As a member of the PSNI family since 1984 my love affair with this company has been life-long.

Born and raised in North Idaho, I was first introduced to Panhandle Special Needs Inc by its founder Pat Rocco while I was in High School. Experiencing the world from a different perspective at such a young age profoundly impacted me and set me on a path dedicated to helping others.

After graduating college from the University of Idaho I returned to my home town and to the company I love. Twenty-four years later, I can attest to the amazing work that goes on here and to the powerful impact this company has on our community.

As the only adult developmental disability agency [DDA] in Bonner and Boundary counties, we play a vital role in supporting the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities and their families. Our life skills and employment programs empower individuals to reach their highest levels of independence, while also providing a crucial safety net for families.

Our services not only launch individuals with disabilities into adulthood successfully but we also play a big role in the health of our community –

• We play an important role with our school districts providing School to Work Transition programs and through our guidance to families

• We prevent overuse of public funding by preventing homelessness and institutionalization of individuals with disabilities that come at a high cost

• We reduce overuse of community resources by providing crisis intervention

• We support local law enforcement and the justice system through education and training as we support individuals with disabilities coming out of the justice system

• We support our local economy as an employer providing over 40 jobs here at PSNI

• We contribute to local businesses by providing loyal employees supported through our employment programs

• We support local businesses through our life skills training by shopping locally, living locally and playing locally as most individuals with disabilities spend a majority of their time and money within the community that they live

• We play a big role in the housing community as most individuals with disabilities rely on low-income housing and our programs ensure that rents are paid, housing conditions are well maintained and rental agreements are full-filled.

• We play a role in the medical and dental community by ensuring individuals with disabilities have access to adequate health care and use that care on a regular basis before things escalate to costly crisis levels

• We also play a role in our state and local government by advocating for funding needed for critical disability supports and services
  
  

Over the past twenty-four years, I have watched our program grow at a rapid pace going from three employees to over 40 and going from an average yearly enrollment of 25 to approximately 200 not counting the forty-five individuals currently on our waiting lists. With an average growth rate of seven new enrollees per year we are bursting at the seams and are ready and willing to meet the demand but to do this we must relocate our program!