His Apartment and Bible Study - Jimmy's Story
In March 2021, Jimmy moved to his own apartment, in Greenville. He had been living with friends in a trailer in Ansonia, but there were some issues that made it a difficult situation for Jimmy. He didn't have a lot of space to move around and a ramp that was too steep and caused issues with safety during winter. Jimmy and his staff, Betsy Douds, started discussing the possibility of moving. Jimmy was uncertain about the move, but the staff started researching and they decided to apply to a couple apartments. It took a few months, but Jimmy was able to find a nice place at Wayne Crossing in Greenville. Management even added safety bars to the restroom, and with some outside help and permission from Wayne Crossing, Jimmy was able to have a roll in shower installed by New Visions in Coldwater. This helped to further enable Jimmy to have safer alternatives to help him live on his own. At first, he was nervous about being on his own, but extra staff were able to be added so he could have both day and overnight staff instead of roommates. This helped ease some of the nerves. Then, as he was able to decorate and make decisions on how he wanted his apartment to look, he started enjoying it more. Now, he is able to use his scooter within the house and to be able to use it in the community and go places locally on his alone time. The bathroom is fully accessible and he now has a lift chair as well that suits him. He is able to transfer from the scooter to the chair, and get his feet up. He really enjoys being on his own, with staff support when needed, and is very proud of how clean, organized, and nice his apartment is.
Jimmy is also very proud of the Bible Study group he was able to start last year, through his church, Ansonia Church of God. Jimmy had been in what his church calls Community groups, which includes Bible Studies and workbooks based on various Biblical topics. The group he was part of was breaking up and all available groups would have been held in places with steps, which Jimmy would not have been able to access. Jimmy was saddened by this because he loved being a part of the community Bible study group. Jimmy then talked to Kevin Lehman, who had led his group, and was also the coordinator of all the Community Groups at the time, to see if he would be able to start his own group. Kevin Lehman thought it would be a good idea but had to get permission from the church's Mission Board, first. The board approved it, so Jimmy was able to start his own group. He first asked his friends, John and Krystal Stewart to join, then his staff, Betsy Douds to join. He had a few people to start with, but then decided he wanted to reach out further and see if a few others would join. He then reached out to his SSA, Jonathan, and asked if he knew of anyone who was part of Darke County Board of Developmental Disabilities (DD) would possibly be interested in joining a Bible study. The SSA was able to find two clients of the Darke DD, Lauren Werner and Matt Strickland, who were interested. This made Jimmy very happy and he was able to access his Church's variety of Book lessons that included a study guide and worksheets to do as a group. He found a meeting place at Wayne Crossing's Community room, which he could access with his scooter. The first year was based around a book that used the Bible to seek answers to help solve conflicts more peacefully and with an emphasis on Bible teachings on problem solving. He really enjoyed the group and learning about the subject, interacting with new people, and being a Bible group leader. He is looking forward to starting his group for year 2 this coming fall. Jimmy plans on using The Chosen Bible study, which is based on the New Testament Bible stories and the successful Chosen TV series. The book has chapters connected to the Bible itself and he will also show snippets of The Chosen series with the book lesson, to make an even more interactive Bible study. He is very excited for the new material and to be leading the group for the second year.
