A Message From Our CEO to Honor Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week 2024

This week marks Direct Support Professional (DSP) Recognition Week, a special opportunity to honor the hardworking, compassionate DSPs who provide support to the individuals in our community programs with autism and other developmental disabilities. Our DSPs are the heart and soul of our mission – empowering people to lead fulfilling lives. They provide the essential services and support at home, work, school, and in the community. They are advocates, counselors, mentors, and part of a person’s circle of support helping individuals to achieve their dreams. This week, we celebrate our DSPs and say THANK YOU for your compassion and tireless efforts to support, mentor, protect, and engage with our individuals and families in a person-centered way. 

Our core beliefs are that the people we support have the right to fully participate in society and have every opportunity to thrive. This is what we mean by ACCESS. This is what we mean by EQUITY. This is what we mean by INCLUSION. These are the human rights that our self-advocates and their families demand, and we fight to ensure are lived experiences. Our DSPs embrace these beliefs and each day they put the people they support before themselves to make sure they have a seat at the table, have their voices heard, and can achieve their dreams. They are on the frontlines of this social justice movement by advocating for access better health care for all individuals, facilitating equal opportunities to secure employment, and ensuring participation in their local communities to build self-esteem and confidence.  

This week let’s reflect on the amazing achievements of your work and how we can continue the momentum of being a quality person-centered organization. We also must ask ourselves the question how can we better support independence and foster inclusion within our communities? We must continue to put the people we support at the forefront of what we do, and ensure they have the same chances of a fulfilling life that everyone should have.   

HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND THANK YOU! 

Matt Sturiale