The purpose of Employment & Day Services

Employment Services:

The focus of the Employment Department is to assist adults with developmental disabilities find and maintain employment within their community. All employment supports are geared towards assisting individuals to secure employment opportunities within their realm of interests and build on their skills. Supports look different for everyone involved. This is because the support is based on what each individual may require. Services offered can include: needs assessment, interview training, work experience, vocational placement, job carving, enclave support, community liaison, job search strategies and hands on training. We are fortunate to have an Employment Specialist / Job Developer in our department whose role is to locate and secure employment opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. This has allowed us to be involved with many different businesses in High River, people who I refer to as “FRIENDS OF AIM”

Community Access:

The Foothills AIM Society takes a holistic approach to service delivery. It is true that not everyone has the desire or ability to work in the competitive workforce. As a person’s physical stamina and health needs become more complex the may wish to be supported through Community Access. We define Community Access as any activity or work where the person is not paid minimum wage or above.
Depending on the goals of the individuals involved, a wide variety of services are offered including volunteer and employment experience. Examples of employment experience are recycling, flyer delivery and courier route. Recreation and leisure activities are also available for people who have goals in those areas. Some examples of this are activity volunteer groups, crafts groups and people who shred in different businesses. In addition we offer some life skills training such as cooking, laundry skills and street safety.
The Society offers an after hour activities component to people through the Social Recreation program. This program allows people to access activities of a social nature, with assistance where they wouldn’t normally be able to do so.

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What I do

As the manager of Employment and Day Services, my role is to assist and support our team to offer quality support to individuals with developmental disabilities
I also support about 15 job coaches / support partners who work side by side some clients to help them perform their jobs or take part in day activities (non work activities). The Alberta Government funds the AIM Society to provide these job coaches through the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) department.
The AIM Society is always looking for qualified and committed employees to fulfill this role of job coach. We look for people who have some post secondary education or experience working with people with disabilities. We also would like them to possess an inherent belief in the equal value of all persons. If you are interested in talking to me about employment, please contact me at (403) 652-4161 ext 229. You can also email me at the link below.

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A little about myself

My post secondary education is in the Physical Education spectrum. I have been working supporting individuals with developmental disabilities for the past 20+ years in a variety of roles. My previous employment was with a large agency in Calgary who supported people with disabilities.
My family and I have been living in the Foothills region for more than 21 years now. We love the friendliness and small town feel that comes from living in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.

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Current Projects

We are currently expanding our support area. At present the AIM Society supports adults in High River, Okotoks, Turner Valley and Black Diamond. We are about to offer support into the Wheatland County, which is located east of the city of Calgary. This area is growing rapidly and is in need of a community based program in Strathmore to assist people.

As well, we are involved in a few pilot projects with the Calgary Region PDD (Person’s with Developmental Disabilities), which are looking at better ways to deliver service.

In addition, I have been the race director for the Community Savings Canada Day 10 km run. The proceeds from this run go to support the AIM Society. We are entering the 7th annual race (July 2009). This event, in addition to being a great athletic gathering, has been a positive way to promote the AIM Society and people with disabilities in the Foothills region.

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Wish List

If I could wish for anything, it would be that we have enough opportunities for adults with disabilities to be connected in their home communities. At present we are fortunate to be linked up with many associations and businesses. These connections have provided people with developmental disabilities the opportunity to be a part of the town that they live in. We can be better with this and I long for the day when all people are included at every level of living.