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HPS, Helping People Succeed, Inc. |
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"TO HOLD
A BABY!"
I work in
administration at HPS, Helping People Succeed, Inc. and rarely have the
opportunity to really share in the experiences of our direct
services staff. At various times throughout my
pregnancy I would attend meetings or eat lunch with the
staff at the community Office. This is where I met
Eva, a Community Living client. She was so excited and
would ask me over and over again when I was going to have
the baby? I would respond and give the approximate
date, then she would proceed to tell me how she wanted to
hold the baby, then ask me when I was going to have the
baby, time and time again.
On May 31st of that
same year Catherine was born. Just before I was to
return from maternity leave I brought Catherine around to
our offices to show her off to staff. When I arrived
at the Community Office, Eva was just returning from her day
out in the community. She was thrilled that I had
brought Catherine and wanted desperately to hold her.
I was of course, very protective of my 2 month old baby and
told Eva she could see her, but I would hold her.
Some of the employees
convinced me to let Eva hold the baby for just a moment, it
was not without trepidation that I agreed. When we
told Eva she could hold the baby I can't even begin to
describe how excited she was.
I placed Catherine in
Eva's arms. She was so excited she began to tremble as
she looked lovingly into Catherine's eyes, all the while
trying to keep calm enough to hold the baby safely.
You could see a tear in her eyes as she rocked Catherine and
whispered "hi baby". I'm certain there wasn't a dry
eye in the room. A very special feeling was shared by
everyone present, no words were needed. I can't begin
to tell you how happy I was that I trusted Eva to hold
Catherine.
I fight tears
even as I type this letter. You see to the best of our
knowledge Eva had never been allowed to hold a baby before.
At age 44 she was finally able to experience one of life's
greatest pleasures, the ability to hold a real baby.
That was when I
realized how truly important the Community Living program
is, assisting adults with developmental disabilities become
active participants in our community. Allowing them to
have the experiences we can have whenever w wish, whether it
be for the first time or the tenth time. To allow them
the independence and freedom they deserver, while at the
same time teaching the "normal" population how wonderful and
capable people who have disability truly are.
Submitted By:
Madeleine Greenwood, VP Human Resources
