Employment Highlights

Barb Svoboda
Nominated by Deb Stevens

October 18, 1982 is a date Barb Svoboda will never forgot. It is the day she was hired and had the privilege of working with some great individuals, while finding her true calling. Barb grew up with a brother with disabilities, and knew her passion was working with individuals with disabilities. Today Barb not only plays a significant role in his life, but is also his guardian. Her love of watching a person grow and learn has driven her to find a career in making a difference in peoples lives. Barb knew this was the right choice for her the day she met a young man named Jason. Many years ago when a DSP was being trained the first thing a company did was have them shadow the individuals they were going to support. Barb was observing like she was scheduled and she was informed Jason liked to give people a hard time and was somewhat of a hard person to get to know. Jason who barely knew Barb, stood up and came across the room and sat right on Barb’s lap. She knew she was in the right place. After that Jason always wanted to be supported by Barb whenever she was working. There has been some sorrow. Within one year Barb has been through two funerals of individuals she supported. One of the older gentlemen she supported was passing away from colon cancer and he had only a few family members that had some contact with him. Barb took on the role of helping him through the most difficult time of his life. Everyone looked to Barb for guidance to best support him during his last few months. To illustrate this point, the staff knew the gentleman was Catholic but was unsure if he had ever been baptized. Barb made the arrangements for the priest to come visit and get to know the older gentleman. She also supported him through the process of being baptized. After his passing, the priest had been touched so much by this gentleman’s presence he used that story in one of his homilies. Even during those difficult times, Barb was a champion. Everyone enjoys Barb’s presence. Whenever Beth hears Barb’s voice she gets so excited and yells out “Barbara”! Barb has made a huge impact in Gregg’s life as well. When Gregg came he had to stay home in his room all the time in fear of becoming ill. Slowly the family saw he was able to do more things while staying healthy and today Gregg goes to work two days a week and goes out into the community to events constantly. All of this is possible by Barb’s patience and commitment of trying new things while balancing it with his family’s wishes. Barb has made a huge difference in the lives of the people she supports and truly had a calling to work with people with disabilities.