Category: Great News!

Hey everyone, this morning the Prime Minister announced special one-time, tax-free payment to people who receive the Disability Tax Credit as of June 1, 2020 — which could mean an extra $600 for those eligible. More information is available here on Castanet and we will post further details as they become available.

—UPDATE—

There is a COVID-19 financial help guide available here that asks 7 to 10 questions, and shows a customized list of benefits that may help at this time.

Hi all:

Great shot of Travis W and Janeen M from Creston sending a positive message during this Coronavirus situation. Thanks to Shell S for passing this along.

Stay safe and have an awesome weekend!

Hi everyone:

We have a compliments section on our website but sometimes there’s something that comes in that is too good not to share more widely. It is obvious how much Kevin H who is one of our unsung heroes at CCSS is valued by CT, Carolyn S and Beth B but no better stated than by Beth and Carolyn in this note to Thea W (their Home Share Coordinator):

Good Morning Thea: I am unsure who to send this to so thought you could pass it on for Carolyn and I…. There are people all over our Country going above and beyond right now… I think, sometimes we might overlook those right here, close to home. When Covid19 started, and people started to isolate (we started a week earlier then most) we made it very clear to our Support Workers that, if they did not feel safe coming to the house during all this we would understand. We also told Kevin if he needed to stay home AND if CCSS would not cover his wages (we had no idea what your agency policies were regarding that)… we would personally cover the wages because Kevin is so important to CT and we did not want him to lose his worker. So, in a nut shell… Kevin could be sitting at home with a full wage and being safe… lots of people have had to do this. Kevin chose not to do this…. instead he has shown up every day, taking his coat/sweaters off outside, changing his shoes, entering the house, disinfecting his hands, putting a mask and gloves on… all of which he wears the entire time he is here. He sits with CT, talks to him (non-stop), allows CT to hold his hand… he does this every day. To truly appreciate what this all means is to KNOW our C… he must be watched constantly… he is extremely high needs. Kevin never “misses” anything when it comes to looking after this young man. He takes care of all the medical and physical requirements associated with C. We were told that (via Doctors), should C contract this virus it would be unlikely he would survive…a difficult reality… but life for C and us. Because of this Carolyn and I decided to make a film for C’s birth family… just in case… so they would have him in their homes… because they all live so far away… and in case we lose him to Covid19. We did “A Day in the Life of C”…the filming started at 6 a.m. and ended at 8:30 p.m. Kevin, sitting with C spent 3 days editing the filming, transferring it all to flash drives so we could send it to his family members. Prior to all this Kevin also went out and purchased a new laptop for C, set it all up for us, and figured out how to install ZOOM so C’s family could also connect with him every week, in addition to them receiving the film we all did. These were all things we could not have done for two reason…1) We are stupid when it comes to computers and, 2) We have remained isolated so could not have done C’s purchases. Throughout all these little extras it should be remembered that C’s needs do not change…everything still needs to be done for him and whoever is looking after the medical requirements MUST stay focused and be careful. Kevin does all this when he is here… he goes out with him for walks, empties bags, gives medications, gets coughed on, starts and stops feeds, does all the flushes. Some could say…”yes, but he gets paid”……Carolyn and I say….”Find a man (note “man”) who would do this, during this pandemic, putting up with us, getting coughed on, having to wear masks and gloves (for 5 hour shifts)….when he could be sitting at home, with pay… you would be hard pressed…”If you have some sort of staff appreciation/ recognition…please put Kevin’s name in there somewhere…we verbally thank him every day…but we are sure, if you actually knew everything he does for C… you would also (because he is employed by your agency) like to take a moment to give him an extra thank you… he deserves it 100%. Thank you for your time, stay safe and healthy. Beth B, Carolyn S and CT

from Beth B and Carolyn S about the amazing Kevin H!

THANKS KEVIN!!!