Want a Job With Meaning? Assist Adults with Special Needs

Most of the adults who live in Royer-Greaves group homes or attend the day program on its Paoli campus cannot see. All have an intellectual disability, many also have physical disabilities, and some do not speak.

It is the support and care of direct support professionals, or DSPs, that allows them to live the fullest, and most independent lives possible.

“The DSPs are their eyes,” said Royer-Greaves Deputy Executive Director Debra Jerome. “Wherever they have to go, whatever they have to do, the DSPs are there to help them see the world, to understand the world they are living in.”

“The DSPs help them build a strong relationship with the community, with their doctors, with all the people that they interact with,” said Royer-Greaves Adult Training Facility Supervisor Domnic Odida. “They are their advocates. Through their body language and behaviors, they
understand them, and they speak for them.”

DSPs also have various caretaking tasks that range from cooking meals, to helping people get washed and dressed, to providing transportation, depending on the individuals they work with and their assigned location.

Royer-Greaves has an immediate need to hire more DSPs, and any one interested
should visit royer-greaves.org/employment to apply online or call Dana Kimbro at 610-644-1810.

“DSPS are vital in fulfilling our mission,” said Royer-Greaves Executive Director Vicky Mayer. “They are front-line worker. They are the person directly providing the services and the support the individual needs.”

Meet DSP Kate Nestel

Kate Nestel became a Royer-Greaves DSP about five years ago. “I had just finished up a 23-year career in relocation. I didn’t want to stop working, but I didn’t want to go back to the corporate life,” she said. “I wanted to do something more meaningful, and so, with the encouragement and support of my husband, I did."

Nestel, who is in her early 60s, has an adult son with special needs. She was drawn to work with the adults, who are 21 and older, in the Royer-Greaves Adult Training Facility because of her family’s challenges when her son reached that age. “I know the struggles that I went through as a parent, that my son went through as a young adult who had aged out of the school setting. It was challenging trying to find something for him that was engaging, rewarding, and worthwhile,” she said.

Her work at Royer-Greaves is “Very enriching, very rewarding, very educational, and absolutely worthwhile,” said Nestel. One of her favorite aspects is convincing the adults she works with to try new things and seeing their faces light up when they succeed at something new. “By letting them push their own boundaries, we are giving individuals with special needs a sense of accomplishment, a sense of pride, and a sense of acceptance,” she said.

More Benefits for Royer-Greaves DSPs

The benefits of becoming a Royer-Greaves DSP go beyond the wonderful feeling of helping someone live a life they could not otherwise have. The job is a great fit for people who need scheduling flexibility – people who care for their own family members or are college students,
for example. Students could also choose to work as a seasonal DSP,
working summers and during school breaks.

DSPs either work at one of four Royer-Greaves group homes, most of which are located in Delaware County, or on Royer-Greaves’ Paoli campus in the ATF day program. The day program DSPs work a Monday through Friday daytime schedule. Group homes have 24/7 staffing, so various shifts are available. Some group home DSPs even choose to work part
time, weekends only.

For anyone seeking a career in social services, special education, or some medical disciplines, the job provides valuable opportunities to learn. And because Royer-Greaves’ compensation package includes tuition reimbursement, it can make education much more affordable.

Royer-Greaves DSPs make $13 per hour and also receive a health plan – at no cost to the employee – that covers medical, dental, and vision. Employees do share the costs of adding family members to the plan. They receive vacation time, sick time, and personal time off, as well
as 12 paid holidays.

Some people become DSPs because they have seen the important contributions DSPs have made in the lives of a friend or family member. But no experience is necessary – training is provided and ongoing.

Many Royer-Greaves’ DSPs love the flexibility, the knowledge they are helping others, and the relationships they built with clients so much that they chose to stay on the job for many years. But Royer-Greaves also offers other opportunities.

“We tend to hire from within first,” said Jerome. “People move from a DSP to lead instructor, and then to program specialist or supervisor.”

Jerome speaks from experience. Her Royer-Greaves career began 21 years ago as a DSP who worked weekends while she studied business administration at La Salle University. She went full-time, then became the overnight supervisor, program director, service director, and finally, deputy director.