We're very excited to announce that Human Support Services is one of only three nonprofits selected nationwide for a new initiative designed to improve mental health and substance abuse disorder treatment outcomes for incarcerated individuals. The initiative is a project of the The National Council for Behavioral Health. We applied for and were selected by the National...
Nationwide, one in four women and one in seven men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Unfortunately, in smaller communities like ours, access to domestic violence prevention services, such as counseling and legal assistance, can often be difficult to access. Our...
If you haven’t heard by now, let me be the first to share our very exciting news: we are the proud owners of a Bed & Breakfast! On February 16, Human Support Services closed on property at 4505 HH Road in Waterloo that we plan to operate as a bed and breakfast and a group home. This...
By the looks of them, they weren’t excited about this day. Even the most eager learners aren’t typically enthusiastic about being crammed into a tiny conference room for eight hours. But this group – eight men and one woman – looked particularly pessimistic about this training session. They were corrections officers – jailers in conversational terms – and...
At an organization so blessed with devoted volunteers, it’s no easy task to choose just one to honor as Volunteer of the Year. But as we prepared for this year’s Celebration Dinner, it was time to choose one person – a person who for many years, has been doing so much more than expected to make...
The wooden sign reads, “You have changed the world because you touched our lives.” The sign, given to Robert Cole at his retirement party on September 15, was the perfect parting gift for the longtime executive director of Human Support Services. The party itself was a testament to the many lives Cole touched in his 11 years...
Before Barb Ruby retired from Human Support Services at the end of June, she had been with the organization for 37 years, making her the longest standing employee HSS has ever had. Since she started in April 3, 1980, Barb has worked in a variety of roles at HSS, from secretary to office manager. Over the years,...
Every Monday through Thursday this summer, Human Support Services clients will pack up coolers and take a ride out to a few smaller outlying towns in our region. In these towns, our clients are the front line volunteers handing out sack lunches to children and adults who might otherwise struggle to find enough to eat on...
This week, Human Support Services completed the on-site review process for the Council of Accreditation (COA), an international, independent, nonprofit, human service accrediting organization. (At left, HSS Executive Director Robert Cole, Jeanne Borromeo-Otty, Ed Cote, and HSS board members Jan Crawford and Bob Polansky celebrate the completion of the COA site visit.) Every four years, we go...
Some of our clients now have a new ride, thanks to our recent purchase of a new 2017 Ford Transit van! The van will allow Human Support Services to transport two wheelchair-bound individuals plus three additional riders and a driver. This allows for fewer trips and great accessibility for our residential clients, said HSS Executive Director Robert...
