By Gregory T. Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer, Penn-Mar Human Services | Chief Executive Officer, Penn-Mar Foundation Starting on September 8th, we will be observing Direct Support Professional (DSP) Recognition Week, a nationwide celebration to acknowledge and highlight the dedicated direct support workforce that is...
By Gregory T. Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer, Penn-Mar Human Services | Chief Executive Officer, Penn-Mar Foundation [caption id="attachment_1672" align="alignleft" width="300"] Gregory MillerPresident/CEO Penn-Mar Human Services[/caption]Penn-Marā€™s fiscal year began July 1 with a continuation of wage increases for our Direct Support Professionals (DSPs).You may recall...
[caption id="attachment_10371" align="alignleft" width="197"] Only a year into her role as Residential Supervisor with Penn-Mar, Rochelle Williams earned all three Career Ladders DSP certification levels in just over a month.[/caption]This past spring, Penn-Mar Residential Supervisor Rochelle Williams took her career to a whole new level...
When the call went out for Penn-Mar HEART Award nominations, Residential Supervisor Natalie Finnegan had the perfect candidate in mind.Since 2018, the residential program she supervises in Red Lion, PA has been preparing and delivering meals to other Penn-Mar homes to help support them while...
[caption id="attachment_9493" align="alignleft" width="300"] Michael (back row, center) with his group, from left, Coty, Greg, Cintasā€™ HR Director Deb Cerifko as the Easter Bunny, Lizzie and Levi just before the program closed due to COVID.[/caption]Direct Support Professional Michael Riedel has witnessed and been part of...
By Gregory T. Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer, Penn-Mar Human Services | Chief Executive Officer, Penn-Mar Foundation [caption id="attachment_1672" align="alignleft" width="300"] Gregory MillerPresident/CEO Penn-Mar Human Services[/caption]Back in 2021, Penn-Mar began developing training tools to address a Person-Centered Initiative (PCI) that would create a culture shift...
[caption id="attachment_9343" align="alignleft" width="240"] Emma O'Donnell, Penn-Mar DSP who joined the nonprofit at 19.[/caption]When Emma Oā€™Donnell joined Penn-Mar Human Services a little more than a year ago as a Direct Support Professional (DSP), she became the youngest member on the team. Despite her age, (sheā€™s...
Penn-Mar team members, families and self-advocates were out in force this past May, meeting with legislators in Harrisburg and co-hosting a Legislative Roundtable with Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability (PAR), the largest and most active association of intellectual disability and autism...
By Gregory T. Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer, Penn-Mar Human Services | Chief Executive Officer, Penn-Mar Foundation From September 10-16 we are celebrating Direct Support Professional Recognition Week to highlight the dedicated, innovative DSP workforce that is the heart and soul of supports for people...
By Courtenay Dudek, Job Developer, DSP III | Penn-Mar Human Services Content Note: this blog post discusses loss and grief. In the almost seventeen years I have worked in the human services field, a prominent occurrence has been grief. C. S. Lewis said if we love anything...