‘All Individuals First’ Working To Help Adults With Disabilities Throughout Los Alamos Community Live Life To The Fullest

Individuals taking advantage pre-COVID of the Atomic City Walking Tour. Courtesy/All Individuals First

Individuals enjoying a pre-COVID birthday and bowling party in Española. Courtesy/All Individuals First

By Mandy Audette
All Individuals First

“This has been a trying time for everybody,” Doris Roberts said, “It’s been especially hard for families who have individuals 24/7. We want to give whatever we can … sometimes it’s just two hours a day. Families appreciate that so much. These families need a break.”

Roberts is the founder of the non-profit “All Individuals First, a day program for adults with disabilities. As the name suggests, clients are called “individuals” because each individual is unique and deserves 100 percent of your attention.

The All Individuals First mission statement is “to improve and/or maintain the quality of life for individuals with Developmental Disabilities by advocating and promoting them as successful individuals in their communities.”

“A day program is not about babysitting. It is about enhancing their lives,” Roberts said. “I want all my clients to experience life to the fullest.”

While some day programs can be a little overprotective, All Individuals First does its best to help the individuals try new things, take risks and be out in the community.

“Our clients want to do stuff like ride horses, go white water rafting, jump on trampolines, learn woodworking or take a job at a local thrift shop,” Roberts said. “If they want to try it, I try to find the safest way possible.”

The pandemic has disrupted their routines and adventures

“Some individuals have no idea why they can’t go out, why they can’t go into the community, and why they have to wear a mask. They don’t necessarily understand why they need to wash their hands or not touch their face. It’s especially hard if they have emotional problems,” Roberts said.

Normally, individuals spend approximately 50 percent of their time out in the community. They go shopping, hiking, out to eat, play putt-putt golf, go to movies, go to museums, and volunteer at thrift stores, Family Strengths Network and a local food bank. The rest of the time is spent at their location at 2101 Trinity Dr., doing arts and crafts, socialization, games, puzzles and just having fun. But they have not been back in person physically in the building since the pandemic and haven’t been able to get out into the community either. 

“I talked with the Department of Health about a tentative date and we’re telling parents we won’t be getting back until the fall,” Roberts said. “I’m not sure how many will be comfortable coming back because some of the individuals have health issues.”

In the meantime, they’ve been meeting for an hour online, Monday-Thursday. Roberts and her staff have been seeing clients one on one in their homes or in the community, whatever they’re more comfortable with. There is a monthly calendar and they get to choose their activities. All Individuals First provides the materials in a bag that Roberts packs for each client.

They have been maintaining things financially: They got a break on rent for about five months and received a grant and two business loans. 

The plan to get back on track once it’s safe  

Currently, they serve 12 people, two who are in the same family. Most of the monies that cover the care come from Medicaid. They are planning to increase their number of clients once they’re back to business and looking to hire one or more people to work with individuals one-on-one. 

The first thing they’re doing to stay safe is remodeling the space. In February of 2020, they started to talk to Lisa Jo Dunham, the architect designing the space, and Simon Bergauar with Dojo Builders, who is going to do the construction. They’ve been working together and are ready to file the permit and start the process. 

The new construction project will take into consideration the needs of the individual, and also comply with the regulations that All Individuals First are subject to:

  • CARF, which is an international accreditation. During the accreditation process they come in and review everything, look at the books and talk to the families. Organizations can get a 1, 2 or 3 year accreditation. Both times All Individuals First was awarded three years of accreditation. It’s a very thorough process that requires a $10,000 investment. 
  • All Individuals First also is audited by the state at random, by the Department of Health Developmental Disabilities Service Division (DDSD). They were audited four times and in good standing.

We have been writing a grant to pay for the construction project and welcome financial support from the community.

“In the past, one of their biggest supporters was Bathtub Row Brewery because they sponsored us during the annual Golf Tournament, this year the tournament will be Aug. 6,” Roberts said. 

People can make a donation on the All Individuals First website.

A Unique Upbringing Prepared Roberts for this Demanding Role

When you consider all the skills she brings to the table working with special needs people, some of whom also are deaf or blind, you may wonder where Roberts got all of those skills.

Her childhood was unique because she was raised by two deaf adults. Her parents both lost their hearing when they were very young: her mother went deaf when she was 11 months and had spinal meningitis, which affected her inner ear and resulted in 100 deafness. Her father lost his hearing at 2.5 years old when he had scarlet fever and his temperature was so high that it popped his eardrums. But at that point he was already talking and he had some verbal speaking skills.

“Sign language is my first language. My grandparents took care of us and they were German. And so in middle school I had a teacher that said, ‘I don’t care if your parents are deaf. You’re going to say these words right,’ and I stayed after school to work with her.”

“I admire my parents,” Roberts said. “We played instruments, and sang in the choir. My mom was always in the audience even though she couldn’t hear a beat. They provided us with radios and record players. Our life wasn’t quiet. Deaf people don’t realize the noise that they make.”

After school Roberts became a certified Interpreter of the Deaf. Then she earned her Master’s in Deaf Education from the University of Northern Colorado and completed a practicum in student teaching at the School for the Deaf in Santa Fe. 

During the practicum she got experience with K-12, teaching elementary, high school, and special needs and she just fell in love with special needs. Later, she went back to school and got a Master’s on Teaching the Blind so she became Deaf/Blind Certified.

Roberts went on to work at the School for the Deaf, where she met Diane Davis, who is deaf and legally blind and has Down Syndrome and also Sharon Jim who has Down Syndrome and is deaf and Roberts and her husband, John Roberts (who is a tax preparer in Los Alamos), adopted them both. Together, they have seven daughters, 11 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Five out of the seven kids speak sign language. 

Roberts decided to open a day program when her own daughters graduated from high school and needed a place to go during school, people with special needs often have help, support, and care throughout the day.

The problem is when they graduate, those services are no longer available. All Individuals First is one of several non-profits in Los Alamos working to bridge this gap by collaborating in the Lemonade Living Developmental Disabilities and Special Needs Roundtable (https://www.lemonadeliving.org/roundtable). 

When Roberts’ two adopted daughters graduated, they needed a place to go during the day.

“I tried out several day programs and didn’t like how they were run,” Roberts said. “It was like they were day care centers. Also, we wanted someone who could sign with our daughters.”

She was about to retire when she and her daughter, Susie Roberts, decided to open their own day program. They started working and putting in the paperwork and opened doors Aug. 4, 2014. 

With All Individuals First they were able to follow their vision of providing care to adults with disabilities while nurturing their interests and passions.

When you see the individuals out in the community Roberts encourages everyone to, “open your arms and accept them. Say ‘Hi’ when you can. If you go up to strangers they won’t be strangers anymore. They like to talk.”

Sharon Jim and Emily Wilde volunteering at LA Cares Food Bank. Courtesy/All Individuals First

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