What is it like to be a Direct Support Professional (DSP) and work at Balance?
“I always tell people it is the easiest job ever - I’m getting paid to love on people,” says Kelli.
After three full months on the job, we wanted to talk to Kelli to see how she is adjusting to working at Balance as a caregiver. The technical job title for her position is Direct Support Professional but many people don’t know what that, or the acronym DSP really means.
According to the definition set by the U.S. Department of Labor, “Historically, DSPs primarily served as caregivers for the people they supported. In the past few decades, however, the needs of those served began to change, and the roles of DSPs began to change as well. Today, the role of a DSP goes beyond caregiving and focuses more broadly on supporting people with disabilities to participate fully in their communities, live in integrated settings and seek competitive integrated employment (CIE).” Source
Kelli, a Direct Support Professional at Balance, has a playful interaction with Isaac who is an Adult Day Program participant.
Kelli started as a DSP at Balance in January 2023, just a few short months ago, but already her coworkers say that they would like to clone ten more DSPs in Kelli’s image.
After many years working for Grafton Schools as a bus driver, custodian, and lunch monitor, Kelli wound up working in landscaping for the past six years. Needing a change of pace Kelli started looking for a new job. A listing on Indeed for an open position at Balance caught her eye. Kelli was surprised that after 20 years in Grafton, she had never heard of Balance, even though she knew a few of Balance’s participants from her days working at the school.
Kelli, cheering and assisting Becky during a martial arts class at All Star Health Center in Thiensville, WI. Becky is a Balance Adult Family Home resident and one of Balance’s Adult Day Program participants.
Kelli currently works 4, 12-hour shifts. This means she gets to work at Balance’s Adult Family Homes and at Balance’s Adult Day Program.
“I love finding out what (the participants) want to do so I can help them do it,” says Kelli. “I’m entering their world, their homes, and I want to help them on their terms.”
Kelli has taken it upon herself to really learn about each individual she works with and you can tell this from every interaction you see her having with participants.
Kelli has instantly become every participant’s biggest cheerleader and beams when she sees one of them making progress. You can also see that the participants love how she makes them feel. In her company, participants seem to push out of their comfort zones in small ways to please her, probably because she genuinely loves them and she focuses attention on each individual’s strengths.
“They make me feel happy and loved,” says Kelli as she jokes with a few of the participants who have congregated around her. “Everyone is so accepting and so loving and I just love it here.”
