Imagine chatting with your friends about what you did over the weekend or listening to music on a road trip. Sometimes it’s the small pleasures in life that bring a big smile to our faces. It’s easy to take for granted the opportunity to socialize with others. That’s why community integration is a key focus at Crossroads of Western Iowa.

As a parent or guardian, it can be challenging to find the right integration opportunities for your loved one. You may be thinking:

• Will my loved one be safe in this environment?
• Will my loved one have the opportunity to work on life skills development?
• Will my loved one have fun?
• Will my loved one get the attention needed to benefit from this program?
• Why is this better than me taking my loved one to a painting class or the zoo or bowling?

Our LINKS program – which stands for Living Skills, Integration, Networking, Kinship and Self-Advocacy – is designed to provide individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities the necessary environment to achieve community integration and the advancement of living skills.

To understand how that is achieved, here are two stories of consumers who achieve so much in their day program activities.

Fun & Skill Building 

Adam Wilson enjoys painting. It’s one of the many activities he can participate in through our day programs. Each day consumers are presented two different activities and allowed to choose which one to participate in. The consumers are placed in groups of 4-5 people, along with staff. The staff assist each consumer at the activity, at the level of assistance the consumer needs.

During painting, Adam has a lot of fun. Additionally, Adam benefits from this activity by working on his hand-eye coordination. He gets to select the colors he’d like to use for painting that day, and staff assist him in cleaning and preparing his brush for the next color. While consumers are actively painting, the staff is also facilitating conversation. They ask consumers what they did over the weekend and what plans they have for the coming week.

Adam is able to participate in fun activities, while working on important life skills and interacting with fellow consumers, staff and the local community. This gives his parents an opportunity to do their own activities and peace of mind that their child is in good hands.

Fun & Giving 

George Christoffersen likes to give back. He participates in the Meals on Wheels program as one of his day activities. The staff assists with delivery by driving the bus and walking with the consumers to ensure safety. A group of six pick up the meals and deliver them to residents around Council Bluffs twice a week.

George really loves to help others so this is a great opportunity for him. The ability to meet and serve other people in the community while responsibly handling and delivering the meals gives George a nice sense of independence.

During the bus ride to deliver meals, the consumers enjoy listening to music. When time allows, each person gets to choose the song played. When the radio isn’t on, the consumers chat with each other and talk about their plans outside of LINKS for the week, plans for the weekend and other activities they enjoy.

Taking the Next Step

If you’re ready to explore community integration opportunities for your loved one, you have several options. If you’d like to speak with someone at Crossroads of Western Iowa – to answer your questions and provide a tour – please fill out the Client Referral form or simply give us a call at 712.642.4114. You may also speak directly with a case manager, who is well-versed in discussing program options and benefits with you. If you’re nervous or overwhelmed about speaking with a case manager, or simply want to prepare a little more before the conversation, download our free document – Questions Every Guardian Should Ask a Case Manager.