Stories
Avenues SLS is a 501(C) 3 non-profit organization. Your donation will make a difference to the people we support.
Jennifer Pittam – Women’s History Month
Jen and I met waaaaay back when we were young and thought we could change the world. Jen has absolutely done her part in that regard. She has never been afraid to step out on a limb and do what needs to be done. Her ideas are creative and, more importantly, work....
Donna Thornton – Women’s History Month
I’ve had the pleasure to meet both Donna Thornton and her loving husband Ricardo at many National TASH conferences, as Ricardo and I have been attending each other's presentations over the last 15 years or so. Donna and her husband Ricardo are very humble and don’t...
Maureen Spindt – Women’s History Month
Maureen Spindt is a dedicated mother, wife, grandmother, advocate, volunteer, grant writer, board member, and much, much more. Maureen brings an intense passion for quality in everything she does, and her high expectations encourage those around her to do their best...
Lisa Kimura – Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month 2023 Lori & Scott are blessed to have known and worked closely with Lisa Kimura during her time as Branch Manager for the Santa Clarita Valley office of North LA County Regional Center. As you will see from the testimonials below, Lisa was...
Mary Ellen Sousa (ME) – Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month 2023 Scott & Lori have known ME since her days in San Diego when she was assisting people to be included naturally and (seemingly) effortlessly within their communitues before inclusion was a “thing”. ME’s ongoing work, ideas, and...
Anne Ruwet – Women’s History Month
Women's History Month 2023 Lori and Scott had the wonderful opportunity to work under Anne while providing a variety of home and community services and supports for families in Southern California while with JNCS. Anne was instrumental in Lori’s administrative...
Shirley Rodriguez – Women’s History Month
Women's History Month 2023 We are truly blessed to have worked with so many wonderful colleagues who have journeyed alongside people, their families and teams to inspire confidence, hope, and faith while navigating through the obstacles and barriers to obtain the...
COMPETITIVE INTEGRATED EMPLOYMENT Interviewed by SCVTV’S Community Corner with Scott Shepard & Valerie Cooper
WELCOME! Please join us monthly online as we share new content with vital educational resources and information related to Avenues SLS' 5-part series on "Competitive Integrated Employment". This along with key elements related to educating employers on hiring people...
Ingrid Rushing – Women’s History Month
We take great pleasure in sharing our final Honoree for Women’s History Month 2022. In the late 1980’s we had the opportunity to begin working to shift people’s services from segregated, site-based behavior management services into community-based services with a...
Rubicelia (Ruby) Gonzalez – Women’s History Month 2022
Rubicelia (Ruby) Gonzalez has been one of the most humble, tireless persons we have met over the course of our mutual careers; a person who has dedicated her life to her family and the people she supports. Rubicelia Gonzalez was born in Mexico and came to California...
Barb Trader – Women’s History Month 2022
Avenues SLS is proud to honor Barb Trader as part of our celebration of Women’s History Month. We salute Barb for her leadership and value her friendship and collaboration over the years. Barb continues her advocacy and leadership even in retirement, and she shares...
Jill Martin – Women’s History Month 2022
We are pleased and proud to honor one of Avenues SLS' own for Women’s History month in 2022. Jill Martin has supported people through Avenues SLS since 1994 and has worked as one of our support Coordinators during this time. Jill has dedicated her energy and time to...
Judith (Judy) Heumann – Women’s History Month 2022
Judith (Judy) Heumann Judith (Judy) Heumann is a lifelong advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. She contracted polio in 1949 in Brooklyn, New York and began to use a wheelchair for her mobility. She was denied the right to attend school because she was...
Women’s History Year’s Past 2021
Click on the photo to read the full biography
Women’s History at a Glance Year’s Past 2020
Women’s History at a Glance Year’s Past 2020 CLICK ON THE PHOTO OF THE BIOGRAPHY YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ IT WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THEIR STORY. Ilene Arenberg 2. Kathy Gee. 3....
Women’s History at a Glance Year’s Past 2019
Avenues SLS started recognizing women as important to the services we provide and respected Women in the community that have made a difference in the lives of Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. We are pleased to share this complete story page...
California Department of Public Health Vaccine Mandate – Begins 12/01/21
Last week the California Department of Public Health mandated that all direct care workers (including IHSS workers who support people outside of the home they live in) receive BOTH doses of a two-shot vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer BioNTech), or to have the first shot of...
OCTOBER 2021 IS NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH
OCTOBER IS NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH: Follow Avenues SLS on Facebook all month long as we share stories and videos (every Friday) of Adults Avenues SLS support engaged in Competitive Integrated Employment "America's Recovery: Powered by Inclusion"...
Mary Rowan & Carmel Carp – Women’s History Month 2021
Our last entry celebrating Women's History Month for Avenues SLS in 2021 is Mary Rowan & Carmel Carp, sisters to John. Scott first met John and his mom over 40 years ago at a Saturday recreational program in the San Fernando Valley. As Mary & Carmen share...
Susan Heldoorn – Women’s History Month 2021
Avenues SLS has spotlighted some of the many wonderful moms and sisters at Avenues SLS for Women's History Month this year and we are honored to put the spotlight now on Sue Heldoorn, Dan's mom. Sue, her husband John, and Dan have been strong supporters of Lori &...
Stephanie Kusser – Women’s History Month 2021
Stephanie Kusser first began working with Avenues SLS in 1995 while working a second job and going to school. Stephanie's outgoing nature and love of community endeared her to almost everyone she met. As you can see from Stephanie's story below, family comes first!...
Bettie Steckel – Women’s History Month 2021
In Avenues SLS's continued celebration of Women's History Month 2021, we are pleased to honor Bettie Steckel, mom of Julie. There has never been any doubt who Julie's most ardent and constant supporter is and has always been. Through the tough times and the easier...
Vicki Orphan – Women’s History Month 2021
We are proud to honor Vicki Orphan, Sister-in-Law to Lugene Orphan. As Vicki shares below, she got to know Lugene and the Orphan family when she became friends with sister Madge in the mid-1960s. While Lugene's other family members have passed away or live...
Tomoko Inouye – Women’s History Month 2021
Avenues SLS is pleased to honor Tomoko Inouye, (“Tee” to us), for Women’s History Month. The bond between Tomoko and her son Keenan (who Avenues SLS supported until his death), was incredibly strong; and you can see why when you read about the advocacy, perseverance...
Lori Crawford – Women’s History Month 2021
Lori Crawford, is a Mom, Sister, and Daughter. A mom to three boys, one on the autism spectrum, whom she has raised while working full time, always doing what needs to be done. Sister to Devin and Heather, (who receives SLS through Avenues). Daughter to Kathy and...
Helen Whitehorse – Women’s History Month 2021
"I am honored and blessed to be able to share our first entry in women’s history month this year, where we are giving kudos to all the mothers and sisters of people we support, and the incredible and important impact they have made in the lives of their loved ones and...
Donations Grow for Avenues Supported Living Services
Donations Grow for Avenues Supported Living Services MARCH 5, 2021 BY SAVANNA BIRCHFIELD Avenues Supported Living Services has collected piles of donation bags in the last week. Photo by Savanna Birchfield. After having a very successful winter clothing drive, bags of...
“Painting for a Purpose” Fundraiser March 25. In-person & Virtual Available
Thursday - March 25, 2021 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm **NEW LOCATION** - "Painting for a Purpose Fundraiser" at Painting with a Twist - Valencia Paint and Sip Studio In the Valencia Town Center Mall 24201 Valencia Blvd, Space #3422 Santa Clarita, CA 91355 Please join...
Avenues SLS Year-End Giving Campaign Letter – 2020
Dear Friends Click on the Link to View Full Newsletter Website_YearEnd_Campaign_Letter2020
Avenues SLS’ TASH Conference Presentation – 2020
CLICK ON THE BLUE LINK BELOW TO VIEW FULL PRESENTATION: Living&Thrivingw_PersonCenterdSupportsTASH2020
OSHA Safety Guidelines for Staff – Updated 12/11/20
California Occupational Safety & Health Standards (OSHA) General Industry Safety Orders and how they apply to your work within Avenues SLS • When you feel sick, and/or have COVID-19 symptoms, PLEASE try to find coverage for your shift, notify your...
Donate For #Giving Tuesday
Join us today by donating to Avenues Supported Living Services as we promote #givingtuesday this November 19, 2020 through December 31, 2020. Avenues SLS continues to have funding issues including unfunded increases of the minimum wage, health insurance, worker's...
Melanie’s Volunteer Work
This is Melanie. Melanie has been with Avenues Supported Living Services for over 22 years. She loves helping the community. Melanie volunteers throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. Melanie helps out at The SCV Food Pantry weekly. There she organizes donated food and...
Janelle’s life has not been an easy one.
"Inspirational Story" https://binkd.co/gE1zT Janelle’s life has not been an easy one. Abandoned at an orphanage in Seoul, Korea at the age of 3 months, Janelle was adopted by SCV residents when she was about one year old. She came to her new home mal-nourished,...
Steve is a Happy Volunteer
Meet Steve, Steve has been with Avenues SLS for 23 years. He loves to volunteer in the community and brighten a person’s day with his infectious laugh. Every Tuesday, Steve happily buys three dozen roses using his own money and then goes to the local SCV convalescent...
Ronda Michaelson
Throughout her 70 plus years, Ronda has persevered, sometimes in spite of all the support professionals with good intentions. Ronda’s story is similar to that of many senior adults labeled with intellectual and developmental disability; however, her drive to be independent, along with the evolution of positive behavior support, self-determination, and person-centered…
Jose Perez
You aren’t always happy when you get the things you want. Jose taught me that. When Jose got something without working for it or buying it with his own money, he would become irritable, demand more, and often ended up selling the items that he got. There’s more to life than “stuff”. Relationships are better than stuff. Jose taught me that too.
Toby Bazan
Valued roles and friendships within the community provide each person with the best opportunity to achieve the good things in life. (Ramsey, 2007, pg. 9). As family members, friends, service providers and support staff, we can strive to do this “by placing greater emphasis upon the importance of social contribution, intentional relationship facilitation, valued roles…
A Special Interview and Fall Fundraising Updates Provided by Scott Shepard
Click link to view: https://video214.com/play/xPNL2ehzwNsNdXqJ280fkw/s/dark Scott Shepard, Executive Director of Avenues Supported Living Services talks with “Buddy” Whitehorse as he shares his personal story. Learn about the Fall fundraising activities Avenues SLS...
The State of Avenues During COVID-19
How do you talk about COVID-19 to people with intellectual disabilities? Ben Drew, Open Future Learning Coronavirus is changing people’s lives dramatically. People can no longer take part in activities outside the house, meet with friends, go to work or clubs or...
Making Quality a Habit – Putting Person-Centered Practices to Work
Avenues SLS is featured as contributors to the April 2020 Special Edition Newsletter: Making Quality a Habit - Putting Person-Centered Practices to work, focusing on COVID-19. This collaboration is with our wonderful colleagues in NorCal. Click on the link to view...
Heather Hardman – Women’s History Month 2020
Heather Hardman grew up in Connecticut with her family, where she attended Belhaven school for students with autism. In 1987, Heather and her family moved to Santa Clarita, California, after writing letters to Scott Shepard, the new Director of Jay Nolan Community...
Dr. Jacki Anderson – Women’s History Month 2020
Dr. Jacki Anderson has been a key member of researchers and trainers who paved the development of what we now know as Positive Behavior Interventions & Support (PBS/PBIS). She was the Training Coordinator for the NIDRR Research and Training Center on Positive...
Avenues Current State of Support – April 1, 2020
Click on Link Below to View: Avenues Current state of support 03-22-2020 Posted April 1, 2020 - Avenues SLS is featured as contributors to the April 2020 Special Edition Newsletter: Making Quality a Habit - Putting Person-Centered Practices to work, focusing on...
COVID 19 – Information & Presentations To Share
COVID-19 Information: Click on the link below to view. COVID-19 Info to share with people we support Supporting people, their families, and the people that support them through COVID-19: A Service Provider Perspective Presentation in English: Click on the link below...
Kathy Gee – Women’s History Month 2020
Dr. Kathy Gee is a full-time, tenured Professor in the Masters of Education Special Education Teaching credentials program (MASET) at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). She coordinates the Specialist Credential in Extensive Support Needs in the Department...
Eileen Medina – Women’s History Month 2020
Eileen Medina moved to Santa Barbara, California in 1977. She began her work in special education when her 3rd child, Matthew, was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. She was a staff development trainer in special education for the California Department of Education for...
Barbara Ransom – Women’s History Month 2020
Barbara Ransom received her B.S.Ed. in 1971 with the thought that she would do what she had been born to do — be a teacher — for the rest of her life. Barbara applied her teaching credentials to almost every level of education — wisely leaving the middle school...
Ilene Arenberg – Women’s History Month 2020
Ilene was one of the performers in the televised Jay Nolan (JNCS) telethons which raised money to fund initial services for Jay Nolan in the early 1980s. She later became one of the starting participants in that agency's residential Apartment Program in 1981. In 1988,...
Avenues SLS 2019 Year-End Giving
Now more than ever, Avenues SLS needs to fill the gaps in funding that the state is not covering. With no rate increases from California since 2016, all of our state revenue goes towards wages for our instructional coaches. Your donation in any amount will help...
Ronda Michaelson – Women’s History Month 2019
Ronda Michaelson was born in the late 1930s to a loving family, which soon included a younger brother. She attended special schools in the L.A. area while growing up, and in 1961, her parents were one of several families who helped to start LARC Ranch in Santa...
Cheryl Mayfield – Women’s History Month 2019
Cheryl Mayfield is one of the founding Board Members of Avenues SLS (since 1997), and lives in an accessible mobile home she purchased with the assistance of some housing grants. Cheryl studied for her AA degree at LA Valley College & Mission College, wrote a...
Avenues SLS – “A Mother’s Story” – Women’s History Month 2019
One of our Avenues Mother's shared a compelling story a few weeks back about the impact of having a child with Autism. Back in the 70s, there were no resources or effective treatments to help a family cope with this lifelong journey. The doctor, back then, told these...
Lori Shepard – Women’s History Month 2019
Lori Shepard was raised with an inclusive mindset. The concept of segregation (for any reason) has never been a consideration. She attended public schools and saw peers separated from the mainstream, but, even at a young age, did not see the value in that...
Dr. Temple Grandin – Women’s History Month 2019
Dr. Temple Grandin was born on August 29, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities and a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Facilities she has designed are located in the United States, Canada,...
Mary A. Falvey, Ph.D. – Women’s History Month 2019
Mary A. Falvey, Ph.D. Dr. Mary Falvey is an Emerita Professor from the Division of Special Education and Counseling at California State University, Los Angeles. She has advocated for hundreds of thousands of students with disabilities to be educated alongside their...
Monica Sagen – Women’s History Month 2019
Monica Sagen, Lori Shepard's Mother, was born prematurely in 1936 and immediately diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Well before words such as "inclusion and Supported Employment" existed, doctors told Monica's mom she would not live an hour, a day, a month, a year, five...
June Downing – Women’s History Month 2019
June E. Downing, Ph.D., was a national leader in the field of special education who focused her expertise, time, and energy researching best practices and advocating for individuals with severe and multiple disabilities, all the while making the case for inclusion,...
Carol Jean Shepard – Women’s History Month 2019
Carol Jean Shepard was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin in 1932 to Wright and Elsie Shepard. Shortly after Carol was born, her parents took her to see a doctor in the "big city" of Chicago, as they did not know what Down Syndrome was. They were told that Carol had an...
Women’s History Month – March 2019
March is Women's History Month! During March, AvenuesSLS.org will be spotlighting pioneers who work(ed) for the inclusion of ALL people throughout their lifespan. Historically, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been marginalized, and history...
Introducing Community Volunteers, Javen & John
Meet Javen and John... Javen has been on the Avenues Supported Living Day Services since 2009, but moved out of his family home and into Supported Living Services slightly over two years ago. John has been with Avenues for the past 6 years. However, John met Scott...
Meet Adrian, an SCV Volunteer
Adrian has been with Avenues Supported Living Services since 1999. Adrian is a quiet but kind individual and he loves to help wherever he can. Over the years, Adrian has found many local organizations he can give back to through volunteering. Adrian regularly...
Valerie is an SCV Volunteer
Meet Valerie. She is a kind and loving person. Everyone she meets is her friend and she will express that emotion each time you see her. Valerie is one of Avenues regular volunteers for the Santa Clarita Valley community volunteering program. Valerie volunteers every...
Chris’ Community & Volunteering Story
Chris, like many adults, moved into his own place with two paid roommates just before his 20th birthday. 15 years later, Chris is very active and happy, living in a house he shares with one paid roommate. He is an avid walker/runner and loves participating in 5K's on...
Dan’s Volunteer Work
Meet Dan. He has been with Avenues Supported Living Services for over 20 years. He volunteers in the community 5 days a week. He travels an average of 150 miles each week getting to and from his volunteer destinations. Dan spends time twice a week at The Placerita...
Avenues SLS Volunteers
Today we kick-off our year-end Volunteer giving campaign. See our new crowdfunding page by texting the word fuel to 71777 Or, you can copy and paste the link below into your browser to see all of our volunteers in action. http://bit.ly/AvenuesFuel Donations are...
Thank You Cornhole Attendees and Sponsors
Thank you to everyone that volunteered, donated, sponsored and attended the September 8, 2018 Avenues SLS' 2nd Annual Cornhole Tournament at Wolf Creek Brewery. Everyone that came to the event took home a Wintrust Mortgage printed cloth tote holding coupons, business...