It’s been a little more than a year since the TradeWinds team battled a blizzard while moving into the nonprofit’s new Merrillville home.
With generous support from the community and a dedicated Board of Directors led by President James R. Dye, the former AmeriClean facility located at 3198 East 83rd Place underwent a magnificent transformation so TradeWinds could better meet the needs of local children and adults with disabilities. Their vision is already producing amazing results.
“The move to our new facility has proven to be a fantastic decision,” TradeWinds CEO Jon Gold said. “Thanks to our centralized location, referrals have increased our service provision by about 40 percent overall, with program participation doubling in some areas. TradeWinds added a Certified Benefit Information Network Liaison to accommodate the number of referrals in the Work
Solutions program, and to date we have hired 50 additional employees to accommodate the overall increase in program referrals. We are also experiencing a renewed interest in partnerships with like-minded agencies.”
In response to the growing number of children and adults receiving services and attending programs, TradeWinds has already remodeled several areas and recently found it necessary to lease additional space in another building across the street.
“The need for services for children and adults with disabilities is great, and we have only scratched the surface,” Gold, who has been affiliated with TradeWinds for nearly three decades, said. “The building across the street now provides space for our Deaf Services along with 55 adults in our pre-vocational program. In January we began to enroll some of the 22 adults on our waiting list, and we anticipate adding another 5-10 monthly until we run out of space again.”
While continuing to provide the core programs and services that have evolved since TradeWinds was established in the 1940s as the Lake County Association for Crippled Children to provide speech, hearing and therapy services for children in school rooms and church basements, they have been able to introduce a number of exciting new initiatives in the short time since the move.
Along with occupational therapy, speech therapy, child care and summer camp, children now have new options from an expanded partnership with Geminus Head Start while their families can take advantage of new Respite Care options as well as expanded transportation options to and from north Lake County.
With on-site residential and center nursing, adults who live in group home and supported living environments join others at TradeWinds for Pre-Vocational training, Work Solutions and/or Adult Day Activity Program Training (ADAPT). TradeWinds’ in-house progressive skill-building program gives adults the opportunity to earn a paycheck when they apply for a wide range of opportunities from a full-service sign shop to packaging and assembly, sewing, computer recycling, jewelry assembly and online order fulfilment.
For example, during the first year in their new location, TradeWinds hired 7 new sewing operators to work on their Department of Defense contracts and plans to employ additional skilled industrial workers to meet the increasing demands of producing 23,000 – 30,000 garments per month.
TradeWinds Computer Recycling program employs 6 adults with varying abilities that earn $8.10/hr dismantling computers and destroying hard drive data. To further increase jobs, TradeWinds plans to expand the service to include onsite data destruction using one of the most highly rated National Security Administration degaussers on the market.
With six group homes and one supported living home, the team at TradeWinds now also coordinates services for residents in three new waiver apartments and a new waiver/wheelchair accessible home. With so many new waiver adults on board, TradeWinds established a wellness program for them at the new facility.
A new partnership with Deaf Services is another great success story from the move.
“Just as we anticipated, all of our clients transitioned with us to TradeWinds,” Deaf Services Coordinator Debra Pampalone explained. “With the marketing and staffing at TradeWinds, this has definitely proven to be a strategic partnership that benefits everyone we’re working with to provide interpreting services, case work and advocacy. Deaf Services also continues to provide ongoing Sign Language classes, and our referrals for assistive listening technology have really increased. I’m especially excited to be working with a growing number of newly identified hard of hearing seniors. It’s a great team effort.”
This spring, Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired will be partnering with TradeWinds in a similar fashion.
“We look forward to continuing TradeWinds long-standing tradition of serving people with special needs by empowering them to reach their full potential,” Dye added. “This move was an ambitious undertaking with the goal of a seamless transition for everyone we serve. Thanks to an outstanding staff and dedicated and passionate Board of Directors, we were able to do that while still focusing on how we can make an even greater impact in the lives of local people with disabilities and their families.”
To learn more about TradeWinds call 219.945.0100 or go to tradewindsnwi.org.
Photo: Meet Keith, a TradeWinds Group Home resident from East Chicago who participates in ADAPT (Adult Day Activity Program Training). Keith came to TradeWinds in the fall of 2012 after many years in another adult day program. At the time, his weight “was up in the 400s, and his activity was extremely limited,” according to his mother.
“Keith blossomed at TradeWinds,” she said. “It wasn’t long before we noticed that he was speaking more to us, even using sentences occasionally. When we get together for family gatherings, everyone really notices the changes. Since Keith lost over 200 pounds, when he grabs a movie to go upstairs on weekend visits, his father can chase him again. They haven’t done that in decades - it’s great to hear them screaming and laughing as they run up the stairs together.”