Posted on December 26, 2024
As a member of the Holiday Committee for the Maryland Day Program, DSP Christal Lovelist has had a busy December. She recently accompanied the people she supports to the Dollar Store where they thoughtfully selected “Secret Santa” gifts for their December 20 holiday luncheon in the gym.
The party prep also included wrapping each gift, making homemade holiday cards and baking cookies for their dessert treats. Once at the event, the guests played games, listened to Christmas stories told by fellow staff members, exchanged gifts and enjoyed a festive holiday luncheon. The party ended with a Christmas dance in the gym.
Christal has been a DSP with Penn-Mar for a little over a year but in that short time she has made a huge impression on her fellow team members and the 80 people she supports throughout the Day Program.
She is also participating in the Career Ladders Program to further enhance her skills and earn her professional credentials.
A close relationship with a cousin with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) inspired Christal to pursue a career in human services. “It’s rewarding work that fits me,” she said.
Katie Shaw, Maryland Day Program Manager, said Christal’s mission is to ensure that the people she supports enjoy their life in everyday situations. “She turns great days into the best of days for them.”
Christal takes the time to understand each person’s ability and zeroes in on advancing those skills. She is constantly looking for ways to give the Day Program participants something new and different to look forward to, coming up with ideas for new activities like Sip and Paint Parties, Cooking Clubs, spur-of-the-moment walks or yoga classes outdoors in nature.
Katie says Christal is a natural leader and a master at challenging the thought processes of each person she encounters. She encourages them to envision and articulate how a typical day can be a great one but is also fine with letting them “just be in the moment.”
Before joining Penn-Mar, Christal provided job site training for people with disabilities and also worked as a cook in a hospital and nursing home.
At Penn-Mar she oversees a Cooking Club which takes groups out to the food store where she teaches them basic life skills related to manners, how to act in public and interact with other shoppers, and how to find and select food, compare prices and handle the payment transaction at check-out.
Christal collaborates with other team members in the organization, particularly when it comes to recruiting and engaging staff who share her passion for cooking to make the Cooking Club more person-centered.
She is also actively engaged in the organization’s Beauty Club which is designed to expand the knowledge of individuals who are often struggling with self-care hygiene.
Christal educates the people she supports about the importance of hygiene to their health and well-being, showing them how to use skin care products, and highlighting potential allergy issues. She often takes them out to stores to look at the many different products available and, when possible, has them try some for themselves.
She provides transportation to groups of individuals interested in volunteering in the community and dives right in there with them, sorting produce in a warehouse setting and working in a resale store.
“Christal is an exceptional and humble DSP who recognizes that people have different interests, skills and needs,” said Katie. “Her passion is contagious to all as she selflessly helps the people she supports at the Day Program achieve the things that matter most to them.”