Our Stories

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.

Tiffany’s path as Service Coordinator at Alta California Regional Center wasn’t direct but was fated after her son was diagnosed with autism. She attended California State University, Sacramento and received a Bachelor’s in English Literature. After Tiffany had her son, Sam, he was diagnosed with autism at three years old and was nonverbal, and they struggled to get help for the things they needed. Tiffany sought the help of Lucee Phan, Service Coordinator, and Jennifer Bloom, the now Director of Client Services, and received so much help.

Kellen struggled with managing emotions, socialization, and being disciplined but he and his parents were intent on finding an option that could help him. Then in 2021, purchase of social recreation services was restored after over a decade of regional centers being prohibited from purchasing it for clients. With this option available again, they decided it would be great for Kellen to try a social recreation activity.

Aileen celebrates her heritage daily as a member of the Hoopa Tribe in Burney Falls. At two years old, she was adopted after her biological parents had to renounce their care for Aileen. She was separated from her culture for many years after being adopted as her adoptive parents are White, but through her aunt, Aileen learned about where she came from.

Jason began his career serving emotionally disturbed adolescents in 2001. He then attended a job fair and met a residential care provider and decided to transition to serving the developmentally disabled population in 2005. He continued his career and served in a role as a Community Support Facilitator, until 2016 when he became a Service Coordinator at Alta California Regional Center (ACRC).

Raymond felt isolated when he learned of his son, Richard’s, developmental disabilities. He didn’t have a community to turn to, and he felt like he was missing out on the role of a father because he found that mothers managed so much of the caregiving for developmentally disabled children. Wanting to remedy that, Raymond learned of a support group for father’s and has been a part of it for 25 years. Almost 10 years ago, he took over as the facilitator of the group and re-branded it as Dad-vocates.

Tommy works at Ruhstaller Farm, where he is a proud bus boy. He loves his job  because he enjoys interacting with people, seeing the celebrations that take place (like birthdays and anniversaries), and the lively atmosphere. He also enjoys partaking in the beers they have available during his time off and appreciates that they frequently have live music performers.