In addition to working with the individuals in his caseload and communicating with their parents or guardians, Stephen also does some bookkeeping and tries to help out with what maintenance he can at the house. Some of his individuals meet with him on a daily basis, or every other day. Once a year they hold a team assessment, where he meets with parents, job coach, teachers, a behavioral specialist, and county case managers. This team’s goals are to track the individual’s progress and form a contract, or plan, for the coming year. He must also conduct a six-month review with each individual.

Stephen enjoys working with the individuals at Saehler because he is able to actually see the changes in the individuals’ development. “It’s rewarding to watch an individual – whose behavior was so bad when he first came to Saehler that he was unable to be out in the community – gradually grow to be able to join his friends and be included in community activities that will further his development,” he says.

Staff work with individuals on cooking plans, letting individuals choose what they would like to cook, and helping them plan and execute the meal. Many of the skills that staff and individuals work on are in anticipation of a future move, either to a residence or independent living. Stephen makes sure that all individuals receive assistance with personal hygiene, get some exercise, and have a chance to get errands done. Stephen encourages individuals to speak up and let staff know what they need so they can help coordinate their activities. Sometimes, individuals want one-on-one time to talk things through. Other times, they are excited to participate in group activities: games, day trips, and shorter outings in the community. Staff is available to help them with their academic work, as well.

In the summers, Saehler individuals are really on the go. They take trips to the Aquatic Center, Steamboat Days, and other places where they can go as a big group.

Stephen tells new staff that not only is working at HCO a way to give back to the community, it is also great training for any future endeavors. A skill that staff must learn is to “stay cool under fire,” says Stephen. If an individual comes to the program all worked up, it is imperative to remain calm, which helps the individual relax and have a better experience while they are there.

There are plenty of opportunities for different experiences in the community, and it is a chance to get you out of your comfort zone and learn to speak for people who often can’t speak for themselves. “Every day is different,” he says, “and when people hear that you work at HCO, they know that you have had the best training and that you have learned lessons you will learn nowhere else, making you a valuable prospect.”

There are certainly challenges, says Stephen, but HCO provides training, support, and teaching tools to meet those challenges. When Stephen first started, an individual became so frustrated he threw a fork at the wall. But Stephen kept at it, and soon the individual learned to be more vocal, and learned that expressing his needs verbally would enable others to understand better and be able to help.

The Saehler house also suffered devastating damage during the floods of August 2007. The offices in the lower level were inundated. Stephen says everything was gone, including the paperwork kept there. The program was temporarily moved to much smaller quarters behind the Lamberton-Huff house near downtown Winona. When the waters receded, the clean-up began, and Saehler once again could house staff and individuals. “The miraculous thing,” says Stephen, “is the flood waters ravaged the house on a Saturday night when no one was there for an overnight. That never happens!” Saehler got the miracle it needed and no one was put at risk.

Despite it all, Stephen says the joys always outweigh the challenges. A warm greeting when individuals arrive, seeing them become more and more comfortable, open up, be honest about their needs, and watching them do things that other people thought they couldn’t do are rewards in themselves. Realizing that individuals know that at Saehler they will have a good time and find friendly support is a joy, too.

“It is bittersweet,” Stephen says, “when individuals leave the program to go on in life. But it is rewarding to know that staff has used their considerable skills to make it possible for those individuals to have a rewarding future.”

Stephen’s older brother, Mark, died when Stephen was only 12 years old. Mark, seemingly a hale and hearty 22-year-old, was a student at St. Cloud State when he collapsed and died of a malfunction of the heart. Stephen’s parents, Bob and Marj, chose to honor Mark’s memory by setting up a family foundation that donates to nonprofits in his name. Mark loved animals and kids, so HCO is one of the recipients of the foundation. “A recent donation to HCO,” says Stephen, “will be used for the deck at Saehler in Mark’s memory.” The need is there and it isn’t going to go away. “Staffing needs are incredibly high,” Stephen says, “and donating benefits a lot of people.” He encourages other people to consider donating to HCO as well.

Shelby is a returning HCO staffer. She first came to the agency when, in 1997, she was working as an aide in a nursing home and confided to a friend that she would really like a job where she could focus more on the individual than on the routine. Her friend immediately suggested HCO. Shelby interviewed with Mary Jansen and was hired right away. She says that working at HCO helped her grow up.

“I had no direction,” she recalls, but felt more grounded when she learned about HCO’s mission and vision. She says that her job at HCO is “one of the first jobs I’ve had where I wasn’t trying to find ways not to come to work!”

She stayed at HCO until 2007, when she went back to college at WSU, thinking that she needed something “more.” After graduating with a paralegal degree, Shelby went to work in a law firm, but quickly learned that the reality of being a paralegal did not satisfy her. She was interested in advocacy and learning the law, but was not finding that opportunity in a lawyer’s office. She also realized that she valued a family atmosphere and didn’t find that there either.

It became increasingly apparent that Shelby’s career as a paralegal was not satisfying her as much as she hoped. Finally, her husband, Mark, who also works for HCO, and her mother both suggested to her that she had seemed happiest in her life when she was working for HCO. It didn’t take much prodding, and Shelby quit the law firm and called HCO to come back to work. She was assigned to Saehler, and shortly after was named Coordinator of the program.

Shelby’s philosophy of life is much more in tune with HCO’s mission, vision, and core values than with her former job, but she doesn’t regret taking time out to get her college degree. Her experience at WSU taught her how to hone her writing and listening skills and to become involved in the community. “It rounds you, makes you smarter about a lot of things,” she says.

It’s obvious that Shelby loves her job. She says she really likes managing a program, talking with staff, and being a mentor. When hiring, she looks for people with a warm personality and a professional nature, because at Saehler, staff are often looked upon as role models for those they are supporting. “It is great seeing new staff, who may have come to HCO with a blasé attitude, suddenly discover the beauty and fulfillment in working with people at Saehler,” she says. Some staff even change their majors to human services professions after being at HCO. She feels that staff at Saehler tend to stay long-term, and right now she has three staff who have been there 10 years.

There are aspects of the job that Shelby finds challenging and frustrating, mostly having to do with state regulations and funding. For the most part, though, she finds a great deal of fulfillment at HCO. She loves seeing the growth in the individuals who are part of the Saehler program, encouraging them to advocate for themselves, and finding out what they want from life.

Shelby describes Saehler as a community within a community. “HCO is all about learning. I learn from the individuals I work with here more than they learn from me,” she says. She also says she wants her own children (she and her husband have four) to learn what she has from HCO, to be compassionate and welcoming of all people they come into contact with.

Most of the part-time students she hires come from social work and health care majors, but it’s always a treat to find someone from the math and science fields who is a great fit for the job too. The ongoing training HCO offers and the opportunity to work side-by-side with experienced staff help new hires to find their place in the organization and do a good job. “And for that they get a very sincere thank you, from both individuals and staff.”

She shakes her head when she talks about how many years she has been at the job. She loves the variety, the autonomy, and feeling part of the community. She loves that people at HCO really listen when they ask for your opinion and something comes of it.

She has taken other part-time work from time to time and says she always learns from it. She has even driven a semi-truck! It’s interesting to her to see how other organizations supervise and how their employees feel, and she brings that experience back to her job at HCO.

Things have changed a lot in the years Mariah has spent with HCO, however. Being hands-on is still a huge part of the job. “I’ve grown up with these individuals,” she says of the people in her programs and the staff. In fact, she says, as the individuals in the homes age, she is having to deal with death more often and it is extremely difficult. Not only is she losing friends, but so are the individuals left behind, and it is up to staff to help them through the grieving process as well.

Mariah has concerns about the future. Funding continues to be a prickly problem. People are waiting for services, and she reads more about reliance on “natural supports” to aid the individuals that HCO serves and could serve. “Not everyone has natural supports,” she says. “What happens then?”

The best way to deal with problems, however, is to talk them through. Mariah asks her staff a lot of questions and listens. They have to be ready to adapt if things change. They are constantly asking themselves, “What can we do better, what can we do more of? I want the individuals I work with to be happy, fulfilled, and satisfied. HCO and I can do that. Our job is to know each person and what they need.”

While she seems to enjoy every aspect of her work, she admits that she has a special fondness for teaching cooking. How do you teach someone to cook? “Step by step,” says Sharon, beginning with washing your hands. “Make it fun, laugh, and make things they like to eat.” And practice, practice, practice. “We’ve had a lot of burnt food,” she laughed. But that’s just another part of the learning process: watch the stove! At first, they are just helping you, and then over time, your roles reverse. Some individuals learn to love to cook. Sharon says it’s a joy to watch individuals gain confidence and discover that they can make their own meals and take care of themselves.

Along with teaching individuals to cook comes teaching them how to grocery shop, portion control, and how to store food for future meals. Cleaning up after themselves, personal hygiene, budgeting, how to ride the bus to work, and for some, even getting a driver’s license, are all things that Sharon helps people with. “Life is a game,” says Sharon, “and we all have to ride it out. For many of our individuals, Saehler is the next step in life, like going off to college. Preparing them takes time and a sense of humor.”

She helps individuals do their homework and is presently learning a lot about animal science and all the bones in a dog’s body as a result. “We are all learning,” she says with a laugh. She is also working on an herb garden, which was quite a challenge this year. “We need a plan,” she said. “Someone has to water those plants!” she laughs again.

While Sharon teaches all these skills to the individuals she works with, sometimes it’s to new staff, too! Sharon says working with college-aged staff keeps her feeling younger. She likes to teach them as well. Not every new college kid who comes to work at HCO has been schooled in how to work in the kitchen, do laundry, and clean house.

While she helps build tangible life skills, Sharon also believes that one of the greatest lessons people learn in this job is common sense. They should come in thinking about how they like to be treated and treat the individuals in their care the same. She points out that the job keeps people real. “It brings us back to the reality that not everyone has an easy time in life and makes us grow as people.”