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The Death of “Assistive” Technology

By Sean Henderson, Person-Centered Technology Manager The first time I saw an iPhone was at a concert sometime in 2007. The owner lifted the phone to take a picture, turned it horizontally, and, like magic, the screen rotated! I was completely awestruck! I started pondering why a person would need...

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Home Is Where the Kitchen Is

By former Hammer DSP Elspeth Lucas When I was growing up, I spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen- climbing the doorjambs, looking for the cookie jar, and repetitively asking my mother what she was making for dinner. In high school, my best friend’s family life revolved around the kitchen in...

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Making a House (or Apartment) a Home

By Tim Eshelman, Director of Environmental Services In my 24 years at Hammer in the maintenance department, I have watched many of those we support grow up – many who have become like a family to me. It’s an honor for me to provide those we support with a place they are proud to call home, a home...

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CSA All the Way

By Emily Miller, Community Life Coordinator I can’t believe it is already September! These last few months have been extremely busy at Hammer trying to squeeze in all the fun (and food) that summer has to offer. We have had walking and running groups, hiking and biking events, fishing outings,...

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“You Could Alway Apply to Hammer, You Know…”

By Katie Binning, Program Manager I’ve always felt like I’ve grown up at Hammer. Lisbeth Armstrong (our Chief Program Officer) is a close friend of my parents. I was lucky enough to have her and her husband Mark heavily involved in my life. When “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” came along and...

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Fences Don’t Make Good Neighbors

By Kathy Lund, Mother of Jessica My adult daughter lives with five other individuals in a Hammer home in Golden Valley. They moved there in February, 2008. It is a beautiful, spacious house on a corner lot with a large driveway area for parking. At the time, the house and yard was screened from...

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We’re All in This Together

By Ginny Kjellesvig A few years ago I was working at Hammer’s Gardner home. I had been married less than two weeks, and it was my first shift back – Friday through Saturday afternoon. Only one of the ladies, Miss Dawn, was home that weekend. Just as she was getting settled for the evening, I got...

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“Don’t Worry, I Got This!”

By Nan Bigot and Patty Hastings, Finance Every Friday as a treat, some folks from the Finance Department choose a place to grab a quick lunch – usually to go. It’s a nice way to get out of the Hammer Central Office and breathe some fresh air! Well, on Friday a few weeks ago, Patty Hastings and I...

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Peace of Mind

By Bill and Joanne Culbert We are grandparents and guardians to Christie Hanson who lives at Hammer’s Avana apartment program. Christie is our very special grandchild (we have nine!) and is presently as happy as she has ever been. In fact, Christie keeps reminding us that she never wants to move....

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36 Years and Counting

By Kim Hansen, Director of Human Resources I came to Hammer 36, yes thirty six, years ago as a student intern. I was fresh out of college with a zest for life, new ideas to share and wanting to make a difference in the world. Well, more than three and a half decades later, my zest isn’t as zesty...

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Reach for Ralph 2014

On Thursday, July 24th over 450 people came together to make dreams come true for the people we serve. Our annual summer benefit was a huge success thanks to a wonderful group of people that made the magic happen. In addition to an army of volunteers the night of the event, a group of 15...

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A Voyage Like No Other

by Rosemary Fish As my friend Tony Baisley, Hammer’s Director of Communication, advises, “Write about what you know.” Okay, since that’s pretty straightforward, I’ll go right to the topic I know best: being the parent of a daughter with special needs. By way of introduction, my daughter Leslie is...

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