By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Sitting outside of Bucyrus, surrounded by woods, it does not take much to imagine Chrysalis Advantage Point as its namesake: a tough outer shell enclosing people during their stages of growth.
Chrysalis Advantage Point – or CAP, as executive director Amanda Moran likes to refer to it – is a day habilitation service that places a focus on the exact skills each individual needs.
The Wynford graduate came by her willingness to help better others’ lives honestly. She attended the University of Toledo and worked as a job developer for people with developmental disabilities at Abilities in Action while in Toledo. Abilities in Action is also a local business owned by Moran’s mother, Kim Kessinger, a retired Crawford County Board of Developmental Disabilities director.
“As the business was expanding locally, I saw a need and opportunity for me to move home, be with family again, kind of familiarize myself with the community,” Moran said.
She started out with job development through Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, where she worked with individuals who were work-ready or prepared to explore careers in the community. She helped them establish goals, build their resumes, improve their interview skills, and make connections in the community.
“I really became passionate about working with the people and reconnecting with people that I used to know,” she said.
As Moran continued her work as a job developer, she realized there was a missing link. Oftentimes, those with developmental disabilities were missing certain skills that would make them more marketable in the work place.
“It seemed like the logical answer that we can then provide a service to get people work-ready, get the skills that they need fine-tuned,” Moran added.
One of the benefits CAP offers is the ability to meet people where they are. The programs there are individualized.
“They come in and we talk about what they’re already interested in, what they’ve done in the past, and what that’s going to mean going forward,” Moran said. “The idea of this facility compared to other day-hab vocational rehab facilities is we are committed to giving back to the community. As part of the training for the individuals, we have developed sites all over Crawford County, Wyandot County, and Marion County.”
Moran said one of their participants works at Cory & Cory, a law firm in Bucyrus, where he shreds paper once a week. CAP has also teamed up with First Alliance Church, Eco Trend Thrift Store, and plans on doing work at the parks. CAP participants will even be hosting lunch for Mayor Jeff Reser where they will make and serve the food just as if they were a restaurant.
“The facility itself is as self-sustaining as possible by consumers so every morning the consumers will come in and check the chore list,” Moran said.
The chores could include sweeping and putting away dishes. CAP pays the participants for one hour of paid work, an hour that is geared toward the individual’s goal in the community. Most of the work is done within the community while the other part is done at CAP where they learn respect, ethics, dressing for success, and other soft skills.
“Individuals who are coming to us are of all different skill levels,” Moran said. “They can be at different places on the path. Some of the people have worked in the community.”
Eric Vance is one of those participants and has enjoyed being a part of CAP, including meeting his weekly goals such as sweeping the carpet, cooking, and taking out the trash.
“I talked to Kim Kessinger about coming here,” Vance said. “And I like it here.”
Moran said they are working on a grant through the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. CAP is one of four facilities in the state that will be the model for what future day-hab vocational rehabilitation will look like. The $130,000, two-year grant has given CAP the ability to purchase a bus, the facility, and staff.
“It’s basically funding us for two years to create what the next step is going to look like,” Moran said. “It’s intimidating, but it’s exciting.”
Moran said they will fill a special niche that will build a day-hab facility from the ground up, rather than including it as part of its regular operations.
“We are starting from the ground floor so we can physically create the program around the individuals. They can lead us in the direction that the programs need to be going. We’re not saying: ‘we have this programming, how are we going to change for how new things are?’ We’re saying: ‘we have an idea that we want to train people in the community and get people integrated, get people excited about giving back while training them to do something that will give them meaningful, gainful employment.
“It’s a little bit intimidating, but I’m excited because I like leeway,” Moran continued. “I’m a creative person and I enjoy coming up with new ways to present information and hands on learning.
“It’s better than I expected, more fulfilling than I expected,” Moran said. “I get something different from each person every day. I think that with a lot of them I’ve developed a personal relationship that we both want to please each other. It is beyond words to know that people want to show me things they’ve done outside of here that they didn’t even know they could do.”
Currently, CAP is working with roughly 10 people, but can serve up to 50 people. It serves people with developmental disabilities or those with cognitive impairments with a level one waiver. CAP is funded by the individual’s Medicaid.
More information can be found at www.capoint.org or on Facebook or by calling 419-617-1564.