staff and board members at a summer get-together at Board President Mark Mahaney’s home on Saturday. Food and fun filled the afternoon as we recognized everyone’s incredible dedication to supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to discover their capabilities and lead full lives. Thank you all for making a difference!
Participants in our Adult Day Program are having a blast in our new Music and Movement class! From keyboards to string harps and drums, they are exploring instruments and finding their rhythm. Stay tuned for fun with flutes and karaoke!
July is recognized nationwide as Disability Pride Month, an opportunity to celebrate the many ways that people living with disabilities – whether visible or invisible, mobility or cognitive, vision or hearing, learning or sensory, developmental or acquired – add to the diversity and strength of our community.
This year’s theme is “We Want a Life Like Yours,” which reflects the disability community’s dreams for life experiences that they are too often denied. At Las Trampas, we believe that all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are entitled to develop their optimum state of social, physical, and mental well-being and share an integrated lifestyle similar to what non-disabled persons enjoy.
To honor Disability Pride Month, we encourage everyone to reflect on the history, achievements, experiences, and struggles of people with disabilities in our community.
Click here to see a list of Disability Pride Month events in your area: https://thearc.org/blog/why-and-how-to-celebrate-disability-pride-month/
For the past three years, Daniel has been a shining star in our Adult Day Program (ADP)! He thrives on being part of our paid janitorial team, gaining valuable workplace skills and earning his own paycheck. This independence allows him to choose exciting activities with Las Trampas, like attending an Oakland A’s game last month – he still raves about it! He is even learning how to navigate the BART for these outings. Recently, Daniel joined some of his peers at a protest in Sacramento, advocating against the Governor’s proposal to delay funding for critical supports and services for Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With his dedication and newfound skills, we can’t wait to see all that Daniel accomplishes in the years to come.
Meet Dara, an Adult Day Program Instructor who has been with Las Trampas since last September! Dara is also co-president of our new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) committee. Dara enjoys supporting participants who choose to enroll in our paid janitorial opportunity, because they get to work on soft skills, such as work ethic and teamwork. Dara also appreciates taking participants on outings, because not all of them have the opportunity to go into the community otherwise. We love having you on our team, Dara!
We are incredibly grateful to the Community Foundation of Lafayette for their generous donation to Las Trampas, which will allow us to continue to provide and enhance our gold-standard person-centered services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The Community Foundation of Lafayette aims to support people and organizations in Lafayette that face significant challenges. Thank you CFL for your commitment to our community, and congratulations to all the other grantees! https://cflafayette.org/
Las Trampas will be closed tomorrow, June 19th, in observance of Juneteenth. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, is an American Holiday that commemorates the official end of slavery in the United States. Today reminds of the ongoing fight for equality. We believe in a world where everyone, regardless of their race or ability, can achieve their dreams. Let’s keep working towards a future full of respect, inclusion, and unity!
View Juneteenth celebrations in the Bay Area: https://lnkd.in/gAwF2bq6
View more information about Juneteenth: https://www.juneteenth.com/
Happy Autistic Pride Day! At Las Trampas, we are celebrating our participants with Autism and their unique strengths and contributions to our community. We are proud to advocate for a more inclusive society, while supporting adults with Autism to discover their capabilities and lead full lives.