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 Currie home in Maplewood!

The Currie home is led by Program Manager Rachel Carlson. Rachel began working for Hammer & NER in August 2022 as a Lead DSP. She was promoted to Program Manager in January 2023.

Let’s meet the Currie staff:

Charlene

Charlene Jawo – (Lead DSP) Charlene began working for Hammer & NER in February 2023. Charlene is exceptionally person-centered, always focusing on what matters most to the people we serve and how to best support them safely and positively. “She has come up with many solutions to many of our issues at Currie,” says Rachel, “and seamlessly creates a welcoming environment. She has gone above and beyond to care for the people in the home. Charlene is phenomenal at helping me complete various tasks during the day while I manage the evenings. Her communication is on point, and she is a wonderful team player.”

Peter and Landing

Landing Dahaba – (DSP) Landing is new to Hammer & NER. He is transitioning from the evening shift to being the Awake Overnight staff. “Landing works extremely well with the folks at Currie,” Rachel says. “He has grown very close relationships with them, especially with Peter and has developed strong working relationships with his coworkers. Landing is very easy-going and shows initiative and enthusiasm in caring for those we support. He provides a lot of knowledge about other cultures and their history and is even introducing everyone to new foods! He has been enlightening to have as part of our team.”

Aaron

Aaron Simington – (DSP) Aaron began working for Hammer & NER in 2023 as an Awake Overnight DSP. “Aaron is a well-balanced team player,” Rachel says, “always looking for ways to improve himself and the work he does. He will often ask for feedback on his performance and shows great initiative to improve the care for the people we serve. Aaron has been extremely helpful in picking up extra shifts and putting in long hours. He shows great commitment to the work he puts into Currie. He comes up with solutions to various situations and always stays person centered.”

Let’s meet the people supported at Currie:

Charlene and Kimmy

Kimberly (Kim or Kimmy) was about 8 years old when she came to NER in 1979. Before that, she had lived in multiple foster homes and had stays at the Cambridge State Hospital. One of Currie’s former Program Managers became Kim’s legal guardian in 2018. Kim communicates with limited sign language but is receptive to the people around her. “She is a very friendly and loving person and blossomed tremendously in recent years,” Rachel says. “Kim is showing positive characteristics such as being affectionate by giving and receiving hugs. She loves having her head rubbed, too. We believe Kim is displaying positive characteristics due to sensory-related objects she uses every chance she gets.”

Mark

Mark came to NER when he was about 21 years old. He has lived at other NER homes and moved to Currie with three roommates (from the MN house) after it was purchased in 2016. “Mark is a very outgoing guy who enjoys building close relationships with his staff and having friends he can talk to and open up with,” says Rachel. “He enjoys spending his time watching sports, talking about football, playing music and being a DJ for Hammer & NER events, and spending quality time with his family. Mark has a very large family and will spend a lot of time on the phone with them and planning visits.”

Laura

Laura has lived at Currie for almost two years. She is very independent and maintains a part-time job and attends a day program. “Laura enjoys participating in community activities and getting out of the house,” Rachel says. “She loves animals and children and is very passionate about caring for others. A dream of Laura’s is to volunteer in an animal shelter. Laura has a creative mind and enjoys expressing herself artistically. She also enjoys reading and doing word puzzles. Laura enjoys having time to herself and spends most of her time in her room on her phone playing video games or talking to her boyfriend.”

Peter and Mark

Peter (Pete or Petey) Peter moved to Currie in December 2023. He had never lived in a group home and lived with his mother before coming to Currie. “His transition to Currie was anticipated to be a learning curve for everyone involved, including Peter,” Rachel says, “but he was very comfortable and quickly made Currie his home. Peter develops very strong relationships with the people that support him and the roommates he lives with and is an enjoyable person to be around. Ever have a bad day? Go hang out with Peter—his energy and laugh are infectious, and he knows how to put people in a good mood. He is currently in a transition school and will be attending the TSE Day Program upon his graduation in January.”

Rachel

What draws you to this work?
RACHEL: When I started at Currie as a Lead DSP, there hadn’t been a Program Manager for about two years. The house showed signs of needing attention. I quickly grew strong relationships with everyone and was determined to make this house a home. I was very thankful my Program Director at the time, Megan Pierce, saw my potential and decided to promote me to Program Manager, a position I’ve never taken on before. It did not come easily, and it took a lot of time and extended efforts to get Currie to where we are now. Every day is a new day with new struggles and new beginnings.

During my time at Currie, I have experienced two deaths: both were in hospice. I was with one of the individuals when he took his last breath; something I had never experienced before. Experiencing such events did not detour me from my work but made me even more dedicated to Currie and the support we give. I have implemented many different procedures, tasks, and organizational elements.

I’m drawn to this work because I’ve always loved helping people and wanted to make a difference in my life and others, while having a sense of purpose for the work and energy I put into this world. After I graduated high school, I had close friends pass away and that altered my path from attending college to wanting to make a difference with the life I have now, because life will always be too short. I started working in a group home at the age of 19 and I’m 23 now, still loving the work that I do. Having a job that allows me to express myself for who I am while helping others express themselves is extremely fulfilling and I have been able to learn from the people served just as much as being able to share my knowledge with others.

Aaron, Charlene, Mark, Kimmy, and Rachel

Tell me about the connections between the staff and the people they support.
RACHEL: For Mark, when I first started at Currie, I found that he had felt very unheard for a long time and didn’t have enough staff support to tackle what he was feeling in a healthy manner. Now, he has very close relationships with the staff and has grown a lot in his communication skills and identifying an issue before it becomes a problem and learning to ask for help when needed. Mark works very well with all the staff at Currie and has a particularly strong relationship with me and our Lead DSP, Charlene.

Laura has expressed to our staff many times how much she appreciates our efforts at Currie. She feels more supported and has more freedom. Although Laura requires a little more attention to her basic needs, she has always wanted to strive for more independence and staff have helped her with the motivation to accomplish that. We have also worked diligently to ensure that she has the proper support for different issues or concerns she may have.

Peter has grown so much in his independence since moving into Currie. He has developed quite a strong relationship with everyone, especially Landing and Aaron. Peter really enjoys yelling out staff names and when he sees you, he will scream it out and get really excited. Peter has his own way of interacting with each person he feels comfortable with, whether it’s yelling lines from a movie, yelling your name, repeating things you have said, or jumping up and down while grabbing your arm.

Kim is very attached to the female staff that support her. Kim will come home (from her day program) with a giddy smile on her face when she sees her favorite staff. She has grown so much in her character in recent years; she is almost always in a good mood. When I first started, Kimmy was really struggling with her weight as she needed to gain weight. She has now gained over 20 pounds of healthy weight, and her mood has changed exponentially. She has more energy to participate in the activities she loves including dance parties with staff. She loves to be engaged in what is happening around her. She doesn’t communicate verbally but gets her message across loud and clear for the things she wants. Kimmy struggled with being understood by others for a while but has developed a strong relationship with Currie staff.

Rachel, Mark, Charlene, Kimmy, and Laura

What makes this home special?
RACHEL: The people we support have such a variety of personalities, characteristics, care needs, routines, and tasks, etc. Each day is different, providing new opportunities and new adventures to be experienced. Our home is special because we have all worked very hard to make it special. It takes a village, and when you have such a strong staff, things start to come together as one, even though there are always a million moving parts. We have not been fully staffed at Currie in a long time, but we are all managing to do more with less.

As PM, what hopes and dreams do you have for the home?
RACHEL: As a Program Manager the hope is to become fully staffed one day soon. As for dreams, well, I’m living the dream. I have had the opportunity to put my organizational and management skills to the test. One of the best dreams is to be believed in by others. Being recognized for the hard work we put in and the difference we make in the work we do goes a long way. Aspirations I have for Currie are to provide the people we support with more opportunities to be a part of their community as well as providing staff with positive support and reinforcement to complete the tasks of their job successfully, safely, and confidently, hopefully making their job seem less like “work” and more of a place they enjoy coming to every day.

Do you have any volunteer needs? How could volunteers benefit the people you support as individuals or as a group?
RACHEL: We would benefit tremendously with a volunteer who could help with various tasks throughout the year like helping in the yard and garden. We would also love one-on-one volunteers to take people out into the community to do things that are important to them, whether it’s going on a walk, going to the store, going to the aquarium or the zoo, or just going for a drive.