The Caring Force Blog March Member Spotlight!

The Caring Force is pleased to announce the March Member Spotlight honoree is Kim Rosenberg, a Case Manager at Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries.

Kim has always supported individuals with disabilities as they achieve independence. She had a few internships within the human service sector while she was in college and after she graduated, she decided to stick with what she loved.

Here’s what Kim had to say about working in human services:

Organization: Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries

Years in human services: 29

Best professional memory: Thinking back on the people I have worked with over the years, I would say that my best professional memory is placing those individuals who had significant barriers, and who many people said couldn’t be placed, in a job in the community. Some of our participants have been with Goodwill for many years.

The challenges I face as a case manager can be difficult when you are trying to get a family member or guardian to agree that their child is capable of working independently. Some of the challenges include transportation; opposition to working because of a fear of losing Social Security; working alone; concerns over health insurance; and the fear of the “unknown.”

In particular, I recently helped a woman who had been a client at Goodwill for 23 years. For the majority of her time with us, there was opposition by family and other care givers that she wouldn’t be able to “hold a job” and be successful. This individual required a lot of assistance with managing organization, anger and appropriate socialization. I worked with her on how to socialize appropriately, respond to questions, utilize coping skills, gain experience and learn the skills she needed to work independently.

Through training and positive behavioral supports, she became independent enough to be able to work on her own. She obtained a position at a restaurant as a janitor and it was her ideal job. She loves to clean. She became a valued employee and independently took public transportation to work every day. She is proud of the work that she does on a daily basis, helping customers. With the right supports, anyone can persevere!

In what ways would you make changes to the mental health services provided today? (Question from Michelle Cataldo at North Suffolk Mental Health):

I would like all generations to understand the proper terminology when referring to individuals with disabilities. In our field, we still hear inappropriate terms being used. More programs should be available to businesses and employers on how to hire people with disabilities and why it is advantageous to an employer to hire someone with a disability. Furthermore, the mental health population is often overlooked. There should be more money for these programs and more people advocating the government to secure more funding. Less restrictive guidelines for someone to get services would be remarkable.

Question for the next member spotlight honoree: What three major challenges have you faced in the healthcare/human service field and how have you solved the problem?

P.S. If you know someone who inspires clients and embodies the spirit of The Caring Force, please nominate them on our website or email Christine Batista at christine@providers.org for more information about our Spotlight program.