October’s Employee Spotlight of the Month: SSA Jesse Smith
Join us as we pay tribute to our incredible staff through “The Employee Spotlight of the Month!” Every month, we will spotlight a new employee so that we can share with the community the wonderful things our employees are doing every day!
Congratulations to Jesse Smith, our Employee Spotlight for the month of October!
Jesse has professionally worked in the DD field for 14 years. Her journey began when her high school teacher asked if she wanted to be a student volunteer in one of her classrooms.
“She approached me during my study hall to be a student volunteer in one of her classrooms for the day, admittedly, I reluctantly agreed,” Jesse said. “By the end of the hall break I was in love with the classroom and remained a peer partner in special needs classes throughout the reminder of high school. I made some of the greatest friendships during that time, some of which resulted in; walking hand in hand with a peer at our graduation ceremony, to having a peer that I met in study hall that ended up being one of my bridesmaids in my wedding 10 years later. I very quickly changed my career path after becoming involved in these classes.”
Once Jesse entered college, she changed her major so that she could focus on a career geared towards supporting the DD community.
“I worked for a ADS/HPC agency throughout college and held multiple roles within the agency; working in the day program, admin office and all while remaining a home manager and DSP. I continued these roles through college and post college because of the connections I had made. I loved my time working directly with my clients but wanted to move my career forward. I was hired at the BCBDD shortly after the start of 2021 and will have been here 4 years in April.”
Since taking the position as an SSA at the BCBDD, Jesse has made a huge impact in the lives of many of the individuals on her caseload.
“I have worked with Jesse for over a year, and she has shown professionalism and patience in some tough situations,” BCBDD SSA Supervisor, Dena Freeman said. “She always has a positive attitude and is fiercely passionate about those that she works with. She is a great member of our team and steps up to help with anything that is needed. She volunteers to take on more complex individuals and many times helps them to better advocate for themselves. She continues to amaze me, and I hope that she continues to excel in her role as an SSA. There is so much that I can say about how great Jesse is.”
Currently Jesse has 3 individuals on her caseload from the same family, and according to Dena she created a close bond with all of them including their mother.
“Jesse has advocated for one of the brother’s that is being bullied by children in the neighborhood,” Dena said. “She pushed for legal aid to assist him with representation through the court process. She also helped them to understand paperwork and the process to hold others criminally responsible. Their mother always speaks highly of Jesse and asked for Jesse to be assigned to her youngest son when he moved from the transition team. Jesse also helped an individual get a ramp installed so that she could move freely. There were some issues with contacting the family and with getting approval from the landlord, but Jesse worked with everyone to get the project off the ground.”
Jesse has another individual on her caseload that she says was not a fan of the county or the supports and often refused to open the door to the BCBDD staff.
“After reading through his history and chatting with staff, several failed phone calls, and visit attempts, we were able to connect on his porch with a McDonalds ice cream cone,” Jesse said. ” We ended up chatting about the latest General Hospital Sonny and Carley drama and now he’s allowed me to come into his home ever since and keeps me up to date on the latest Soap drama!”
Jesse says she loves her role as an SSA and is so grateful to her individuals and their teams for allowing her to be a part of their lives.
“At some point in time I am a total stranger to these people, and they willingly let me in, share their stories, their success and challenges so that we can work together to find a solution,” Jesse said. “Watching the individuals on my caseload further their independence and overcome their personal obstacles is the best part of my job. This field has taught me so much, from my co-workers over the years to the individuals I’ve been able to support. I truly have met some of the most genuine people and made some of the best friendships. In this field you meet people from all walks of life, there are so many lessons you can learn in your day to day interactions if you’re paying attention. I think getting involved in the DD field means opening yourself up to levels of compassion, humility, and kindness that you may have only reached at a surface level prior. I will forever be grateful to my high school teacher, Mrs. Lanthorn, for involving me in this field and pushing me in a direction I never knew I wanted.”
Jesse believes that when it comes to being an SSA, the position requires wearing many hats, not all of which are clearly outlined in the job description.
“I think the primary role of an SSA is to be an advocate, but that advocacy doesn’t just stop with the individual you are assigned to serve,” Jesse said. “It extends to the people who support that individual in the day-to-day; families, DSP’s, guardian’s, day providers, job coaches – the list goes on. An SSA has a unique role to listen to and ensure all of those voices are heard, to take each input into account while developing a plan that helps that team work cohesively to best support the individual. SSA’s are vital but are also only one part of many moving pieces that make up a team.”
Is there someone from the BDBDD that has changed you and your family’s lives? Submissions for November’s Employee Spotlight of the Month are due by Friday, November 1!