DSPs Using and Supporting Technology Use
Supporting Community Safety Online
Destiny Bell, author
Reflecting on my work in direct support to ensure community safety, I will describe a time when I took steps to promote community safety. In my early years of direct support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I became a primary job coach. I had the opportunity to become a job coach to a young woman named Jessica* who moved into our agency’s residential homes. Jessica is relaxed and goes with the flow. She was also employed through our agency as a contracted housekeeper. While at work on lunch break, I observed Jessica would spend a lot of time on her phone instead of engaging with her coworkers, but I didn’t think much of it.
Then, I started picking up overtime hours at Jessica’s home. The site manager wanted to make sure Jessica and her roommate got out of the house as often as they wanted. While out of the house, Jessica often requested to stop at CVS, Rite Aid, or Walgreens. She would buy gift cards. Out of curiosity, I asked Jessica about the gift cards. She said she met a guy online, and she was buying him gift cards. In my mind, a red flag immediately went up! Even though I was alarmed, I didn’t say much to Jessica because I did not want to alarm her. I reported what Jessica said and what she was doing to my supervisor.
The following day, my supervisor and I talked with Jessica about the risks and dangers of meeting people online. We talked about a few “red flags” to watch out for, including anyone asking for personal identification like her social security number or address. We made sure to use language she understood and checked to make sure she comprehended. We also cautioned her about purchasing gift cards for someone online whom she had not met in person.
Four days passed, and Jessica approached me. She said the guy she met online was no longer responding to her after she gave him the gift card information. With my agency's support, I developed a social media awareness plan to help people we support learn about safety in online interactions and prevent victimization in the future. With Jessica’s consent, I blocked the man she was talking with from all social media platforms and her cell phone. Jessica shared all the information about the online interaction with the agency’s certified investigator so they could look into it.
Providing information on cyber scamming will allow her to make safer online choices.
According to the NADSP Code of Ethics, our duty as direct support professionals is to ensure both choice and safety for the people we support. It was very unfortunate Jessica was taken advantage of online. I support her in learning more about interacting online so she can make decisions in the future that prevent her from being exploited. Providing information on cyber scamming will allow her to make safer online choices. I was also happy to share this information with other direct support professionals at my agency to ensure that others also learned more about online safety.
*All names in this story have been changed to ensure confidentiality.