“While Mosaic pays me to be a home provider for someone with disabilities, I am not in this for the money–and anyone thinking of becoming a shared home provider should definitely not be in it for the money. Sometimes, when we get to the check-out, I’ll notice a few extra items in our cart, and I’ll amusingly say to myself, ‘mmm, I wonder how that got in there?’ But it makes me happy, because she’s now expressing not only her needs, but her wants. “I show her cards with pictures of grocery items while forming their names slowly, and that helps her pick them out. Palmer has also learned how to shop at the grocery store, where before, she didn’t like going. Lord have mercy on me.’ Then a song with those lyrics started to play, and I realized she knew the song just by its intro! To me, it was a miracle she was able to say that many words in a row.” When we came to a stoplight, Debbie put her hands on her heart and said, ‘Lord have mercy. Perez added although Palmer was considered to be nonverbal, she’s now forming some words. She especially loves being at the packed dinner table with all the lively conversation,” Perez said. “She didn't like to be around large groups of people, and now she just loves it when our kids and grandkids come to visit all at once. “Abel said it was the right thing to do because I loved her, and my kids pleaded, ‘Mom, Debbie needs to be with us.’”Īccording to Perez, Palmer has gone through a remarkable transformation since Perez has shared her home with her. ![]() We decided as a family to bring Debbie home, and because of her previous, frequent visits, my husband Abel and our kids already considered her part of our family,” said Perez. As he grew older, it became an impossible task. Sadly, Palmer’s mom passed soon thereafter in 2002, leaving her elderly father to take care of her. “I told her ‘as long as you have a home and a family, I don’t want to do that.’ But I also promised her Debbie would always have a home.” “At one point during our relationship, Marilyn asked me to be Debbie’s guardian,” Perez said. “As a mother of three, that went straight to my heart.” You could really see the love she had for Debbie–you could literally feel she wanted the best for her–and she was trying so hard to ensure Debbie would be taken care of for the rest of her life,” Perez said. “When I met Debbie’s mom, Marilyn, we really clicked. It was then when Perez started working with her not only in, but outside of, the classroom. They had met each other at high school when Perez was a functional learning educator and Palmer was a 16-year-old student. Locally, Teresa Perez has served 44-year-old Debbie Palmer in her home since 2017. To meet the growing desire for shared living services, Jones says, Mosaic is actively expanding Mosaic at Home-which has been offered for more than 30 years in some markets-in Kansas and across the nonprofit’s 13-state network. “Through this service, the person with IDD shares a home with a Mosaic independent host home provider-also called a contractor-who helps the person become an active member of the household and the greater community," said Mosaic in North Central Kansas Executive Director Mike Jones. Photos courtesy Mosaic in North Central Kansas ![]() ![]() Mosaic in North Central Kansas located in Ellsworth. Recent data shows 24/7 shared living services often improve people’s physical health, bring greater mental and emotional wellbeing, offer more enriching relationships and give them more choices for where they live and with whom.Īll of these happen through the Ellsworth-based nonprofit Mosaic in North Central Kansas with their shared living support service, called Mosaic at Home, one of its most popular and growing support service lines. ELLSWORTH–A growing number of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) want more personalized services in a smaller setting.
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