Tell us about your nominee. Why should he or she be recognized as a Jewish Community Hero?
Heidi is a quiet hero with a loud mission: To help young adults with special needs find an environment where they can be successful after being faced with years of failure, rejection, or limited opportunity and empower them to become self-sufficient, contributing members to society. As coordinator of the YouthAbility program at Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland, Heidi uses volunteerism and service to the community as the platform for inspiring her students to achieve their goals. Whether it is volunteering for a nursing home, animal clinic, restaurant or radio station, or even helping serve meals at a Cleveland Indians baseball game, Heidi makes sure each student uses their volunteer experience to enjoy a sense of personal accomplishment as well as increase their skills and abilities. Through her efforts, Heidi has transformed the lives of many young adults and their families.
What problem did your nominee identify in the community that needed to be solved? How has your nominee's efforts made a difference for others?
For young adults with special needs, in particular those with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, or students who are considered "at-risk" (typically teens who are in the juvenile justice system, truant, or drug or alcohol dependent, etc), real world opportunities for learning how to become independent and self-sufficient are limited. A significant gap exists today because many high school vocational and work programs do not focus on special needs populations. Heidi has brought these two seemingly disparate populations together to create one of most unique youth outreach programs to Greater Cleveland.
Heidi works tirelessly finding volunteer experiences for over 300 YouthAbility members every year, ranging in age from 16-26. Last year, 195 at-risk youth and 105 physically and developmentally disabled students participated in the program. These students provided over 6,000 hours of community service to local area non-profits.
In addition to her one-on-one work with students and parents and agencies, Heidi creates wonderful group learning experiences that benefit both populations of students, such as community volunteer projects and field trips. Last year, Heidi led a group of YouthAbility students to Israel. Most of them had never been away from home because of their disability. This summer Heidi took her group to Washington D.C. to thank elected officials for their support of volunteerism for the disabled. Heidi uses these trips as a learning tool, not just a life experience for students. For the D.C. trip, Heidi helped the students prepare for their visit with legislators by teaching them how to write letters to politicians, how to advocate for their cause and in so doing, empower her students through learning and doing.
When students from both groups are combined to work on various projects, the results are powerful. Individuals from both groups experience the empowerment that comes from transforming themselves from a person in need of help to a person who is helping others.
Heidi's program has gone a long way to change the attitudes of many people in the community and their perceptions of young people with special needs. Many YouthAbility members have received top honors and recognition from several large Cleveland organizations for their volunteer efforts and accomplishments.
Most importantly, parents and administrators shower Heidi with praise for her personal dedication and commitment to seeing that every student reaches their potential through their volunteer experience. In the words of one administrator, ìWhen I think of the number of young and older adults with disabilities, sadly sitting at home watching TV for 12 hours a day, alone, with no friends or activities in their lives, and then look at the full, exciting and happy lives you are developing for your participating youth, it is truly hear warming. Nothing compares to what you are doing.
