Josh Zimmerman is a participant in UCP’s Agency with Choice (AWC) service model which gives him the freedom to make choices that he believes are in his own best interest. That includes the ability to choose who he hires, what rate he pays, and what schedule he keeps. As a result, Josh chose his mother Vera to be one of his paid support professionals. She says the dynamic of their working relationship has been remarkable.

“It has been so awesome, working at home with my son. It almost makes me want to cry sometimes just thinking that such a thing exists.” She said the most incredible impact has been on Josh’s development. “It’s not just his family who notice it. People see that he’s less stressed, more cheerful, more himself.”

For Josh, an accomplished watercolor artist, that has meant expanding his artistic horizons. He recently began selling his creations at various shops in and around the Lititz/Ephrata area, and has established his own shop on Etsy. UCP approached Josh this summer about the possibility of creating some art for the cover of its birthday cards to staff. When told that his art would be featured on a card for all the people who work at UCP, Josh gave a huge smile and said, “That is so cool.”

At 23, Josh is a living, breathing miracle. He was born with multiple medical issues, seven in fact, with the most severe among them being critical issues with the heart and lungs. He also experienced severe developmental delays. His was not a case of simply “not thriving…” Josh was barely surviving.

Still, from day one, his parents, Vera and Allen, have been his staunchest advocates, rejecting much of the guidance they were given by doctors and others in the medical establishment who questioned their son’s very existence. The parents were told that they were not “dealing with reality” and were presented with a bleak picture of what their life with Josh would be. The parents’ response was to refuse to “put Josh in a box.” Instead, they chose to “make God bigger than the box… and bigger than any challenge” they might face. Their faithfulness has been rewarded, time and again, with what Vera describes as “God moments.”

At one point early on Josh had heart surgery and was on heart medication. He was being given respiratory treatments every 30 minutes and still his lung was turning black. It was then that Vera had a vision of an angel brushing a feather across Josh’s lung. What happened next defies all medical understanding. When it came time for the next respiratory treatment, the doctor could not detect any fluid. Rather than trust his stethoscope, he ordered some tests. The results came back: Josh’s lungs were completely clear. In recalling that moment, Vera says with great understatement, “He had a very rocky start, but he made it.”

Today Josh is a healthy, animated, joyful young man with a broad smile who loves to create art that captures the beauty around him. He is happiest spending time with his extended family (Josh has 70 cousins!). He also plays the piano, does karate, and takes horseback riding lessons. If only those doctors could see him now!

Some years back, Josh attended a local facility-based program designed to provide structure and opportunities for social interaction for adults with disabilities who had aged out of school. While the program serves a purpose, it was doing nothing for Josh. Actually, in his case, it was resulting in more harm than good. Then another “God thing” happened. Vera learned through word of mouth about UCP’s AWC service model that would empower Josh to hire the staff of his choosing. His oldest sister Reba became a paid employee through AWC in September 2019. She has been working one-on-one with Josh at her home, in her barn, and out in the community ever since. Mom became involved as a second paid support professional when COVID caused so many programs and social opportunities to be shut down last year. “I can’t even describe what a blessing this service model has been to us,” Vera says. “I give all the credit to UCP. The parents know their child best; the parents know best how their child functions. Through UCP’s Agency with Choice, parents are given the opportunity to spend focused time working with their child in developing skills and talents that are meaningful to that child.”

Vera understands and appreciates the challenges faced by staff in a structured program. “In a typical program setting, the staff can’t possibly get to know each of the individuals as well or as intimately as a parent can,” she explains.  “Not for lack of trying, but simply because of the ratio of staff to individuals. I applaud UCP for recognizing that and offering this alternative.”

It is an alternative that also allows Josh to earn some money himself, while working under his mom’s watchful eye. On a recent visit, Josh made clear to his mother that he wanted to get “to work.” So she excused him and told him he could go ahead and start “packing the salt.” She then explained the latest “God thing” to happen in their lives: Josh was given the opportunity to be paid to package salt and yeast for soft pretzel kits for a local company, Dutch Country Foods. The job was previously done by individuals with special needs in one of the local day programs. But with the onset of COVID, that program shuttered, leaving the company in need of someone to do the routine measuring, weighing, and packing. Josh, has taken to the work with ease, beaming proudly when his mother shares that not long ago he did a record-setting 1,100 packs of salt in one day!

 

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Please consider supporting Josh in his effort to share his art.
Learn more: ART.BY.JOSHZ@GMAIL.COM or visit his online shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtByJoshZ

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For more information about UCP’s Agency with Choice self-directed services:

Call locally: 717.737.3477
Call toll-free: 800.998.4827
Email: AWCinfo@ucpcentralpa.org
Online: ucpcentralpa.org/services/agency-with-choice/