About Merrick, Inc.  

Help us continue to find meaningful work for the clients of Merrick by suggesting business partners who might be interested in hiring a client or a work crew. Send referrals to Executive Director John Wayne Barker at: JWB@merrickinc.org

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About Merrick, Inc.  

Through the amazing generosity of the people who contributed to the 'Bakeless Bake Sale' this year's annual Holiday Client Party was a wild success!  Check out all the awesome photos here: http://bit.ly/clientholidayparty2012

Donika P. Pentcheva and Dr. Tanmay Barman Roy have joined the Merrick, Inc., Board of Trustees. Read the press release online. 

 

Greetings!

During the holiday season, I like to look back at the proceeding year and reflect on what makes me thankful and appreciative. As Merrick's Finance and Development Director, I work in an industry where the funding streams that have been at our core since we were established in 1964 are growing tighter and tighter. We are fortunate to have a forward thinking Board of Trustees that has encouraged us to move in a direction that diversifies our revenue sources and helps make us less reliant on government funding. The Trustees lead us in the charge to be innovative in helping empower clients to reach their goals and dreams and compensate staff with a fair wage. 

 

We are currently pursuing a dual approach to diversify our revenue. The first initiative is social enterprise such as plastic recycling, document destruction, and selling copy paper. The second area is fundraising and development. We are very fortunate to have the support of our community and have received generous grants and donations from foundations such as the Andersen Corporate Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Fred C. & Katherine B. Andersen Foundation, Hegart Foundation, and the Ramsey County CDBG; local businesses such as Heraeus, IPS Worldwide, Kowalski's Markets, Lake Area Bank, Maguire Agency, Northview Dental, SevenHills Benefit Partners, and Target. And of course, the many, many individuals that support our mission with their time and money. 

 

A final year end appeal was recently mailed out that is designated to wrap-up our campaign to help us fully-furnish and supply our new Adult Day Services and Memory Care Services site in North Saint Paul which opened its doors on July 30th. This program is focused on community integration and therapeutic programs for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities who are retired and/or dealing with dementia/Alzheimer's. We truly appreciate whatever support you may be able to offer to get this program up and running. 

 

I wish each and everyone of you reading this the happiest of holidays and thank you personally for your investment in Merrick. We couldn't be successful in our mission if it wasn't for your continued support. Thank you and Happy Holidays!❖

Name:  Lori Broadbent

Job Title | Service Area: Support Service Staff (SSS) | Enhanced Services

Years at Merrick: Twelve

 

Lori's day starts bright and early with a 6:30 a.m., arrival at Merrick. She begins her preparations by setting up client work areas and filling in data sheets as there are no spare moments for prep work once the clients arrive. On most days, she goes out on a van route to transport clients from their homes to the 3210 building shortly after 7 and returns to Merrick around 9:45. Her main job is to support her crew, which consists of four clients, although all ES staff are familiar with and interact with all clients in their area.

 

Lori is all smiles before her daily van run

Lori's day goes into warp speed once her crew arrives. Her job requires incredible energy with four clients who are at times good at self-management; but also bring unique and individual challenges for her and her team to manage. Luckily on most days they don't have the same needs all at once. They take turns achieving success and experiencing difficulties, with one of her clients needing constant direction and redirection. Among the issues Lori deals with on a daily basis are inappropriate sexual comments and gestures, crying, screaming, perseveration (constant repeating of a question or phrase), and sometimes even physical demands such as being hit, pinched, or kicked. She also has one client who is deaf, which required her to learn and become fluent in American Sign Language. Lori has mastered de-escalating situations but sometimes still needs to just "walk a way" and take a breath especially when clients become physically aggressive. She can call on her team for assistance as needed, but has become very adept at managing crisis on her own on a daily basis.

 

Once her crew is together, they get in a Merrick van, and Lori drives them to between three and seven stops daily to pick up plastic recycling. Upon returning to Merrick, Lori and the crew park at the loading dock and unload the plastic from the van. Once the van is unloaded, its lunchtime and Lori eats with her clients and then assists them with cleaning up their lunch area and the kitchen.

 

After lunch, her crew participates in social activities, does light assembly work  for Medtox, or spends time using assistive technology such as the iPads. Lori calls the iPads a "Godsend" as most clients can operate them independently once a staff member has set up an application for them to use.

 

Lori is done for the day once the last client on her team leaves around 2:30 p.m. Even though her day can be filled with aggression, disruptive behaviors, and keeping cool while trying to turn around the attitude of a distressed client, Lori enjoys her work. She says the unconditional love, smiles and all the hugs keep her humble and remind her to appreciate all the blessings in her own life. ❖

 

Bryan M. is a affectionate, cleaver, spontaneous, outgoing, free-wheeling, dynamic, delightful man who sees the world as a child would---full of innocence and curiosity. He is forever young! When he enters a room, it is like he is experiencing everything for the first time. It is not unusual to see him skipping down the hallways at Merrick, or giggling at something funny, patting others on the head, or venturing off to see what is going on. Bryan began his journey at Merrick over 25 years ago in the old behavior unit at the Maplewood location. In the early 80's he spent his days learning how to interact with others in a positive manner and increasing his attention span in order to gain work skills.

 

Bryan M. at work in Enhanced Services

In the 90's Merrick opened up a specialty unit in White Bear Lake that provided Bryan and others with intensive behavioral support in a highly structured environment. He worked on the Airport crew, and spent his days picking up and delivering headsets three days a week. Merrick combined its satellite programs to one building in Vadnais Heights in 2003. Due to the nature of his support needs and no work opportunities for him at the time, he began receiving services in the Alternative Services program. He enjoyed his days engaging in recreation, leisure, and therapeutic activities- especially the horticulture therapy program. It was in the greenhouse where he showed us that he still had quite a bit of interest and ability to engage in horticulture-related tasks.

 

In early 2012, Bryan filled an open spot in Enhanced Services where he now has an optimal placement. He works in a highly structured environment, with an individual work room where he completes onsite contract work with minimal distractions. He also enjoys delivering Meals on Wheels at least once per week, and fills in as an occasional substitute on one of two offsite plastic recycling crews. Bryan continues to receive extensive staff support to increase his attention to tasks, and is working on forming healthy and positive relationships and increasing adaptive behaviors. In his new environment he has been developing new friendships, learning new social and work skills, and is earning a paycheck. 

 

Get to know more clients at Merrick with the client spotlight stories on our website: http://bit.ly/clientspotlight ❖