Joseph is an adult in Elim’s Adult Services program. He wrote the following article, giving you a chance to learn more about his life at Elim.  

 

“At Elim Christian Services, I’ve learned about responsibility on the job, sharing interests with others, respecting other people, and making friends. My name is Joseph Calahan. I started at Elim in June of 2014.  My middle name is Parker, some people call me by my nickname “Baggins” on the Internet.

 

What I do at Elim is answer the telephones at the front desk. I also meet and greet people who come into work or drop off their kids. Sometimes I have to put the mail away or put typing paper in the printers.  It’s quite a fun job, I think, because I get to be by myself at times and say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ back to the people who are coming in. I’ve been at this job now since August of 2014. During down time, I’ll go on the internet or read a book. When I answer the telephones, I’m usually transferring calls to case managers from the other Elim site in Palos.

 

Also while I’m at Elim, I will put beans into Ziploc bags with a funnel. There are times every day where a client may accidentally spill the beans on the floor. That’s when staff says to get a broom and a scooper and sweep up the beans off the floor. I also have to dig in sometimes and refill the beans that we put into a storage bin. We put the beans into a bag, box them, and ship them off to Peru, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Many of the supervisors are very helpful and many of the other people with disabilities on my team will help me if I don’t know how to do something.

 

There’s a variety of classes at Elim Christian Services to choose from. Every six months, we choose a class that we want to be in. We have the option of either going to class or working. So far, I’ve chosen a computer class and a music class. I’ve just started a reading class and show choir and drama.”

 

It’s a great blessing to know that your support has provided all these opportunities to Joseph and to many others who are looking for ways to grow their skills, pursue their interests, and contribute to their world. Joseph has much to share, and through Elim’s ministry, he is finding the opportunity to do just that.