SANTA CRUZ TRAINING PROGRAMS INC
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Mission Statement
The Mission of Santa Cruz Training Program is to work in partnership with others in our community to provide the opportunity and necessary support for people with disabilities to have an opportunity to: • Develop a vision for their future. • Participate in and contribute to community life. • Make increasingly responsible choices. • Exert greater control over their personal future. • Establish and maintain relationships with family and friends. • Develop and exercise their competencies and gifts. • Experience personal security, self-respect, acceptance and a sense of belonging.
About This Cause
Prior to the local Arc, families were traveling an hour or more, out of the county, to get support for their children with intellectual and developmental disabilities; if they had the time and could afford to travel. Frustrated with this, our founder, Ana Maria Coppola, started the local Santa Cruz County Arc (SCC Arc) here in Nogales, AZ in 1968, so families could find support at home. The goal was to provide services in town for children with disabilities, so families were not separated or had to travel long distances. She had a small, dedicated group of women with her. They worked from their homes, buildings were donated, they used regular vans for transportation, they eventually had an accredited pre-school for little ones and all abilities were welcome. Fast forward to the 1980s, the Arc changed to being a supporting role and fundraising aspect to the new Santa Cruz Training Programs, Inc. (SCTP). SCTP expanded the goal of the Arc to address the needs of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It was dreamed into being, and incorporated in 1983, when the children became older and wanted to work, but needed skills and support unavailable in the community. Where our members work now goes by many different names according to need (i.e., La Castellana Cafe, the Workshop, Group Supported Employment (GSE), Employment Services). The Directors and Program Coordinators use every scrap of imagination and creativity to create employment opportunities where members show an interest. For instance, they built a plant nursery, then it sprouted a greenhouse next to it. We call it Nayo's Nursery. They started a groundskeeping crew, which now has contracts with local businesses, other agencies, and private homes. And they had always been baking and cooking, and with the addition of another building, they created La Castellana Cafe. It is open to the public, like all of the work programs, it provides a community service, this one to feed hungry folks. With the support of the community, the Cafe now includes catering and delivery of meals to Nogales and Rio Rico, Az. SCTP grows with the needs of our members, we also grew into needing Group Homes for our members who wanted independence from home or who had aged family that could no longer take care of their needs. Within a ten year period, we embraced three group homes and have 14 thriving residents. Our residents are invited to take part in what we call the day programs at SCTP. One was previously mentioned, GSE and its many branches of work. The second is the Day Treatment and Training (DTTA) program. The technical words hide the beauty of the work. Members are invited to participate in meaningful and challenging experiences to grow in communication, in social interaction, in building relationships, and they receive habilitation to strengthen physical coordination, reasoning skills, and develop positive behavior. The focus of the program did change a bit, the Arc concentrated on supporting children, the DTTA focuses on adults, while in the summers, the over 16 crowd comes to recreate with social activities as they build upon skills established at home and school. For children over four and adults, we have a program to support families with children and relatives who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program is called Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). It began when families started asking for help for their children in the home. The parents' ability to care for them had been outpaced by work, age, and the needs of their children. We provide respite services so that parents may have time for self-care. We also provide habilitation and attendant care services. Habilitation focuses on the member to be able to increase his or her independence at home and in the community, like being able to use technology, education on health, cooking, finances, and stranger-danger. Attendant care focuses on the home where we support the member to work on specific tasks for personal care, hygiene, and basic needs like feeding and bathing. The last program we have involves transportation. All of our vehicles follow the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. We have lifts for those who use a wheelchair or use walkers for mobility. If families request transportation as part of their service, we will help as needed. Our Group Home residents have transportation available to them 24/7 for attending our day programs, for their daily errands, shopping and appointments.