The Gift of Independence

More than 40 years ago, individuals born with physical or mental disabilities were often sent to state institutions where they might spend most of their lives. But 1976 was at the heart of the Disability Rights Movement when state institutions closed, and the onus to integrate individuals with disabilities went to community organizations. Tesh in Coeur d’Alene began in the midst of that transition and has been an advocate for those with disabilities ever since.

“In the 70s, the national laws changed and created the perfect opportunity to provide jobs and life skills training (for people with disabilities),” said Francis Huffman, CEO of Tesh.

Instead of individuals living in a state institution, organizations, nonprofits and certified family homes emerged to care for them in the community. The state money that would have funded the institutions now goes to these entities.

Around that same time, children with disabilities were integrated into the school system. However, some were past school age and required job and life skills training. Tesh enriches the lives of individuals of all ages.

“We work with whoever walks through our door with a need – whether it’s a child or an adult,” Huffman explained. “We give them training to become more independent. We’ve walked ‘the journey’ with some of our clients from childhood through their geriatric years.”

“Walking the journey” is how Huffman compared Tesh’s relationship with its clients. They will be there to help with whatever the person might need while under their tutelage.

“We focus on entering that journey at whatever age they come to us and going through that with them,” she said.

Tesh offers a variety of programs from child development to adult daycare services. Programs include an after school program and summer camp. For individuals who have reached an age where work is no longer a priority or are no longer able to work, the organization has an activity center similar to adult daycare, where they can socialize.

“Those are people who would be alone at home but here they can come together,” Huffman said. “Many live in certified family homes, but if they live in a natural home, they likely have aging parents.”

Much of Tesh revolves around job training and life skills education. They have employment specialists, job coaching, paid work trials and an employment transition program which assists young adults prepare to work. They also have several onsite business activities that provide services for both government and private enterprises. Huffman explained that they have two levels of business training.

“One is a vocational center/ workshop where they do piece meal work (such as inserting) three to five pieces in a bag or assembly of a product that gets sold,” she said.

Tesh’s workshop also tailors the work time to what an individual may withstand and still earn a wage, whether that is one hour or more.

“It’s for people who by choice or by need work in a workshop environment,” she said.

The staff at Tesh aims to find “the right fit” for an individual based on their skills and interests. Tesh’s partner, Ability Works, is the organization’s employment arm. They also work with employers in educating how best to employ a person. For example, assigning them fewer hours or requiring them to do only part of the job.

In addition to assembling and packaging, Tesh also has several onsite business services, including secure shredding and document destruction, mail processing and janitorial services. They provide services to several big name clients, such as Avista, STCU, HMH Engineering, the Coeur d’Alene School District, Idaho Transportation Department, Parks and Recreation and other state run offices.

Huffman has been the CEO for nearly two years and has spent her career working for individuals with disabilities. She was working at a state institution while she finished her bachelor’s degree in speech pathology during the Disability Rights Movement years. She worked for 38 years as a special education teacher, speech therapist, special education district administrator and assistant principal. “I’ve always been committed to people with disabilities,” she said.

She’s seen the attitudes change to individuals with disabilities since she began her career, but the needs remain. The special needs population has grown along with the general population, but there is also an increased awareness about autism and better tools for diagnosis. In addition, advances in medicine have allowed more people to survive certain medical conditions and injuries, she explained.

“I see changes in the premature child that lives and in the person with a traumatic brain injury. Those numbers are higher,” she said. In regards to the increased number of individuals diagnosed with autism she said, “I think we are identifying more people with autism because we understand it better.”

The Disability Rights Movement has been a success because more individuals with disabilities are in our schools and businesses. As a result, more businesses are hiring them, but there is still much room for them to expand their abilities to support themselves.

“There’s more we can do with employment that’s not $7.25 an hour. It’d be good to have a position that requires more training where they can start at entry level and move up,” Huffman said.

Ideally for Tesh, there would be increased financial support from the community. Much of their income is from Medicaid and Medicare, but they don’t cover all operational costs. Although Tesh is grateful for private donations, they’d like to increase community awareness about what Tesh does and the needs of individuals with disabilities.

“Statistics show that one in five families are somehow affected by someone with a disability, but there are community members who don’t have that connection,” she said. “It would help if they had that understanding.”

For more information about Tesh, visit teshinc.com.

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