This week, I had the opportunity to visit the final site of ARC, the Bixby location. As I have stated in previous posts, every site that I have visited is full of hard working and dedicated staff. Everyone I have encountered so far at ARC truly care about the people that they are serving, and this is true for all of the locations. However, the staff at Bixby were on another level. In every single room I visited, staff were actively engaged with all participants and ensured that every single person was doing something to help them reach their goals.

The first room I had the chance to visit had 2 staff members who decided to split their morning activities. One staff member led a Zumba dance session, where participants were encouraged to move their bodies and even use weights if they chose to. Every single person who decided to participate was smiling! Obviously, participation looked different for everyone, but that was sort of the beauty of it. On the other side of the room, the other staff member was helping everyone else make a craft. On paper, this might not seem like that much. However, based on my past observations, it can be difficult and overwhelming for some staff to serve multiple participants at once. Yet, these staff were incredible.

While that was only one example, this trend held true through all of the rooms I visited. Moreover, there was one particular room, the “Blue Suite”, that is comprised of individuals who require a higher level of care. The staff in this room provide services such as feeding and personal care as well as engagement. When I walked into Blue, they were making an art project. They laid canvases on the ground and tied a cup of paint over them, hanging from the ceiling. Then, they would swing the paint around, making a splatter paint effect on the canvases below. Most of the participants in this room have physical limitations, yet the staff ensured that every person was involved in the art. (I have included a picture of their art project below!)

This is an incredibly hard job, and I truly believe that there are only certain people who can do it. After visiting Bixby, I can confidently say that these people are a wonderful example of who should be in this field. Their actions and interactions were inspiring, and I hope to work with them again in the future.

Additionally, this week the Columbus Foundation kindly provided the interns with tickets to a Columbus Crew game! Though I have absolutely no idea how soccer works, I decided to go. One of the participants in the ASPIRE program works at the Crew stadium, and I made it a little mission to find him… and I did! We chatted for a while and even took a selfie! So, I want to express my gratitude to the Columbus Foundation for providing those tickets, so I could spend time with a participant and surprise him to put a smile on his face.