Mozaic Messenger JAN2022

Mozaic Messenger

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER • JANUARY 2022, VOLUME 1

Welcome Home, Sackett Street! Allen’s

On the 19th of August, many Seneca Falls residents experienced flooding in their ANNOUNCEMENTS
homes due to an unusually heavy rainstorm. Among these residents were the five
individuals who lived at Sackett Street IRA. Dear Community Member,

The bedrooms, living room, and laundry room were located on the basement level, In the last quarter of 2021, our
and the floodwaters reached the base of the beds. Sackett’s five residents lost nearly staff have been working as a
all of their possessions – anything that was touched by the water was contaminated team, filling in open shifts, and
and therefore unsalvageable. Furniture, clothing, a drum set, guitar, cable boxes, and creatively working together
various other pieces of equipment would need to be replaced. to support the individuals we
serve. It has been difficult but
The initial plan was to move the residents upstairs, but code enforcement soon just unbelievable to observe the
deemed the house entirely uninhabitable. Staff and families leapt into action. commitment of the DSPs, nurses,
Fortunately, a few of Mozaic’s residential sites had vacancies and OPWDD gave and admin staff members working
temporary approval for other sites to take on extra residents. Maintenance was hugely to provide much-needed services
helpful in assisting with the moves, as well as Transportation, rearranging their routes to the community.
to make sure even those who moved cross-county could still go about their normal
schedules. The individuals at each of these sites were gracious and welcoming, as We have also seen
were the Residential staff that were based there. unprecedented growth in our
Arctic Gear product line. Our
Keeping the individuals’ daily routines as normal as possible was a priority. Each sales have been approximately
individual had a Sackett staff member move with them to their new residence so that three times higher than they
they would have a familiar face and the employees would not have to worry about were during the same time the
losing work hours. previous year. Finger Lakes
Textiles certainly has exciting
Back at Sackett, staff members went in wearing safety gear to retrieve photos and times ahead!
other items of sentimental value that had stayed above the waterline. It proved difficult
to implement the repairs during a pandemic, with the supply chain not functioning I am hopeful that in 2022 we will
normally, but finally, a contractor was hired and work began. The flooring and wall had come out of this COVID crisis,
to be completely replaced. The upstairs kitchen was due for a remodel, so the staff and I know that we can become
decided to have that done along with the flood repairs. A sanitation team also had to an even stronger and innovative
dry out and throroughly clean the basement. community of people serving our
mission.
The individuals affected did a great job of handling the sudden change. They wanted
to go back, but kept their spirits up and continued to go to their programs and Best,
worksites (thanks to Day Services, Finger Lakes Textiles, and Mozaic Services, who
helped rearrange schedules). They also picked out all of their new furniture and
clothing! One individual ended up loving her temporary placement at a supervised
apartment program in Auburn so much that she now lives there permanently!

After the renovations, Mozaic staff went through the house and cleaned up all of the
leftover dust and sand. The Bureau of Program Certification (BPC) had to conduct a
walkthrough to recertify Sackett, and code enforcement had to examine the repairs.
Finally, on November 12th, the Sackett residents returned to a whole new house!
Everyone involved went above and beyond to help address this difficult situation as
quickly and smoothly as possible. Yet another powerful display of how Mozaic is not
only many people, but one strong community!

Allen Connely, President & CEO

Congratulations to our 2021 Award Winners!

EDUCATIONAL DAY SERVICES SUPPORT
SERVICES AWARD SERVICES
AWARD LaLannie AWARD
Joy MacDonald Ovenshire Angel DeGraw

RESIDENTIAL MARY E. MORENO COMMUNITY
DSP AWARD VOLUNTEER OF PARTNERSHIP
Marc White THE YEAR AWARD AWARD
FuzeHub
Robert Iszard

SHINING STAR SHINING STAR SHINING STAR
AWARD, SENECA AWARD, CAYUGA AWARD, KLS

Stella Gilson Jill Grobelny Aundreya Pittman

SHINING STAR PAULA S. JAMES CARLO FRAPPOLLI
AWARD, YATES MEMORIAL DISTINGUISHED
AWARD SERVICE AWARD
Jevon Rugg
Priscilla Jakupca Lori Priebsch

COMPLIANCE November 8th-12th was Compliance and Ethics Week! Here at
Mozaic we competed in games and activities for prizes, watched
informative videos, and learned about the awareness, recognition,
and reinforcement of corporate compliance together. In other news, the 2022 Quality Improvement Plan
was approved by the Mozaic Board of Directors at the December 2021 meeting!

CLINIC SERVICES

Here at the Clinic, the expansion of our Article 16 Clinic services in
Tompkins County has been approved! We are working on the next steps.
We have brought on a new Licensed Psychologist, Social Worker, and
Speech-Language Therapist, and we are so excited to have them on our
team. Currently the Clinic is providing a combination of in-person and
telehealth services, and we are seeing both financial and overall success!
Keep up the great work, everyone!

HELP US GO GREEN!

Digitally subscribe to our mailing list at mozaic.org/contact
by submitting your email address at the top of the page.

A TEXT “While everyone was thinking about their holiday shopping, the
FROM employees of Finger Lakes Textiles were working hard to meet an
exciting increase in demand! Everyone pitched in and all orders
FLT: went out the door on time. After the holidays it was time for year-
end inventory. Take a moment to imagine what it would be like to
write down every item in your kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, and
so on – this was quite the undertaking! Thank you to every single
employee, as well as the management group, and special thanks
to the Finance team for assisting with the counts and recordings.”

TRUNK OR TREAT! Ways to
Donate!
In order to get into the Halloween spirit while continuing to follow
COVID safety guidelines, Mozaic held its first ever Trunk or Treat mozaic.org/support
event this year on October 29th! At this outdoor event, the various
programs, houses, and departments of Mozaic decorated vehicles Connect with us
from which they handed out candy to the attendees. on social media!
Staff, individuals served, and their families all turned
up for this event, and it was a great success! Across
the agency we have had to get creative to have safe
community gatherings during the pandemic, and the
Trunk or Treat event was a perfect way to do just that.
(A special thank you to Rita
LaPage for proposing the
idea!) When our Mozaic
community comes together,
we always do great things
and have lots of fun!

C O M M U N I T Y Mozaic partnered with the It’s a Wonderful Life Festival in Seneca Falls
to provide transportation for the estimated 5,000 visitors attending
PARTNERSHIP the event. The feedback we received was very positive and our
drivers helped make the event a success! Arctic Gear also attended

the festival as a pop-up shop, showcasing a large selection of hat sizes and colors. We love joining in on

community events like these and making connections with other local businesses and organizations.

On the Horizon:

2ND ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP 7TH ANNUAL 25TH ANNUAL
MADNESS DUCK RACE
ARCTIC JOURNEY GOLF TOURNAMENT
In March we try to gain Each ticket you purchase
Back by popular more members so we sends a duck down This year’s tournament
demand – in this virtual can have a bigger voice is a special one – it’s
fundraiser we race to within The Arc NY and the Keuka Outlet with our 25th on July 25th!
the state! Just $5 a year a chance to win you a Sign up for games,
collectively take ten makes you a member. prize! This year’s race prizes, food, drinks,
million steps in February and fun for all!
will be held in June.
and win cool prizes!

STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Connie Ellis was there for all of the staff and individuals

at Sackett Street through a very rough time – a flood damaged this IRA and all of the
residents had to be temporarily relocated. She helped with getting everyone where they
needed to be, getting items needed that were lost in the flooding, helping staff adjust to
working at new sites and providing emotional support to the individuals during this very
difficult time. She was willing to help with anything and everything, and on November
12th the residents of Sackett were able to move back in! Thank you for all you do, Connie!

DSP SPOTLIGHT: There is not one single site that Sue Hesse is set at. Sue goes

where she is needed, bouncing around all of the houses in Cayuga County. Sue’s dedication
to the individuals is inspiring, she’s always trying to put a smile on everyone’s face wherever
she is working. The individuals are always asking when Sue will be working next. Sue
ensures the work gets done on her shifts, usually above and beyond what is expected from
relief staff. Sue is one of the hardest workers and has one of the biggest hearts, always being
there for her individuals as well as her coworkers, however she can be. You’re the best, Sue!

INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT: Jill has been a part of Mozaic for more

than 20 years! One of her favorite things to do is to spend time with her cat
Scoshie. She also enjoys spending time with her boyfriend Fred, watching TV
and reading. Jill says that having family makes you feel safe, and that Mozaic has
impacted her life by becoming her second family.

www. .org