Author: Megan Kunelli

During her early years at Merrick, Deloris worked on a recycling crew, traveling from business to business to pick-up recyclable materials to bring back to Merrick. Though she quickly proved herself a capable and determined worker, she struggled to trust others and to communicate her needs. Whenever she was upset, Deloris found it difficult to manage her behavior and would often remain agitated for days.

It would take years of hard work from both Deloris and Merrick support staff before Deloris readily trusted others with her well-being. And if you were one of the lucky few whom Deloris deemed worthy of her trust, then you quickly learned that there was a lot more to her lying just under the surface.

Dede was one of those lucky few. For Dede and others whom she trusted, Deloris made it known that she was a person worth taking note of. Everything she did, from the way she dressed to the way she walked, she did with swag as if to say, “Don’t mess with me because I’m as cool as they come.”

Today, Deloris rarely exhibits behaviors akin to that from when she first started at Merrick. Though she still has plenty of work to do, her current goals tend to focus more on maintaining a healthier lifestyle by improving her diet, drinking more water, and exercising than working through her behaviors.

As for Dede, she officially retired from Merrick in 2021 but continues to do seasonal contract work for the company. Whenever she’s around, Dede often visits her old friend in ES. Having worked so hard to gain Deloris’ trust and having gotten to know the person under the surface, Dede understands that their friendship is a friendship for life. And she would not have it any other way.

Because of their connection, Brooke learned more about Emily than most and got to know the sweet, energetic person that she was. For instance, though Emily is sensitive to sound and will place her hands over her ears, Brooke discovered that she has a secret affinity for 90s music one day when she played New Kids on the Block and noticed Emily perk up. In addition, while Emily has enjoyed many community outings, Brooke quickly realized that her favorite outings were any that involved shopping, not because she liked to shop, but because she liked to push the shopping cart.

Reflecting on Emily’s first 6 months at Merrick, Brooke can say she has noticed definite improvements. When she first arrived, Emily would not carry her own lunch box or backpack, had a penchant for breaking things, and would anxiously pace the floor. Now, not only does Emily not do any of those things, but she looks forward to coming to Merrick every day. However, the work is far from over.

Going forward, Brooke has many goals in mind for Emily to work on and knows the road ahead will not always be smooth or straight. For example, though Emily works well with Brooke, Brooke cannot always be with her, and Emily needs to learn to work with other staff. In addition, Brooke hopes to increase Emily’s knowledge of American Sign Language and is currently teaching her the word for “bathroom.” Brooke would also like to see Emily participate in large group activities someday such as playing with the parachute.

For Emily, learning the daily routine at Willow Lake did not come easily. But she learned it. It just took time, patience, and a special friend. The same can be said for any one of her new goals. To achieve them will not come easily or quickly. But, with friends like Brooke along for the ride, it is not impossible. And that’s all anyone needs to know to pursue it.

Merrick DSPs are repeatedly impressed with Mike’s navigational skills, especially those that have known him the longest. Because they know that what seems to come naturally to Mike now, in fact, did not come naturally at all. It required lots of practice, frequent encouragement, and a strong dose of determination on Mike’s part. And through it all, Mike never doubted that he could do it. That’s just not how Mike thinks. For Mike, it was never a matter of whether or not he could do it, it was just a matter of when he would.

When he’s not impressing everyone with his navigational skills, Mike spends most of his workday in Utility Services where he does light assembly and packing jobs. Just as he’s mastered the art of navigation, Mike has mastered every job that has ever come his way: packaging x-ray bags, assembling rivets, or packing airplane headphones back in the 90s, just to name a few. These days, it’s in packing greeting cards where he finds the most reward. Even without the use of his eyes, Mike is one of the fastest card packers at Merrick. His current record is packing 53 jigs, or 636 cards, in a single day, but he believes he can do better. In fact, it’s his goal.

At the end of each day’s shift, Mike uses his accessible cell phone to calculate how many cards he’s packed and how much money he’s earned. He might even check his voice mail to see if he got a message from his sister or send her a quick text. However, just as with navigating the building, his DSPs remember a time when using his phone was a challenge for Mike, a challenge he was not afraid to take on in the slightest. But that’s Mike. He’s never been one to let his disability stop him or get him down. And by the looks of it, that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.