Vincent
On the Path to a Career
Vincent has made immense strides in
building his confidence through his time at California Resource
Services for Independent Living (CRS) and as a client of Alta
California Regional Center (ACRC). He struggled with being vocal
about his needs and would shy away from conversations, but at
CRS, he practices daily conversation to improve his speaking.
This improvement has helped him become more confident when it
comes to finding a job and being in job interviews.
James
Direct Support Professional
James began his career at
PRIDE Industries in December 2021 as a job coach. He is
instrumental in guiding clients through daily tasks for their
jobs and helps them understand the tasks assigned to clients
during their workdays. James provides support to a group of
clients who are employed at Thunder Valley and acts as a liaison
for the clients and the employer.
Mariano and Irene
Direct Support Professionals
Mariano and Irene both work for
California Resource Services
for Independent Living (CRS), a service provider of Alta
California Regional Center (ACRC). Service providers are vital to
the regional center system as they help provide direct services
that every client’s unique case needs. At CRS, they provide
Coordinated Family Support Services (CFS) to adult clients.
Nancy
Service Coordinator
Nancy has had a robust career that
enabled her to experience and serve people from all walks of
life. She began her education with a Bachelor’s in journalism and
minored in criminal justice. Nancy continued her education with a
Master’s from Arizona State University in criminal justice.
During the time she studied, Nancy also served as an intern
parole agent where she learned about prisoner safety and
security, along with how to handle dangerous situations. She
enjoyed the shadowing opportunity it provided her and piqued her
interest to continue.
Jessicah
Service Coordinator
Jessicah was inspired by her mother
at a young age to have a career that would be impactful and
helpful for others. Whenever there was a crisis or family issue,
she would watch and hear her mother diffuse the situation and
comfort those involved, helping them all feel safe. Jessicah knew
she wanted to emulate that, and so in 2011, she pursued an
associate’s degree in psychology from Sierra College. She would
continue her education at California State University,
Sacramento, by getting a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2014.
Matthew
Writer
Matthew discovered his passion for
writing in 2013 while in high school after participating in a
writing contest. In three days, he wrote 11 pages and received an
A+ for his work and found something that makes him happy to do.
Matthew is fascinated by history, and science fiction (sci-fi)
and will frequently write about historical events in a
fiction-based story.
Nicole
Discovering Her Identity
Nicole was strongly in tune with her
feminine nature since elementary school. She was born a boy, but
never felt aligned with the societal view of being a boy. She
would see her sisters and the women in her family doing their
hair and makeup together and thought that it was beautiful.
Nicole was raised by her grandparents who brought her up in a
very religious household and so she was nervous to come out to
her family about her identity.
Laraine and Orlando
Foster Parents
Laraine first became a foster parent
in 2010 after taking in two distantly related family members,
Sophia, and Brent. She and her husband, Orlando, would formally
adopt them on August 17, 2010, seven days after welcoming the
birth of their firstborn son on August 10. Although they were
excited and happy to bring in their two adopted children into the
family, they quickly realized they would having a learning curve
after discovering that both Sophia and Brent had developmental
disabilities.
Janica
Family Home Agency Provider
Janica began working as a Family Home
Agency (FHA) provider in 2015, after her mother’s friend
suggested that she go to Enriching Lives and explore
becoming a provider. FHA providers offer flexible living options
for 1-2 individuals with developmental disabilities. They assist
in the care, medical needs, basic life needs of the client and
offer up their home for the client to actively be a part of.
Janica immediately adjusted to this new way of life as a Family
Home Agency provider.
Melinda
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community Services Specialist
At 16 years old, Melinda was in a car
accident and hospitalized. She was pronounced brain dead and
conversations were initiated about what the next steps were as
she was on life support. All seemed hopeless and her family
prepared to grieve. However, Melinda’s sister had caught out of
the corner of her eye Melinda’s hand moving. Startled and
curious, the sister grabbed Melinda’s hand and “listened.”
Melinda was finger spelling “hurt” onto the palm of her sister’s
hand over and over.
Derek
Discord Community Creator
Derek is long term gamer and has a
goal to bring people with disabilities together in a safe online
community. He has enjoyed playing video games since 2003 when his
brother introduced him to Game Cube. His love of video games
merged with his love of technology in 2005 when he started
learning about it during his special education classes. Since
then, Derek has been passionate about technological advancements
and understanding it.
Michael
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Specialist
Michael is the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Specialist at Alta California Regional Center. He began
the position in February 2024, but he has a lifetime of
experience as a member of the deaf community. He recognizes the
value of having a deaf person available to deaf and hard of
hearing clients because he understands the unique cultural
components of the community.
Tim
Paid Intern
Tim began a Paid Internship Program
(PIP) one year ago for Eskaton, a senior living care
facility. He obtained the internship with the help of tkMomentum, a vendored provider
with Alta California Regional Center. At Eskaton, Tim performs a
number of jobs, including working in the kitchen for food
preparation for dining hours, maintaining cleanliness of the
dining hall, and providing any other needed duties like overall
maintenance of the facility.
Maria
Service Coordinator
Maria began at Alta California
Regional Center in 2020, right before the start of the pandemic.
She has experience working with young children, and prior to her
transition to a Service Coordinator at the regional center, she
worked in Emergency Response at Child Protective Services. Her
career has been built on helping others and providing them the
space to feel comfortable in seeking help.
Margaret
Proud Mother
Margaret is a proud stay-at-home
mother to two children, Lyrik and Keyshia. As a client, Margaret
recognized her life goals and knew she wanted to live
independently with her two children. Lyrik and Keyshia also
receive services from Alta California Regional Center and
Margaret can apply her first-hand experience as a client to help
her children.
Ye
Service Coordinator
Ye has worked as a Service
Coordinator at Alta California Regional Center for over a year.
As a bilingual Service Coordinator, she can communicate with
Mandarin speaking clients to help them better understand
services. She enjoys working at ACRC because of the supportive
team and overall positive working environment, along with helping
the families and clients on her caseload.
Darren
Artist and Business Owner
Six years ago, Darren began painting
ornaments when a non-profit organization recognized his talent
for painting on canvas and asked him if he could paint ornaments
as presents. Darren was willing to try, but being a
perfectionist, he did not like the first batch of ornaments he
painted and so he tried again. From then on, Darren turned what
seemed like a simple one-time request into a successful business.
Asya
Service Coordinator
Asya is a highly educated person who
has obtained multiple degrees including an MBA, in Healthcare
Administration, Bachelor’s in Science, and Associates in Arts.
She intended to become a nurse while she was studying but found
that life took her on the path of entrepreneurship with the goal
in mind to help people. While living in Chicago, Asya started a
cleaning company, and a personal Assistant company with a goal to
hire those in need of employment facing homelessness, and home
aids who support the elderly in their homes.
Love
Business Owner
Love is a student and business owner. She started in Fall 2022 at Consumnes River College and has especially enjoyed classes where she learns about diversity and other cultures. Love is majoring in Introduction to Business and plans to use her education to continue to develop her two businesses, Tea-Time Honey Flavors and Opulent Soaps.
Wayne and Chrissy
A Love Story
Wayne met the love of his life,
Chrissy, in junior high school and it was love at first sight.
Since then, they have been inseparable. They have a date night
once a week to go see a movie, go out to dinner, or take a
leisurely stroll in the park. When they are not physically
together, they connect virtually by texting or calling throughout
the day. Chrissy also enjoys writing Wayne daily love letters and
he is always happy to receive them.