By Lily Robinson – 

September is Direct Support Professionals Month, but the truth is our DSPs deserve our celebration and acknowledgment all year round. The DSPs at HeartShare come in every day ready to go above and beyond for our clients, and we are eternally grateful.

Some background on DSP’s from The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, “Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) assist people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities in realizing their full potential and becoming valued and participating members of their communities. Their work is complex and goes well beyond caregiving, requiring skills including independent problem solving, decision making, behavioral assessment and prevention, medication administration, health and allied health treatment, teaching new skills, crisis prevention and intervention, and more.” (NADSP.org)

No one knows the true impact of our Direct Support Professionals better than the people they support. Throughout September, we showered our DSPs with admiration from our incredible clients.

Patricia Williams of Brooklyn Day Program shared some of her poetry that speaks to DSPs’ impact on the people they support.

Poetry by Patricia Williams from the Brooklyn Day Hab Program

Untitled By Patricia Willaims

“Talking about amazing people. The staff is so amazing, also, and funny too.

But if we needed help the staff will be there for us no matter what our life.

And all we is to do is we need help.

The Brooklyn HeartShare Day Hab program got keys to our heart and with a lot of caring, and kind.

We are very special people at the Brooklyn HeartShare Day Hab program and very important.

We all to thanks the big supervisor his named Edgardo, and he is a kind person with a lot of caring person.

Edgardo like to help people with disabled person, and also a good heart with understanding person. We appreciate all his work he have done for us at the Brooklyn HeartShare Day Hab program. Edgardo got a loving heart for the Brooklyn HeartShare Day Hab.”

Thinking About Climbing Up The Mountain by Patricia Williams

Thinking About Climbing Up The Mountian By Patricia Willaims

“I am thinking about climbing the mountain so I can found some answers on this earth. so I can see the world. Brooklyn Day Hab staff help me up the mountain to found answers. 

Staff give me peace with a lot of love so I can found the answers on this earth. Well before I am climbing the mountain to found some answers, I am at peace knowing the staff behind me every step of the way.”

Camille Tyson, Human Rights Activist, and

Camille Tyson, Human Rights Activist and Queens Day Hab participant

Queens Day Program participant shared a special message with us about how grateful she is for the DSPs in her life.

“DSP love without condition and give us everything to make us happy.”

“DSP makes a difference and tries there best to support us with our daily needs.”

Thank you so much to all our outstanding frontline workers for HeartShare’s DD community, including Direct Support Professionals, Senior Direct Support Professionals, MSPs, Teacher Aides, and Teacher Assistants. We are so grateful for your dedication to HeartShare and its mission.

For more information on HeartShare’s Developmental Disabilities services, click HERE, and to learn how you can become a Direct Support Professional with HeartShare Human Services, click HERE.

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