Over the past few weeks, we have shared Words of Encouragement from from some of our colleagues As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads throughout the world, news, social media and work can be overwhelming. We’ve committed to sharing resources for taking care of yourself but we’re not alone. Many of our colleagues want to share words of encouragement. In the past few weeks, NADSP has shared videos from our partners each week with words of encouragement for direct support professionals. We want you to know that as you continue your essential work in supporting people with disabilities, you are not alone and you are valued for the incredible work you do.
For this week’s video, we reached out to our friend Tony Thomas. Tony is the Executive Director of Welcome House in Cleveland, Ohio. He currently works with 375 direct support professionals. Last year, Tony was awarded the John F. Kennedy Jr. Award for Direct Support Workforce Advocacy & Leadership at the 2019 NADSP Annual Conference. During Tony’s acceptance speech he shared how invaluable direct support professionals truly are.
In Tony’s words of encouragement video, he thanks direct support professionals who have been working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. To watch the video, click the video below.
Looking for additional support during this time? Please note the resources below:
Self Care Resource Page for DSPs (webinars, handouts and additional resources: https://nadsp.org/covid-19resources/
On-Boarding New DSPs in A Crisis (Code of ethics Webinar Series, Competency Webinar Series, Additional Resources): https://nadsp.org/onboarding-in-crisis/
If you have additional resources to share, please connect with us at ndama@nadsp.org.
NADSP recognizes the invaluable work that Direct Support Professionals all over the world are doing during this unprecedented time. We appreciate you. We hope you remain safe and well.
Thank you,
The NADSP Team