Today we highlight one of UCP’s long-time participants, Russell P. Russ has been actively engaged with Community Participation Supports (CPS) in Shippensburg for many years. With the onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent shuttering of all CPS locations in March of last year, Russ was among the individuals left struggling with how to meaningfully fill their time. As the social butterfly of his CPS group, he was particularly hard hit by the isolation brought on by COVID.

One day, his parents reached out to UCP to say he was having a really difficult time. He did not want to get out of bed other than to eat. Fortunately, for those participants like Russ who needed more structured engagement, the state made it possible to provide in-home CPS. These customized sessions are designed to provide meaningful engagement matched to each individual’s interests and preferences. The CPS supervisor offered to come to the home and to meet with him outside to maintain social distancing. The parents gladly accepted the offer. Russ immediately jumped out of bed and went out on the porch to wait. He and the staff member laughed and talked about different things. His parents signed him up for in-home CPS that same day.

Since then, Russ has enjoyed every bit of his one-to-one time with staff, including a recent rainy day visit with Matt to the Shippensburg Public Library. Their mission was a success: after an exhaustive 45-minute search, Russ landed on two movies that he is looking forward to watching this weekend!