Hello everyone! This week, I got to experience what direct service with the Center for Disability Empowerment looks like. I joined Ann Heilbrunn, the CDE’s employment specialist, for a couple of days and accompanied her to a training session, meetings with consumers, a consumer intake, and she showed me how CDE data and records are filed and organized online.

On Thursday morning, Ann and I attended a Columbus Chamber of Commerce training session for their Inclusion Series. This particular session was focused on mental health in the workplace, and how mental health intersects with DEI. This was super interesting, and showcased different perspectives on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace through a panel of speakers. The panel included mental health specialists from Ohio Health, Health Without Limits, and Somocom Lab, as well as the Executive Director of A Tribe for Jazz. Something that stuck out to me from the program was the concept of ‘psychological first aid,’ and how individuals can learn simple concepts and adopt certain attitudes which create a culture based on community and support in the workplace. Ann also uses these events as a chance to network and inform people about the CDE, so I was able to meet a lot of people from various organizations in Columbus. 

On Thursday and Friday I joined Ann for her routine meetings with consumers, which is how the CDE refers to people who use their services. Even though Ann is officially just the employment specialist or job coach for consumers, I noticed how she had genuine connections with all of her consumers and cared about them deeply as people beyond her work. I also observed Ann do a consumer intake, which is meeting a consumer for the first time and identifying their needs, goals, and how best the CDE can serve them. Ann is incredibly personable and I admired how she made the consumer feel safe, heard, and positive about the future. All of the interactions Ann and I had with consumers showed me the personal impact of the CDE on individuals’ lives.

I really enjoyed the direct service I did this week. While I found the administrative/event planning interesting and gratifying as well, I liked the human connection aspect and quicker pace of direct service. I can definitely see myself doing nonprofit direct service in the future. 

Until next week, 

Rachael McCague