50 Years, 50 Stories - Peter DeHaas

Today’s “50 Years, 50 Stories” comes from Peter DeHaas, and is a great example of how someone working for Imagine! spotted a gap in services and used his initiative, skill set, and experience to help overcome that gap. The history of Imagine! is a history of innovative thinking, and I firmly believe that is why we continue to be a leader in the field locally, state-wide, and nationally.

Thanks for sharing, Peter!

Full Circle

By Peter DeHaas

 

Peter DeHaas (standing) teaching ASL to Imagine! clients,
staff members, and members of the community
at large in 2009.

 

Twenty years ago after I graduated from a tiny Liberal Arts university in Eastern Pennsylvania, like many young wanderers, I ventured west to Colorado with the hopes of exploring the great Rocky Mountains and perhaps finding a job along the way.

I spent a short month in Greeley washing dishes at the Egg & I and staying with my sister until I found myself couch surfing in Boulder Heights and sacking groceries at the Ideal Market. While working at Ideal Market, every day a group of folks being served by Imagine! would venture into the store after they’d finished their work at the Hungry Toad restaurant across the street. I soon found myself becoming acquainted with this group and knew them all by name. Before too long, I applied for a job with a department of Imagine! called Labor Source as an Employment Specialist. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Gary Stebick interviewed me and was reluctant to hire me because he thought I’d be too timid with the behaviorally-challenged consumers that Labor Source was serving. Needless to say, Gary took a chance on me and came to the Ideal Market to offer me the job and a ticket to see the brand new Colorado Rockies baseball team. We drove to the game across all the back roads to Denver in his tiny gray Toyota.

Shortly after I started working at Labor Source, I recognized that many individuals we served had specific communication needs and benefitted from the use of basic sign language. Many of the Labor Source staff members were interested in learning sign language, but I realized that many weren’t fully utilizing or retaining the signs that they had learned. Suddenly I felt my life come full circle. My sister had taught be the signed alphabet in 3rd grade, and I had a close friend in middle school who was deaf. My communications with my friend had been very limited, and I was often frustrated with our finger spelling and lip reading back and forth. I had always wanted to learn American Sign Language (ASL), and now was my chance. Mark Emery must have thought I was crazy as I was taking and then organizing basic sign language trainings.

Another amazing thing that Imagine! taught me was the value of advocacy. At the time, Labor Source was accepting consumers into its program that had some very intense behavioral needs, as well as physical challenges, and creating success stories. I learned that there is no limit to what we can accomplish when we put our heads and our resources together. I also learned that as advocates we sometimes have to think outside the box and do things that others may deem “impossible.”

Needless to say, I continued my pursuits of studying ASL until I was eventually teaching classes at the Developmental Disabilities Center (Imagine!’s former name) and providing more 1:1 communication development with some of the consumers. Twenty years later, I have my MA in Linguistics, and I teach ASL at the post-secondary level and work for one of the leading disability rights organizations in the state. Had it not been for Gary Stebick taking a chance on me twenty years ago, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I am forever grateful for all the experiences, educational opportunities, and friendships that sprung from Imagine!. Thank you all.

Are you interested in sharing your story for “50 Years, 50 Stories?” If so, contact Caroline Siegfried at caroline@imaginecolorado.org or 303-926-6405. We’d love to hear from you!