A few months ago we featured one of our clients, Elliot, as one of the many ICS faces you may encounter while you’re out and about at your local favorite bookstore or restaurant. Another face you may see while out at a Giants game, bowling or hiking is one of our long-time staff members, Jasmine Kenion. Jasmine has a passion for organizing opportunities for our clients to connect with each other and our community and she applied that to developing a specialized role at ICS as our Living Skills and Social Clubs Specialist.
I got the chance to chat with Jasmine about her work at ICS and really enjoyed our conversation. I hope you do too.
Abby:
“Hey Jasmine! It’s so great to spend time with you, it’s been too long since we’ve got a chance to sit down and catch up properly. I was just reminiscing about when you first started at ICS- when was that now?”
Jasmine:
“It’s really great to see you. Yes- it’s been 10 years… hard to believe I’ve been here for 10 years!”
Abby:
“That’s wild to think about! 10 years! Remind me of how you first learned about ICS.”
Jasmine:
“It was through Sandy (a former ICS staff person). I met her out in the community when I was doing more care-giving work at a different agency. Sandy explained to me what ICS was and let me know that it was a place where my career could grow and I could do more with case management and working with all the different aspects of a person’s life like helping them develop their own goals, writing plans and collaborating with social workers. I really liked the idea of being able to be involved with someone’s independence while learning about the whole system of services. Sandy followed up with me a few times (laughs) and told me so many wonderful things about working at ICS- that I would really be able to have an impact- so, I interviewed and it felt like a really natural fit.”
Abby:
“I love that story. So many people at ICS are recruited from current staff. I’m curious what keeps you at ICS?”
Jasmine:
It’s the clients. I love the self-advocacy I see happening every day. I love seeing the people we work with feel free. I also love the push we have at ICS for interdependence. That’s the word we love.”
Abby:
“(laughs) YES! Interdependence- my favorite concept. This idea that it’s through relationships and connection that we can thrive. No one is an island.”
Jasmine:
“Totally- it’s important for self actualization. Relationships help you to grow and make your own choices. I really think we do that at ICS. Also, I love to just see everybody having a good time. If you think of the excursions we go on in our clubs, I love sitting back and seeing people make friends, creating their own communities. It’s what keeps me going.”
Abby:
“You mentioned our clubs, and I know you have done SO much to help our clubs grow, we have close to 13 now, right? How did that develop?”
Jasmine:
“Well it started when I was providing living skills with one of our clients and I was realizing that finding the right social outings for him was a challenge, nothing felt like the right fit with his interests so I reached out to my supervisor, Michael, and he said if I wasn’t finding anything why don’t I work with my client to start something. I liked that idea of being able to create something. That’s how the hiking club started. It really took off from there and what I found is each club usually has one person who is really championing it and that enthusiasm catches on. I work with one person who loves going out and about and travelling which started our excursions club and then another person who loves to do art. Every single club starts with someone saying I love to do this thing: maybe it’s cooking, maybe it’s going to baseball games and then I just help with organizing it so that there’s a bit of structure but it’s mostly me sitting back and watching our clients really run with all the opportunities that this kind of socialization can bring.”
Abby:
“I really like how the clubs have evolved. It starts with a client championing an idea and you contributing by saying how about we make it a club, let’s go with it. That structure and consistency for connection is so important. I think a lot about what ICS is combatting is isolation. People with disabilities have a history of being isolated and segregated. What I think is beautiful about the clubs is it’s directly combating both those things. What have you seen our clients benefit from because of breaking down that isolation and creating more social opportunities?”
Jasmine:
“The first client I mentioned working with that I started the hiking club with, he has really blossomed. He made so many friends outside of ICS that he no longer needed the clubs to find social engagement or a social outlet and we said “hey we miss you!” so he comes and visits still when he has time (laughs) but he has become fully integrated in his community. I still say “hey don’t forget about us, come say hi sometimes” (laughs). But it really is so cool, like this person is on the autism spectrum and they really had a hard time making friends for a long time, now I see them having so many cool skills and interests and the ability to connect with others about what they enjoy. Come to think of it, I started working with this person about 10 years ago when I first started and watching him grow is so amazing.”
Abby:
“That’s wonderful. What are you looking forward to doing with the clubs in the future?”
Jasmine:
“I’d love to organize a trip with our clients. Maybe an overnight to practice skills being away from home. Like let’s go to Sacramento for the night. Let’s go to a concert. Let’s get out more. Overnight getaways can be a scary idea if you haven’t been away from home on your own, but how do we start small and build up to it because travel is such freedom. I like the idea of us being a launch pad. I think a lot about the challenges with access and navigating things alone. I love being a part of making things less intimidating. What would it look like to sit down and go through the steps of booking a hotel for example. I would also love to see our clients travelling more internationally, taking in art, being in the world. We also are talking more about finding more opportunities for dating and building relationship skills, which is exciting.”
Abby:
“That’s really exciting! I keep thinking about you bringing up the word interdependency- what I love about the clubs is that it’s showing you don’t have to do things completely by yourself- your friends can help you get to the music venue or you can travel together and you can pool your skills so that you can experience more. Is there anything else you think folks should know about the clubs?”
Jasmine:
“Yes, I’d like people to know that they can come to the clubs at their own pace. We have one gentleman who comes for five minutes, waves, says hi, then leaves. And we love seeing him. Starting small and knowing you’re welcome can do so much for people that are nervous about socializing. I like for people to know that they don’t have to overly commit to anything or even come and talk if they just want to observe. It’s about having a regularly scheduled, welcoming place where people can connect at a pace that works for them.“
Thank you so much to Jasmine for all she does to create community at ICS. To learn more about ICS’ social clubs please visit our website at www.connectICS.org