If you are interested in exploring a career choice with a future, now’s your chance. Ten people will be selected from a pool of applicants for PAID ON-THE-JOB TRAINING to be CERTIFIED AS A DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL! After completing the 26-week training program, individuals will have learned enhanced computer skills, CPR, first aid, medication administration, record keeping techniques and improved communication skills. Contact the HR department at the Arc of Seneca Cayuga on their website: www.arcsencay.org.
New to the work of a DSP? DSPs assist individuals who have an intellectual/developmental disability to lead self-directed lives and to contribute to the community. A DSP may provide supports to a person at home, work, school, church, and other community places and also acts as an advocate for people with disabilities in communicating their needs, self-expression and goals. Adam Erb, a DSP Skills Enhancement Specialist who has been with Arc for three years, sums up his work experience like this, “It is very rewarding. When we’re hired, we’re told we are here to enhance the quality of their lives, but by supporting them, they’ve helped me become a better person all around. They teach us unconditional love, expecting nothing in return. It’s a ton of fun; every day is different. I hope I’ve made as much of an impression on some of them as they have made on me!”
The Arc of Seneca Cayuga received two generous grants to pay for Direct Support Professional (DSP) training and certification from the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program and the NYS Regional Economic Development Council. This fully-funded, on-the-job training initiative is, according to Kevin Smith, Executive Director for the Arc of Seneca Cayuga, “…wonderful news! These two grants will enable us to recruit and retain direct support staff, the very core of our agency.”
