Staying in the Family – Graceworks Enhanced Living

A core part of our mission is supporting adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities with dignity and wholeness. Our culture of faithful caring led Graceworks Enhanced Living staff to go above and beyond when a recent move increased the distance between Trent and his family. Trent had never lived alone before he joined the family in one of our Dayton homes nearly 10 years ago. What Trent quickly found was that it was a perfect home for him to experience living independently, especially when he found a job of his own. When Trent’s parents recently moved to Cincinnati for a new job opportunity, the Dayton team knew they needed to support Trent in finding a new place that was closer to his parent’s home.

“We all wanted Trent to stay in our Graceworks family,” said Kelly Bergstrom, senior services manager. “His parents would have continued to drive to Dayton every weekend to pick him up for home visits, but we knew there had to be a better option for him.”

During a staff meeting, Kelly’s ears perked up when she heard another manager mention an opening at one of our Cincinnati homes that was much closer to Trent’s parents.

Trent was determined to make the decision to move on his own. With the full support of the team, Trent set up his own visits, tours, and overnight stays, and eventually fell in love with the new home and individuals – only telling his parents after he’d decided to make the move and had made all the arrangements. He was even able to transfer his job to a Cincinnati location near his new home.

“Trent has grown so much since he first moved in. He’s finding his voice with the support of a caring staff. If you look at the picture of the day he moved into his new house, he has such joy on his face because he’s home. This is the right place for him.”

– Kelly Bergstrom, Senior Services Manager, Graceworks Enhanced Living

In the end, Trent got what he wanted and needed by staying with the Graceworks family while being close to his family. And he moved the way he wanted to, leading with his own choices and the Enhanced Living team guiding him to ensure he maintained his independence.