I cannot lie, it has not been an easy year. In fact, this year really stinks! What feels like the hardest part is that we can’t see all of the people we love whenever we want. Despite the challenges, I have noticed that I continue to experience joy at work. As I look to my colleagues, it seems that I am not alone in this experience. I think every job at Kainos comes with a dose ofjoy. No matter your role, our work is about getting to know each person we serve with the goal of supporting them on their path to achieving a happy life. What job could be better? The goal of supporting happiness has acted as a guidepost this year as Kainos has responded across the board to keep residents and staff safe and offer new and innovative program options to meet the needs of residential and community clients.

The heart of our work is the people we serve. Watching folks stay resilient, engaged and happy in their individual ways has been incredible. When Governor Newsom announced shelter in place orders on March 19th, Kainos was ahead of the curve. All Kainos residents were already sheltering in place as it had earlier become apparent that community spread of Covid-19 was a growing concern. We let residents know what was happening and they quickly adapted to our new “normal.”

As per usual, I learned how to be more positive myself from observing the residents. There were few to no complaints about getting temperatures taken
twice a day, washing hands much more than usual, or wearing masks to go on our frequent exercise walks. And it wasn’t too much of a battle when staff took over some of the chores for the first few months to have fewer hands on the household surfaces. We made our own fun, gardening in backyards, learning to tie dye, arts and crafts, projects galore, ordering special meals every week, learning to connect with friends and family over FaceTime and Zoom, and visiting KVS to have lunch and get out of the house for a bit. Getting through that first phase took all hands-on deck to make things work.

Just as I believe every job at Kainos comes with a dose of joy, every job also comes with a lot of moving pieces. Flexibility and humor are requirements to work well with people. I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to give a shout out to all of the incredible residential managers. Like all Kainos managers, they had significant job responsibilities prior to Covid-19 and all of a sudden had to work with the added element of residents never leaving the house! We weren’t quite set up for running day programs from home. Since residents typically leave for work and day programs each morning and don’t return until the afternoon, the homes do not have much staff during the day. This was a challenge we had to address immediately.

In typical Kainos fashion, the entire team banded together and staff from the Community Connections and Supported Employment programs volunteered to start working with the residents during the day. In total over a dozen employees

were spread out amongst the five home programs where they’ve become an integral part of those teams. ese residential teams have been working so hard in each home to keep the homes safe AND fun for residents. e care, dedication, and bravery it took to be an essential worker during these uncertain times has been one more thing that fills me with joy as well as gratitude for my colleagues.

As we all learned about how to live with Covid19 our safety procedures in the homes have changed with the intention of giving the most opportunities for normalcy while remaining safe. Unfortunately, we did have two cases of Covid19 among our residents back in April as well as four cases of staff getting sick. Happily, everyone recovered without significant illness. Our own Shea Acosta took time o of her normal manager duties and took care of a resident with Covid-19 who was living in an isolated setting. Shea was trained to put on the head to toe Personal Protective Equipment and went in multiple times daily to care for one of our dear residents who had Covid19. Again, I am astounded by the commitment, care and goodness our staff have displayed time and again during this year.

It feels like an honor to be on the leadership team of an organization that exists for the sole purpose of helping people with disabilities live good and full lives. A philosophy that is replicated in the way Kainos treats employees. Kainos is a place where employees are met with kindness and support. An organization where the leadership shows up during a crisis and doesn’t hesitate to do any of the work that they ask their direct staff to do. An organization where all employees believe in the mission and show up in times of crisis. I feel proud to work for a place that does good and is good.