News & Updates

Living Resources’ CareerNext program is expanding its services to a third college campus! Set to begin at Hudson Valley Community College in the Fall of 2022, CareerNext provides support to students with autism and learning differences, helping them to succeed in college, earn an accredited degree, and live independently. Living Resources launched their CareerNext program in 2019 at SUNY Schenectady and expanded to SUNY Cobleskill soon after. This year, the program expects to support up to 40 new incoming students at Hudson Valley Community College. “For decades, Hudson Valley’s faculty and staff have supported thousands of students with disabilities and helped [...]

A bend in the road isn’t the end of the road … unless you fail to make the turn. – Helen Keller The road to independence is sometimes bumpy, but traveling it is always worth it- just ask College Experience graduate Danielle Passariello. After many years of bumps, bends, and yield signs in the road of life, she has achieved a milestone in her quest for independence - she earned her driver’s license. Learning to drive has been one of a variety of goals Danielle was determined to achieve. Along the way, she attended and graduated from Living Resources’ College Experience [...]

Joshua Miller has nothing but praise for his job coach, Brian, who has been Joshua’s job coach, ally, facilitator, and friend for the past six and a half years. Brian’s knowledge, experience, and compassionate commitment to assisting Josh has been especially evident since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Josh has worked at the same elementary school in Albany for almost 15 years. He began as a Lunchroom Attendant and his responsibilities grew to training new hires, helping operate the school store, and giving out prizes to students who have excelled academically. The kids at the school quickly grew to love [...]

Check out the Nov. & Dec. edition of Sharing the Journey View the Nov. & Dec. Edition of Sharing the Journey Missed previous editions? Check out our Agency News page to see all editions from this past year!

Our Saratoga County Day Community Opportunities Program had a rocking good time at their “Ugly Sweater” holiday party! They enjoyed lunch of pizza and desserts together and then celebrated the season together by dancing to festive music. They even tried a popular TikTok dance. As you can see, everyone enjoyed themselves immensely!  

Living Resources has been awarded a three-year Quality Assurances Accreditation from the Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL.) This international accreditation is difficult to achieve and highly coveted among human-service organizations. It involves a months-long self-assessment process followed by a week-long agency review with the officials from CQL. All of our agency systems and practices were reviewed, including finance, maintenance, vehicles, and direct care. In addition, Direct Support Professionals, families, and supported individuals participated in focus groups to share their experiences. We thank all those who collaborated with the Quality Assurance department for this achievement. We wish to extend a special [...]

Our partners make dreams a reality! Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, those “Everyday Superheroes” whose work benefits the needs of the community have been more fully recognized. While the role of Essential Workers is enjoying a newfound appreciation, it is something that Price Chopper/Market 32 and Living Resources have perfected for over 30 years. Together, we have collaborated to provide employment opportunities for individuals we support. Currently, Price Chopper/Market 32 employs 12 members of our supportive employment family. Katie Kelly, who receives support from Living Resources, certainly had a reason to celebrate this year. She marked her 30-year anniversary [...]

It is not easy to bring the goal of being completely independent into reality. It is a loftier goal when you have an intellectual disability. But Lonika, who graduated from our College Experience program is one determined young lady. She began interning at the Honest Weight Food Co-Op as part of her senior year experience. Craving independence, she walked from her dorm near the College of Saint Rose to the Co-op, a distance of over a mile. She then got to work diligently washing dishes. After a while, she expressed interest in learning other tasks. Her supervisor was very supportive of [...]

In these days when stress is high, we all need a little escape. Thanks to a generous grant from CDPHP, Living Resources has purchased a virtual reality platform- software and two headsets- from Psious. Through this technology, we can provide immersive mental health services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disorders. These innovative sessions use virtual reality to create calming settings, called environments, to bring a deeper awareness of the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. For example, one environment showed a three-dimensional tree swaying in the breeze with leaves gently falling. Through the [...]

How do you cope with frustrating situations? Many of us have difficulty, particularly with the increased stressors that are associated with the lingering COVID 19 pandemic. Thanks to a grant from SEFCU, Living Resources has a new tool to support the mental health of our individuals with Intellectual/ Developmental Disorders (ID/D). AVAIL software uses smart devices as a platform to teach life skills through personalized, step-by-step digital prompts. It can be used in a variety of contexts, including independent living, employment, education, and clinical settings. Over the past few months, AVAIL has been used by Living Resources’ Clinical team to help [...]