Most participants have chosen CVI after receiving a referral from Multnomah, Clackamas, or Washington County service agencies. However, people can access some of our services a la carte. For instance, some participants in our Employment Connections Program do not receive supported living services, and many people who have chosen individualized supported living have not chosen other supports.  Diagnoses, like nearly everything else about the people we support, are incredibly diverse.  Challenges participants face include cognitive and physical disabilities, including cerebral palsy, autism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder; some are in wheelchairs or require significant assistance with mobility. Some are entirely non-verbal, while others speak easily. If you, or someone you care about, is interested in individualized support services, please read on to learn more.

Tony is a long-time CVI participant, and was one of the first people to enter the Employment Connections Project this year. It’s been an incredible process, but not without its challenges. Working through those challenges has helped Tony gain skills and confidence, but it’s also been a great trial run for the people who support him. Tony’s job at Nossa Familia Coffee Roasters was to stamp the company’s logo onto its coffee bags, but his motor skills and trouble with distractions were getting in the way. Too many stamps were uneven, and the company was losing material, and therefore money,  to mistakes. Most  of the steps Jim suggested were small, like giving Tony twenty bags to stamp, instead of  three hundred, or moving from a few long shifts to several shorter shifts over the week. Jim also built a simple template that Tony could slide each paper bag into, allowing him to stamp more easily and efficiently. Because he met and worked with Tony every day, Jim was able to come up with solutions to fit Tony’s needs, and helped him keep his position at Nossa Familia.  Nossa Familia’s willingness to communicate their needs and be flexible at working through a solution made all the difference.

Holly K grew up  as an active member of her family and community, but as high school ended, her classmates started talking about their next steps- going to college, starting jobs, and living independently for the first time. Living independently is something we dream of us kids, but as adults, it’s can be hard to remember how exciting it was to first start out. With her family’s support, and her CVI staff’s help, Holly started planning to move out of her family home. As she did, Holly started to write. This piece, published in The Cracks In The Paint, a Write Around Portland anthology, she reflects on the mix of eagerness and anxiety.

“Hesitant Like a Butterfly”

I hope that I will be joyful in my apartment, instead of stresssed, because of all the changes I have to make. I’m trusting my caregivers with the keys to my apartment complex, but this was my goal, so here I am doing it.  I’m like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon, like my Auntie said, and I can’t wait until I’m completely out of it.

Fuzzy pink rug, blue hideaway couch with wooden arm rests and a couple of scratches to make it look warm and comfy. Blue velour wingback chair, so soft that you want to cuddle up with it. A table beside it with a pink butterfly tablecloth that looks mystical.  A white cherub plant holder with a pink flower in her hair and her hands and legs crossed.  In the corner, on the coffee table, you see Hawaiian flowers; white with pink orchids, and a hint of yellow.

I wanted to be independent. People in high school were talking about the future and moving out. So I started thinking about it too.  I always liked to plan and have challenges in my life.  I don’t like to just sit back.