Stories

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

Click on the photo to read the full biography  

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....

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...

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 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"...

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...

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 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!...

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...

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...

"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 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...

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...

CLICK ON THE BLUE LINK BELOW TO VIEW FULL PRESENTATION: Living&Thrivingw_PersonCenterdSupportsTASH2020    

  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...

 "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,...

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...

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 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 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...

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: 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...

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 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 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 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,...

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...

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...

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 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 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. 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, 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 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 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...

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...