{"id":145922,"date":"2021-09-12T22:55:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T03:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=145922"},"modified":"2021-09-12T22:55:28","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T03:55:28","slug":"dd-board-honors-direct-support-providers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2021\/09\/12\/dd-board-honors-direct-support-providers\/","title":{"rendered":"DD Board honors direct support providers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Independent staff and submitted information<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Van Wert County Board of Developmental Disabilities (VWCBDD) honors direct support providers (DSPs) serving Van Wert County for the work they do to support people with disabilities.&nbsp;The week of&nbsp;September 12-18 is National Direct Support Professional (DSP) Recognition week.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"350\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/DSP-Terry-Bowen-and-Jennifer-Burker-9-2021.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-145923\"\/><figcaption>Direct Support Provider Jennifer Burker (right) watches as client Terry Bowen completes a task. <em>photo provided<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are celebrating their hearts and the work they do to help people with disabilities to be supported and connected and included in the community,\u201d said VWCBDD Service and Support Administrator Paula Miller.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DSPs are individuals who work directly with people that have physical or intellectual disabilities. Their primary purpose is to assist those who need support to lead self-directed lives in their communities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI enjoy getting to do fun activities with the individuals and spending quality time with them,\u201d said Jennifer Burker, a DSP at Thomas Edison Center. \u201cSeeing them smile after making a craft or winning a game always makes my day better, I love my job as a DSP.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Direct support professionals may assist with a wide array of needs, including, but not limited to, household tasks, shopping, personal care, and community inclusion activities. Options&nbsp;for&nbsp;becoming a DSP include either working&nbsp;for&nbsp;a local agency or becoming independently certified through the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. Those interested can learn more about a DSP career at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dodd.ohio.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/dodd.ohio.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI like that I can make a positive impact in the individuals\u2019 daily lives,\u201d said Shree Clouser, a DSP for Mercer Residential Services.&nbsp;\u201cI\u2019m a caregiver by nature so this job allows me to help others. It also is a privilege that our clients allow us to be part of their lives.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many DSP agencies are experiencing a staffing shortage crisis. People who are looking for employment that is rewarding and enriches the lives of others are encouraged to become DSPs. For more information on the role of a DSP or where to begin, contact Superintendent Jim Stripe at 419.238.6131.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Independent staff and submitted information The Van Wert County Board of Developmental Disabilities (VWCBDD) honors direct support providers (DSPs) serving Van Wert County for the work they do to support people with disabilities.&nbsp;The week of&nbsp;September 12-18 is National Direct Support Professional (DSP) Recognition week.&nbsp; \u201cWe are celebrating their hearts and the work they do to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-15 23:02:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145922\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}