by Tree Hershberger, Residential Director
As the air gets more crisp and the days shorter, the buzz of summer travel and welcoming new core members is simmering down and settling into the peaceful coziness of fall. Though the business of life doesn’t slow, the invitation to deep breaths and reflection is in the air.
As fall settles in, we are all looking forward to the Harvest of Hope on the farm! We’d love to have you join us Saturday, October 17 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. We’ll have live fiddle music, farm-fresh produce, and family fun activities. Not only is this day a great touchstone for the changing seasons and connecting with friends, this year’s proceeds will be going toward our work to re-build our programs—programs grounded first in our mission of building relationships of mutuality. We hope these will draw in and offer meaningful belonging and connection to many more people.
In other news, Debbie Wilson was asked to join Peter Borne on the Inclusive Leadership Team with L’Arche USA. We are proud of both of them for offering their voices at the table. They will be gathering at the end of September with the L’Arche USA Executive Leadership Team to give their input on the important topics that L’Arche USA is working on.
I want to close with an acknowledgement of our incredible assistants in the homes. I am often in awe of the work they do. They show up at 7am everyday to help our core members enter into the day. They have to learn nursing, money management, and household management. They move through all of these tasks with humor, profound care, and love. They are clearly committed to each other and the core members. It is hard and demanding and I think each of our amazing assistants also recognize the gift it is to walk through the days with our core members and each other.
Right now, The Arc of the United States is advocating for better support for assistants, who are also known as direct service professionals (DSPs). According to The Arc, “Each year, about 41% of DSPs leave their jobs, most often because they are severely underpaid for the critical work they do, making it harder for people with disabilities to find and keep the consistent support they need.”
At L’Arche Tahoma Hope, we invest in our assistants with good benefits and supportive professional development. Because of this, we have a much lower turnover rate but we are still impacted by the issue The Arc is describing. Please do take a moment to ask Congress to pass the Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act by following the link from The Arc. Letting them know what DSPs mean to you can make a real difference.
And as is often the case, we are looking for more assistants to join us. If you know of anyone who might be a good fit, please share with them about L’Arche and have them apply through our website.
