Originally published in the Santa Cruz Good Times.
If you’re suffering from Zoom-induced ennui in your work and personal life, you’d probably benefit from a glimpse inside Hope Services’ “Hope to Home” program. The virtual classes serve more than 140 developmentally disabled clients in the Santa Cruz and neighboring areas.
For three and a half hours every weekday, clients learn about things like Covid safety, practice knitting and other crafts, tell jokes, make videos, and generally have a rollicking good time. There’s even a regular dance party. If everyone approached Zoom with this degree of enthusiasm, the pandemic would be a lot more tolerable. It’s enough to inspire even the most avowed Zoom hater.
Hope Services is one of 40 nonprofits benefitting from the Santa Cruz Gives campaign, which raises money for charities during the holiday season. Hope’s mission is to improve the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities and mental health needs, serving adults and teens in Santa Cruz and neighboring counties. Donations benefit the Hope to Home program, the organization’s “Big Idea” for 2021. Funds will help equip 50 clients with laptops and tablets to access live, interactive, daily online programming, providing a lifeline that allows this vulnerable population to continue learning and social interaction in trying times.
“Normally we have a variety of programs for clients here at the Santa Cruz facility,” says Sheryl Hagemann, program manager in the Santa Cruz office of Hope Services. “Now that we’re contending with the pandemic, none of our traditional day programs are able to function. So we had to devise another program to serve their needs. We started this effort after the first shelter in place and rolled it out on a larger scale in June. The level of response and participation has been amazing—not only in the Santa Cruz district, but in San Jose, Hollister, Half Moon Bay, and elsewhere in Northern California.”
The three clients I spoke to via Zoom were practically tripping over each other to express their enthusiasm for the platform. Toby Ames, 35, of Boulder Creek, has a developmental disability and has participated in Hope Services programs for 13 years. When I ask him about the new Hope to Home program, he gets so excited he literally bounces right off the screen. In an instant, he’s back. “It’s really important to me,” he says about his daily Zoom meetings. “You know, we do a dance program every Friday.” With that, he busts out a few moves onscreen, singing a tune from Justin Bieber’s “Under the Mistletoe” album. “We also tell jokes. Do you know the one about the cow crossing the road? It’s one of my favorites.” (Answer: to get to the “udder side.”) Zoom fatigue? Toby has never heard of it. He’s also the Zoom authority in the group, helping others learn how to use the platform.
Another client, Greg Jones, 39, of Santa Cruz, has been a Hope client for more than 30 years. He wears a floppy Santa hat and irrepressible grin. His favorite Hope to Home activity? Playing bingo. “Sometimes I win!” he says. “The first day using an iPad was hard, but I’m getting the hang of it now. I can’t go out and I don’t like that, but at least I can visit my friends on the iPad. It’s really important to me, and in some ways it’s easier.”
Amy Colendich, 30, of Santa Cruz, has participated in Hope Services programs for eight years. As part of the new Hope to Home program, she’s done art collages, made videos, and learned about Covid best practices. Her next goal: to learn sign language. “In some ways, I like Zoom better,” she says. “I really look forward to it.”
Hagemann, the Hope Services manager, says the Hope to Home program has “been an amazing success. It’s a wonderful example of people making the best of the circumstance, being creative and resilient.” It’s also come with challenges. “There’s been a major shift in programming style and mindset, as well as a financial challenge. It’s novel for us to use Zoom, so there has been a lot of staff training. Clients face challenges, too—many don’t have access to an iPad, computer, or even home internet. Grants and community efforts like Santa Cruz Gives really help.”
Even after the pandemic subsides, Hagemann predicts the Hope to Home distance learning program will continue in some form. “For certain personalities, being out and about with group of peers is the thing they enjoy most. But there is also a core group of people for whom this kind of programming really resonates. It could very well continue.”
Pandemic or no, Toby, the Zoom authority, will be ready. “I want to teach people,” he says. “I could show them how to use iPads, and how Zoom works.” And, just maybe, he could teach them a few dance moves along the way.