{"id":4299,"date":"2023-12-15T20:11:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T20:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alsoweb.org\/?p=4299"},"modified":"2023-12-29T20:01:34","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T20:01:34","slug":"its-just-awesome-watching-them-grow-long-term-disability-advocates-on-why-they-stay-at-also","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alsoweb.org\/nonprofit-blog\/its-just-awesome-watching-them-grow-long-term-disability-advocates-on-why-they-stay-at-also\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt’s Just Awesome Watching Them Grow\u201d: Long-Term Disability Advocates on Why They Stay at ALSO"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt’s Just Awesome Watching Them Grow\u201d: Long-Term Disability Advocates on Why They Stay at ALSO<\/strong><\/h1>\n

In the U.S., 100,000-120,000 employees leave their jobs every day<\/a>.\u00a0Worker retention continues to be a big issue,<\/a> even as the employment rate rebounds from the pandemic. According to the U.S. Department of Labor<\/a>, \u201cIn January 2022, median employee tenure (the point at which half of all workers had more tenure and half had less tenure) for men held at 4.3 years. For women, median tenure was 3.8 years.\u201d Only 28% of men and 26% of women had been with their employer for ten years or more.<\/p>\n

Why do employees leave? Career development is cited as the number one reason.<\/a> While the term covers a variety of factors, it can be summed up as an employee\u2019s desire to learn, grow, and advance their career.<\/p>\n

ALSO offers their employees a wealth of career development opportunities. That\u2019s one reason disability advocate Miranda Chatterton has been with ALSO for more than a quarter century. Another reason? ALSO not only gives Miranda the chance to grow, but gives her the opportunity to watch the people she helps grow and thrive.<\/p>\n

Miranda Chatterton, Supported Employment Manager: <\/strong>28 Years at ALSO<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Like many disability advocates who\u2019ve made their career at ALSO<\/a>, Miranda began as a direct support professional. From there, she became a Lead Staff (formerly called Med Tech), and then worked her way up to managing the supported employment services<\/a> department. Now, as ALSO\u2019s Supported Employment Manager, she manages job coaches and does whatever needs to be done to ensure that the people ALSO supports have the resources they need to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s Just Awesome Watching Them Grow\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWhat makes me stay?\u201d Miranda says. \u201cSeeing the growth and the changes in the people we support\u2026Sometimes in supported employment, we\u2019ll have somebody who’s never worked, and people\u2014even guardians\u2014will say, \u201cThey’ll never be able to do that,\u201d and then we\u2019ll show them that they can do it. If you give us the opportunity to try, ninety percent of the time it works\u2026When they get that first paycheck and they’re like, \u2018This is mine?\u2019 and we say, \u2018Yep, this is yours,\u2019\u00a0 it’s so cool. Just being able to see that and to watch the magic that we had started happening\u2026It’s just awesome watching them grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re All About Being Person-Centered\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Miranda believes ALSO\u2019s success come from its person-centered<\/a> approach. \u201cwe look at every individual on their own. We see what they want to do, what they desire in employment.\u201d Then ALSO\u2019s supported employment specialists help them figure out a way to achieve that desire. Miranda gives an example: \u201cMaybe someone says, \u2018I want to be a fireman.\u2019 We talk with them, and find out what they really want is to wear a uniform. So we find them a job that where they can wear a uniform\u2026We’re all about being person-centered. It’s in our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

She tells a real-world success story. An individual supported by ALSO is a Blazers fan, so supported employment specialists found him a job that aligned with his love of basketball. \u201cWhen he first got the job, we didn’t know if it was going to work,\u201d says Miranda, \u201cBut he developed a great relationship with his manager.\u201d He has been in the job going on three years now, and his manager recently contacted Miranda to say he can\u2019t wait to have this particular employee back at work so they can talk Blazers. \u201cHe (the employee) loves it and can’t wait to get back in there. That’s what makes me passionate about employment\u2014just watching that.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALSO\u2019s person-centered approach extends to other disability support services<\/a>, too. \u201cWe try our hardest to make sure each individual gets what they want,\u201d Miranda says. \u201cEven if it’s a trip to Europe or something, we\u2019ll see what we can do to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the Supports Are There\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cI love working here,\u201d Miranda says. \u201cI love everything about my job. Even our CEO, he\u2019s okay.\u201d She laughs. \u201cIt’s nice that he’s willing to communicate. He responds to my emails and texts. We all have a good relationship with him. I think that’s what\u2019s different about us from any other agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miranda also feels that support from her supervisor, Supported Employment Director Chaz Volavka. \u201cIf I have a call-off (someone can\u2019t come in to work), he\u2019ll help me find a way to shift things around so people don\u2019t have to work too many hours; to help make sure people aren\u2019t overworked or get burned out. I’m able to come to him when I need to.\u201d She\u2019s close with the ALSO team, too (and not just with her husband, ALSO Associate Director in Residential Services, John Chatterton<\/a>). \u201cI love the crew. I’m sure we could be better, but I don’t know how, because I think all the supports are there. We\u2019re just a big family and we love each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI Just Love It\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In her twenty-eight years at ALSO, Miranda has seen a lot of growth in the organization and in her career, but the favorite part of her job is watching the people ALSO supports progress in their careers and their lives. \u201cIt\u2019s so cool to be right there with them and help them figure out different techniques to do the job, then being able to back off and see them do it on their own. Watching their progress\u2014it\u2019s pretty rewarding. I love that. I just love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want to love your job? To experience the kind of growth and career development that makes you want to stay at an organization for more than a quarter century? Check out ALSO\u2019s career opportunities<\/a> for a variety of disability advocate jobs working with people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re looking for person-centered disability support services that can help you or your family member grow, talk to us. All of our disability support services, whether supported employment, residential services<\/a>, or in-home supportive services\u2014are designed to encourage people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live their best lives. Learn more about us<\/a> and\/or register for a free tour today!<\/a><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt’s Just Awesome Watching Them Grow\u201d: Long-Term Disability Advocates on Why They Stay at ALSO In the U.S., 100,000-120,000 employees leave their jobs every day.\u00a0Worker retention continues to be a big issue, even as the employment rate rebounds from the pandemic. According to the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,30,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-also","category-advocacy","category-all-blogs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSupported Employment | Why Long Term Advocates Stay at ALSO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn why long-term disability advocates stay at ALSO in this comprehensive blog featuring an interview with our Supported Employment Manager.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alsoweb.org\/nonprofit-blog\/its-just-awesome-watching-them-grow-long-term-disability-advocates-on-why-they-stay-at-also\/\" \/>\n<meta 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