| 3/3/2009 3:05:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| PHOTOS BY PETE GRAHAM
Pictured above, a sign on the building displays the CWI mission.
Pictured below CWI consumers are working with the company’s recycling project in Missouri Valley. With the aid of the machinery, they are separating recyclables for shipment to buyers. From left, around the machine: Linda Deatsch, Martin Maloney, Felicia Seyler, Angie Shelton, Tina Hinkel, and Shelley Oliver.
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Crossroads of Western Iowa expands recreation, networking for its consumers through LINKS program
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." That's what the old saw intones, and there is a lot of truth in it. While work may be meaningful, even crucial to our lives, so is rest and recreation. At Crossroads of Western Iowa, Inc. a new program, LINKS, will endeavor to create a better balance for its consumers between working and enjoying life.
LINKS is a new model of service at CWI in Missouri Valley, Onawa, and Council Bluffs, created for those seeking a day habilitation program that is fresh, innovative, and empowering, said CWI CEO Brent Dillinger. LINKS stands for L-living skills I-integration N-networking K-kinship S-self advocacy.
"With LINKS we're using technology to add dimension and depth to programs we offer to our clients," Dillinger said.
The computer lab, linked to the Internet, allows CWI clients to access and explore their world, their region, and their community all at the click of a button. Clients are trained on computer basics and internet safety, and they will all be provided with an email account and introduced to social networks in order to communicate with family and friends.
"Imagine the reward and milestone achieved when our client sends their first email and picture to a distant relative for the first time in their life, only to be topped by receiving a reply. That is empowering! Most of us take these everyday activities in life for granted. This program sparks that connection", Dillinger said.
Clients will learn about current events, plan community outings, engage in learning activities, pull down recipes and have a voice when it comes to day to day activities. The lab creates choices for those that CWI serves.
GAME ROOM
Part of the LINKS experience will be the new game room, complete with a Nintendo Wii system. The game room will allow for socialization, the building of kinship, and the celebration of individual triumphs. Clients can exercise, grow in mobility, and have access to everyday activities through the technology afforded by the Wii experience.
"Picking up a bowling ball to engage in a game of bowling with friends is an activity several clients do not get to experience due to physical limitations. Offering of the Wii gaming, as apart of LINKS, allows this experience for all our clients," Dillinger said. "High-fives and shouts of celebration often can be heard coming from this room. This program adds value to people's lives."
FINANCIAL HELP
Dillinger said this innovative program would not be possible without the generous support of the Pamida grant and Crossroads of Western Iowa Foundation. "We look to bring this new model of service reaching more clients in our other locations with the help of business partners looking to be a part of our mission."
COUNCIL BLUFFS VISION
"Creating legendary experiences...delivered by a best-of-class provider" is the vision CWI has for its Council Bluffs facilities, according to Dllinger.
An Adult Day Program will provide an expanded, inviting environment to build upon current Council Bluffs services, and innovate to provide meaningful activities for individuals engaging and interacting at an even higher degree.
Bluffs Employment Services will initiate services to facilitate community employment, utilizing the Social Security Administration's Ticket to Work program as an avenue for success.
Residential Services will expand, as well. CWI will acquire accessible and attractive housing, while collaborating with complimentary organizations for solutions, to meet the growing need for individuals requiring daily support in their communities, Dillinger noted.
Crossroads wants to become the "Employer of Choice" by professionals in western Iowa which will result in "legendary service to persons we serve," Dillinger said.
RECYCLING
Crossroads continues to operate its expanded recycling processing facility in Missouri Valley, providing work for approximately 20 persons served on a daily basis, processing tons of recyclables annually, and increasing.
"The dynamics of the recycling industry have dramatically taken a negative turn as the economic slowdown prohibits our ability to sell our recycled products for a profit," Dillinger said. "For example, we were able to market a bale of old corrugated cardboard this past Summer at $63/bale, now we are selling it at $11/bale. Take newspaper, for instance, where we were able to market this product over the $107/bale, now we are selling it at $17/bale."
"The past several months have been a struggle, as we were not even able to find a buyer for our recycled products until a couple of weeks ago, but we have cut any expenses we can control, by moving a full-time staff to part-time, as well as reducing the processing days from five a week to four a week. We cannot cut any further, or we will be buried in recyclables," Dillinger noted.
"Crossroads Recycling is in a tough situation," he said. "The need for work for those we serve is always present. But our recycling revenues keep going down, and our payments on our expanded facility don't stop. We're all rooting for some good economic news."
THE STATS
Crossroads of Western Iowa, Inc. was founded in 1975 by a small group of concerned parents in Monona County, determined to bring their loved ones out of the institutions and into their communities. It later expanded into Harrison County with its facility at Missouri Valley, and in recent years to Council Bluffs. Headquarters is at One Crossroads Place, Missouri Valley.
Crossroads currently assists over 250 persons with disabilities to achieve an enhanced quality of life by getting jobs, training and support to help them live and work as independently as they can. It provides these services throughout western Iowa, serving Monona, Harrison, and Pottawattamie counties.
CWI employs 120 dedicated and compassionate staff members, with about 47 of those at full- time employment; adding about $2.1 million payroll dollars back into local communities. It provides meaningful work to over 120 persons with disabilities, totaling $65,168 in wages earned in 2008.
A not-for-profit company. Crossroads is a mission-based organization. "The Mission of Crossroads of Western Iowa is to empower individuals to actively seek out opportunities for an enhanced quality of life." Their core values are:
• Respect for every individual, consumers as well as staff members
• Basic Christian principles, the "Golden Rule"
• Everything we do can be done better
• All we do must be done in an ethical and honest manner
• We must be fiscally responsible
• We value teamwork as well as individual contribution
LEARN MORE
To learn more, visit www.explorecrossroads.com.
"Our mission and values provide us purpose for all that we do. We are here for those we serve. Although, the persons we serve often times have a way of giving back much more than they receive. Crossroads is a very special place, Dillinger said."
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