Each of our Hammer & NER homes is unique because of the people who live and work there. The “Showcasing Our Homes” profiles celebrate our homes (and apartment programs), the people who live there, and the staff who support them. Let’s learn about the Zealand apartment program in New Hope!

The Zealand apartment program is led by Program Manager Annie Critzer. Annie has been at Hammer & NER for four years and has managed the Zealand apartment program for three. She started as an APM (now called Lead DSP) at our Sumac home. She then became Program Manager at Gardner in 2021 and added the Zealand program in the summer of 2021. 

Let’s meet the Zealand team!

Leslie – Lead DSP, has worked at Zealand for about four years. Leslie helped clean up a lot of old files/binders, helped reorganize finance books, and created a whiteboard system for staff to follow each day. She has worked hard at being mindful of serving sizes/portions and is a big part of why a lot of individuals at Zealand have lost weight in the past year. Leslie is the medical lead and takes people to their appointments. She has helped some of the individuals purchase new items for their apartments to update them and make them their own.

Karen – Overnight DSP, has been at Hammer & NER for over 38 years and is one of the longest tenured Zealand staff. Karen is great at keeping things light with the individuals, joking with them and making them laugh, even through the tougher conversations! She is always willing to stay late, come in early, and help with extra tasks. Karen is good at using humor to talk about the more difficult things with someone and can redirect them to help them get ready on time for their rides. In the morning, Karen stays until 10 a.m. She’ll make breakfast for Barb (supported at Zealand) and they’ll sit and chat.

Patrick – Weekend DSP, has been with Hammer & NER for about 16 years. Patrick is the only male staff on the team, so his bonds with the guys at Zealand is great, they really respect him. He recently adjusted his hours, so he only works every other weekend, but everyone looks forward to when he works. Patrick brings great, calming energy to the team. Blake (supported at Zealand) gets along well with him and respects him. If Blake has a problem, Patrick can talk to him and help him understand, teach him life lessons. He is very good at bridging relationships.

Carolyn – Overnight DSP, has been at Hammer & NER for 33 years in various homes. She is great at doing one-on-one things with the individuals on weekends and has great attention to detail. She uses humor to bond with them. They are always excited when they see her name on the schedule. Carolyn has also helped with picking up extra overnights and is willing to stay late on weekends to help cover gaps in staffing. She and Lynn (supported at Zealand) get along really well. Carolyn is good at calming her down or easing her mind about something that might be troubling her. Lynn loves it when Carolyn brings her dogs to visit.

Elaine – DSP, has been here nearly 20 years. Elaine is great with the one-on-one time with individuals and is very caring. Each Thursday she takes two of the guys out fishing and they spend most of the day together. They will do a morning meeting and talk about what they want to do over coffee, such as fishing, mini golfing, going to the train museum, or perhaps taking a road trip to Buffalo. Elaine makes it a special time for them.

Betsy – DSP, has been with Zealand around four years, but has worked at Hammer & NER for over seven years. She is very creative and has led craft nights where they’ve made decorations for their doors. She’s always willing to take people on fun outings and has worked with other Hammer & NER homes to bring individuals on dates with their significant others. She’s a great “go-to” person. She’s always willing to lend an extra hand for an activity. She makes things like getting a flu shot a fun outing with ice cream afterward.

Vera – DSP, has been with Zealand around three years, but has been with Hammer & NER for five years. Fridays are special for Vera and the individuals at Zealand as she takes a few people out on one-on-ones to help celebrate getting through the week. That routine has become very important to the people at Zealand. Vera has helped out with extra shifts and has been willing to come in early often when there is a need. Every Friday Vera takes Robin out for coffee, which is an important part of Robin’s routine.

Mamie – DSP, just started working at Zealand a few weeks ago. She has been very eager and willing to learn and she even jumped right in to help clean up after an individual got sick. She has 11 grandchildren, so her caring spirit carries over to Zealand. You can tell she has a lot of love to give. She is still getting to know everyone and takes the time to ask them how their day was. Mamie is a really great addition to the team.

Safia – DSP, is brand new! We look forward to getting to know her. She’ll be working every other weekend.

“We also have a wonderful group who like to pick up shifts here,” Annie says. “We love them.”

     Front row from left: Elaine (red shirt), Leslie, Mamie, Carolyn. Back row Vera (blue shirt), Betsy, Patrick, Annie, Karen  (not pictured is Safia)

Let’s meet the people supported at Zealand!

Barb enjoys going shopping to find a new trinket for whatever season we are in. She also loves the QVC channel.

Blake moved to Zealand in 2020. He enjoys wrestling and sports like baseball. He is also active in Special Olympics.

Carol enjoys going out with her volunteer to places like Valley Fair and country music concerts.

Robin loves going out for coffee—it’s the way to her heart! She has a cat named Coco.

Lynn enjoys going on a walk to buy a pop at the gas station. She loves watching “I Love Lucy” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

Matt is a great dancer and enjoys going fishing.

Joe is really into scary/horror movies. Has a great sense of humor and does a great “Three Stooges” impression.

John loves to be busy going on outings/activities. He enjoys fishing, sports, and inviting his friends to his apartment to watch wrestling.

                           From row from left: Robin, Matt, Carol, Joe. Back row: John, Lynn, and Barb (not pictured is Blake)

This is the first apartment program that we have “showcased.” Tell us about the culture of Zealand. What kinds of activities do the people you support like to do?

ANNIE: The Zealand apartment program is unique. We’re a smaller building (12 units) and it’s just the people supported by Hammer & NER who live here. Besides the eight people supported, one apartment is our staff office and the other three are home to staff who work at other Hammer & NER programs. We support people with varying levels of independence. Everyone goes to a day program and several people have jobs. Zealand provides more support in one specific area than the bigger apartment programs. We support them in their household tasks and play to their levels of ability. We have a community dinner, and everyone comes in to eat together. We talk about everyone’s day and often have an activity for the evening.

Blake with Matt, Joe, and John

The guys are big into wrestling and will all go to John’s apartment to watch wrestling together. We know not to plan any activities on those days! Barb and Lynn sometimes go to lunch with staff on the weekends. We try to do at least one outing each week. We have lots of recurring activities like Special Olympics bowling. Several people enjoy going to Tuesday night church (Christ for People). They also love bingo at the West office with Community Life. We do things with other homes, too. John and Joe have girlfriends at Rockford. A few weeks ago, we went to Stone Creek (in Plymouth) for dinner and games. There’s a lot of intermingling between programs.

A lot of the people here have known each other for a really long time. John and Joe lived together at Lancaster. Carol used to live in the dorms. They are very well connected with others.

What draws you to this work?  

ANNIE: What’s important to me in a career is making a difference in someone’s life. I worked with someone who was living with bipolar disorder. I told her she was not a burden. She later painted a magnet for me that said “You are not a burden.” Robin brought me a lanyard from a trip we took together to Arizona. Seeing the difference you make in someone’s life is what drew me and what has kept me here.

Robin and Annie

What makes this program special?

ANNIE: The bonds everyone has with each other. I feel many of them are genuinely friends with each other. It’s special how they get together and joke with each other and watch movies or wrestling in each other’s apartments. To have such a high percentage get along is special. They want to do things together. They value their relationships with each other.

As PM, what hopes and dreams do you have for the home?

ANNIE: When I came here after COVID-19, everyone was so used to having to stay in their apartment. I’ve really tried to bring back activities and get them out in the community. We’re working hard on exercise and group walks, and we’ve noticed people are losing weight. The goal is to continue making life fun.