Milestones of Independence
Our Easterseals Crossroads Annual Report 2018 continuation stories are now available. The
annual report referenced four individuals with whom we worked during the year.
Their stories are told in the following videos:
. . . Becoming Mobile
Erionna’s story focuses on how we are helping a 6-year-old in physical therapy. Kathleen Brinegar is working with Erionna and her family as she is making progress on sitting, holding her head up, standing and becoming mobile with her gait trainer.
. . . Figuring Things Out
Kayla is an 18-year-old intern at Project SEARCH East who works with Keith Fox in learning the skills she needs to obtain a position in the healthcare industry. The year-long program is assisting Kayla as she figures things out.
. . . Making Her Way
Samantha is a 25-year-old young woman who worked with our Employment Division to get her career going after she had an accident that caused a traumatic brain injury. Sam works at the Benjamin Harrison YMCA is she is truly making her way.
. . . Maintaining Independence
Scott is an individual who worked with Mary Follman in our Driver Evaluation and Training program to assist him with vehicle modifications. Scott was involved in an accident when he was 24 years old that resulted in paralysis from the waist down. Scott’s vehicle modifications are helping him in maintaining independence.
Disability Employment Awareness Month
During October, we recognize the contributions of workers with disabilities during Disability Awareness Month, and we recognize the many businesses in our community who employ individuals with disabilities.
This year, staff members in our Employment Division have placed 118 individuals into permanent positions in 76 different companies and arranged 45 internships with community employers.
Employment Options for Individuals with Disabilities
At Easterseals Crossroads, our Employment Division staff members work with individuals with disabilities who are seeking meaningful employment opportunities. Our employment options can help prepare people to work to improve the quality of their lives and supply our community with highly-skilled job candidates.
Our staff can help individuals identify their employment goals and create a plan to meet these personal goals. We believe that each individual who wants to secure or maintain employment has unique needs. Whether you are looking for a professional, skilled, semi-skilled or entry level job, we will provide a flexible and creative solution to meet your specific needs, abilities and interests.
WE PROVIDE A WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES FOCUSED ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
- We work closely with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to make sure your needs are met.
- We provide services in the community to meet your needs.
- Funding for services can be provided by Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran’s Administration, Vocational Rehabilitation, private insurance and private pay funding.
For Businesses seeking qualified job Candidates
We are dedicated to providing the best people to fill your employment opportunities. We are committed to matching your employment opportunities to our clients with the appropriate talents, abilities, skills and interests to assist your company in achieving your goals.
We gain a thorough understanding of the job demands of your open positions and have comprehensive knowledge of each job seeker’s skills and abilities. The result is a reduction in the risk associated with hiring.
Our qualified staff will work with you and your new employee to make certain transition into the new position is smooth. Additionally, long-term support is provided at no expense to ensure job retention and mutual satisfaction.
- We offer pre-screened, qualified candidates dedicated to pursuing long-term careers – at no cost to you.
- At all times, we have more than 250 applicants with a variety of skills and interests motivated to meet your needs.
- We can help you contribute to the diversity within your work environment.
- We are a leader in disability services- we offer support through on-the-job training and accommodations when needed.
- We provide continued assistance when it is needed – again, at no cost to you.
Document Scanning Project – Historical Collaborative
Collaborative Effort
The Indianapolis Public Library recently launched a Digital Indy collection that contains downloadable items – some of which date from 1853. This collection was made possible by a $1.8 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through gifts to The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation to acquire and digitize more than 430,000 pages of Indianapolis Public School materials – the initial phase in the digitization project.
Download the press release from July 27, 2018
This arm of the project is part of a larger Lilly Endowment grant to also digitize histories of the Indianapolis Fire Department, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Indianapolis Parks and Recreation Department. Completion of all aspects of the project will occur by 2020.
Scanning Partner – Crossroads Document Services
The undertaking of such a huge goal to bring to light portions of our city’s history is one that relies heavily on the ability to make these historical documents usable, downloadable and readable. Records that date back 160 years are not always in the best of shape and they tend to be very delicate and fragile.
Staff at Crossroads Document Services, a division of Easterseals Crossroads, can convert all types of media into digital format. The agency’s technology strengths are complemented by highly-skilled, detail-oriented employees who respectfully handle the media with which they work. Crossroads Document Services was selected as the scanning partner for this digitization project because of its ability to provide special consideration and respect for documents dating back 160 years.
“We are honored to be a partner in this project that will make so much of our city’s history available to our community. Our scanning capabilities have literally opened pages and pages of unseen documents relating to our city’s schools.
The majority of the scanning was done by individuals with disabilities at Crossroads Document Services where revenue supports programs for adults and children at Easterseals Crossroads. This partnership represents a full circle of community engagement, ” said Patrick Sandy, CEO/President of Easterseals Crossroads.
How to Access Information from Collection
The Indianapolis Public School collection is searchable and downloadable. Of potential interest to users of the site might be the daily school newspaper published by students at Shortridge High School. Graduates and former editors of the Daily Echo – the Shortridge newspaper – include former US Senator Richard Lugar and author and Hoosier native Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Issues of the Daily Echo date back to 1898 and include 10,844 issues. During 1939, Vonnegut was a reporter and page editor of the Daily Echo; the collection can be searched for documents that contain his name.
Samples of what users may find include this front page of the Daily Echo dated September 26, 1939, where Vonnegut was named chairman of the social committee.
The collection is an invaluable research tool for historians, educators, researchers, alumni and history buffs.
Search the Indianapolis Public Schools collection here.
Keeping Up with Industrial Services
Crossroads Industrial Services has had a very busy year! From document scanning to pressure switch line acquisition to manufacturing to shipping, we are doing it all! We take great pride in the quality of our work and we appreciate our customers who allow us to fill their industrial needs.
Here is a rundown of what we have been up to:
We have expanded our workforce by more than 20% over the last year. Our workforce is the very heart of our business; our skilled employees produce top-quality work for our customers. Expanding our workforce means we are able to meet more needs in our community.
In the last year, we have shipped more than 53,000 pressure switches to customers all over the world. With the recent acquisition of the pressure switch product line from A.J. Antunes, we have brought about a dozen jobs to the area and have grown our presence in Indianapolis to have a more international impact.
Crossroads Document Services has scanned over 560,000 pages of historical records for the Indianapolis Public Library under a Lilly Endowment grant as part of the Digital Indy Project. The goal of this project is to preserve the history of Indianapolis as the City celebrates its bicentennial. The documents scanned include major collections from Indianapolis Public Schools, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indianapolis Fire Department, and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Although most images from these collections won’t be available online for several months, other collections can be viewed at www.digitalindy.org. (Search by the term Crossroads Document Services to see work done by CDS.)
We have manufactured and shipped more than 5,000 timeclocks for the Ultimate Software Group.
We have manufactured more than 2,000 Combat ID Panel Kits for the US Military in the past year.
During the past year, we have manufactured more than 140,000 animal carriers for an English based company, Envigo.
During May, we will begin manufacturing pressure switches specifically designed for the European and Asian markets.
Because of this increase in manufacturing, we will hire another 4-5 production employees for this manufacturing line. Again, expanding our workforce means we are able to meet more needs in our community.
Crossroads Industrial Services is a UL, FM, CE, ETL approved manufacturing location. Certifications are important to us and to our customers. We strive to maintain our credentialing to assure our customers that we are a top-quality manufacturing facility.
In April, we achieved ISO 9001-2015 registration. We consistently provide products and services that meet customer needs and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements; customer satisfaction is topmost in our efforts.
Celebrating Ability through Art
At Easterseals Crossroads, we incorporate art activities into our Adult Day program. Program participants really enjoy the process of working on individual and collective projects. There is often a great sense of teamwork that results in collaborative projects and our participants really enjoy the collective spirit.
Our staff enjoy experimenting with different mediums and different techniques to achieve varying results on projects. Often times, our program staff benefit from the expertise of interns and their skills sets.
Recently our Adult Day program staff and participants had the opportunity to work with Chloe Miers, an art education major at the University of Indianapolis, to create pieces of art to be used at our Celebrate Ability event. Staff and program participants (Tyler, Kathryn and Carolyn) had a wonderful experience and the project created some very special, unique pieces.
About Chloe
Painting is Chloe’s favorite medium because of its messy and experimental nature — something she loves!
Chloe was thrilled to work on this project with our Adult Day services artists; she observed happiness and joy from the participants during the process. She has worked as a volunteer previously with adults with disabilities and finds that these personal experiences have helped her build friendships and understand others more completely.
Chloe hopes to use her skills, talents and education for her long-term goals of having her own art, yoga and nature-based retreat center for children and adults, which would focus on environmental projects, therapeutic practices and workshops.
About Tyler
Tyler enjoys yoga, dancing and being with his friends. He plays guitar and loves going to church. Tyler has a fun-loving personality and sense of humor; he is story-teller and he loves spending time with his dog J’Ace. Tyler loves art and he loved working with Chloe, Amanda and Carolyn to create art for Celebrate Ability.
About Carolyn
Carolyn always wants to “do her part” and she loves to color, draw and paint. She is a very organized person and she likes to clean her closet and get rid of old clothes (and habits). Carolyn is a good friend, a hard worker and she likes to be happy.
Carolyn says she likes to “tell it like it is,” and she really enjoyed working with Chloe to make this show for Celebrate Ability.
About Kathryn
While at Easterseals Crossroads, Kathryn likes to hang out with friends, help others and make arts and crafts. She also volunteers sorting the mail and reading to others in the day program.
In the community, Kathryn enjoys going shopping, going to the library and doing crafts. She volunteers weekly at the local YMCA doing filing and at Robin Run Senior living center helping with laundry.
She said she had fun working on the paintings.
Disability Film Challenge
Promoted by Easterseals Southern California, the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge gives filmmakers – with and without disabilities – the opportunity to collaborate and tell unique stories that showcase disability in its many forms. This in turn supports Easterseals’ goal to change the way the world defines and views disability so that everyone can reach his or her full potential.
The film challenge is a weekend-long filmmaking contest, open to all, that provides a platform for new voices in the entertainment industry. Each year, aspiring storytellers are prompted to creatively write, produce and complete a short film. Challenge winners receive invaluable access to entertainment professionals, opening the door to an industry notoriously difficult to enter.
History of the Disability Film Challenge
Actor Nic Novicki launched the Disability Film Challenge in 2014 in response to seeing disabilities underrepresented both in front of and behind the camera. As someone with a disability, Nic created the challenge to give aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their work and provide them with meaningful exposure.
In 2017, Nic and Easterseals Southern California joined forces to expand the challenge, now known as the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. As the leading nonprofit supporting people with disabilities, Easterseals brings additional attention to the challenge, using its numerous communications channels to encourage participation.
Since the challenge launched, aspiring filmmakers from around the world have created more than 150 films, which have been viewed online and at festivals including the HollyShorts Film Festival.
Registration ends on April 11, 2018; visit www.disabilityfilmchallenge.com to register or to learn more about this event.
