News Post

Vista’s Graduation Ceremony is next week, so in preparation we are highlighting our 2024 graduates. On August 23rd, we will be honoring Danny and Ruthie’s achievement of graduating from the Discover Program and moving out into the community as independent adults. This week we spoke to both Danny and Ruthie about joining Discover, the challenges they faced, and how they persevered. 

“At first there was a lot that changed” Danny told us. “Accepting those changes was hard for me, but after meeting all the people here, they got to know me and learned about my interests. I was brave, and now I am glad that I know them.

”Danny with a "Uniqueness is Power" shirt at his workplace, Creations

Ruthie also faced some challenges when adjusting to Vista. “I’m proud of myself that I got through it because it was really hard,” Ruthie said. “I started my time here with a loss and that really affected me. I lost my cat unexpectedly; we had been together since I was seven or eight years old. At that point I just wanted to be back home with my dogs and the other cats. But the (Vista) staff were really helpful, they were very accommodating. Greg and Melia (Discover Program Instructors) would come make me laugh whenever I was sad, and they were there to talk about how I felt.”

Ruthie behind the register during vocational training at Creations.

In the next two blogs, we will be sharing more of Danny and Ruthie’s Discover journeys. You are all invited to join us for Graduation 2024 at The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. Admission is free, but we request that you RSVP in advance by clicking the button below or visiting https://www.vistalifeinnovations.org/graduation.

Until next week...