Thank you. I use those two words often, but they never quite seem to be enough. As I think back on last week’s Shine Your Light Gala, I am filled with so much gratitude that it’s hard to properly express it in words. It’s been five years since we first held our Gala, and yet I am...
One worker spends his nights caring for adults with intellectual disabilities, and his days working a job part-time to make ends meet. Two others left their caregiver jobs last year to become waitresses, choosing better pay over a fulfilling career they loved. Many more here at Human Support Services (HSS) are logging 60-plus hour work weeks...
Looking at Karah today, you wouldn’t realize she’s had to fight so hard for what she has. With two amazing kids, a full-time job and stable housing, she is in a good place. And thus, so is her family. But it wasn’t always this way. Karah, 43, has spent years battling a mighty foe — her addiction, and...
Pictures are worth a thousand words but there isn’t a photograph that will show you all that we do here at Human Support Services (HSS.) Our services are complicated and not always pretty. Suicide prevention, substance abuse treatment, job training for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities - these are not the billboard photo-worthy services that capture...
Paul John “PJ” Broske has been working at Pizza Hut in Waterloo for about a year, but he’s not sure it’s what he wants to do for a lifelong career. Very few people do know – at 20 years old – what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Broske got the job...
Rosita has always been genuinely curious. Whether she’s walking around the courthouse square or having lunch at the local coffee shop, she’s quick to start a conversation with the person next to her. She wants to know about people and about the world around her. Perhaps it was that curiosity - that thirst for more -...
Amy could hear the children laughing as they played nearby. She knew the sound of gleeful giggling should make her smile. But inside her office where she sat at her desk, she just wanted to curl up into a ball and make the cheerful sounds go away. It was another day of struggling at work. Struggling...
Left untreated, addiction is a wrecking ball – destroying careers, relationships, finances and even life itself. Ultimately, the repercussions of addiction affect everyone in its path – from the person struggling to overcome it to their families and friends. That’s why loving an addict, and supporting them through the highs and lows of their struggle, can...
Some kids ask for toy trucks and cars. Others dream bigger and put Ipads and Xboxes on their wish lists from Santa. But Alex, at just seven years old, had one wish this Christmas – to have his daddy home for the holidays. Alex hadn’t seen his dad in a long time, and it was hard when...
“I got the job,” Coach Mike said proudly, as his sister stood beside him beaming and a TV camera captured the exchange for tons of viewers at home. It was a touching moment for all of us here at HSS who have been rooting Mike Kuhlmann on from the sidelines, watching as he pursued his dream...
