Thirtieth Anniversary Issue on Progress and Priorities in Direct Support
Being a DSP is a Commitment to Follow Through
Melinda Denise interviewed by Frontline Initiative: https://www.youtube.com/embed/jKlfLPr3Tzw?feature=oembed
How did you get into the field of direct support?
My aunt wasn't born with disabilities. When I was about, I think 14 years old. She ended up with a TBI, she had a traumatic brain injury result of a stroke. She fell, hit her head, and advocating for her, she was living in a place that we call the trauma center. It's a unit for people with brain injuries. And it just, it wasn't a great place back then when that happened to her. So, I found myself even then having to advocate for her, having to help her. She went from there to living on her own where she really shouldn't have been completely on her own. So, it was a lot with her. And then, I took care of her most of the rest of her life, you know, so when the opportunity came up to work in this field, I just took it.
What is your job like now?
I'm a residential coordinator, but even in that role, you're everything. You're, you're a DSP, you're a nurse, you're a behavioral interventionist. You're everything under the sun. You wear so many hats in this field. But a day for me, I come in the morning, and before I get to do, I guess what I would call my job, I’ve got to help people get ready for their day. Help them get ready to go to work, get them on the bus. Drive them to program, things like that before I can come back and start “my day.” So a lot of my job still now is DSP. I feel like no matter what role you're in; you'll always be a DSP. It's still assisting them with their day-to-day tasks.
What should people know about getting into the role of DSP?
I just think it's a very good field to get into. But I also feel like if somebody were to be contemplating getting into this field, they should look at themselves in the mirror and ask, is this the job for me? Is this something I can do? And is this something I can follow through with? Because there's already so many people in and out of these guys' lives. It's a big commitment to make to be in this field, to insert yourself into this type of a job. You have to be very caring, very compassionate to be able to work in this field.