Transparency
Early this year Chris Heukeroth celebrated his 20th anniversary working with Far Northern Regional Center. A lot has changed over 20 years. When Chris started in 2002 “our system was funded 70% through state funding and the remainder was federal funding and now we have completely reversed that and it’s like last I heard it was maybe 80% funding from the Federal Government.” Chris added, “with that a lot more paperwork. They multiply the requirements exponentially.” Throughout the changes Chris stays in tune with his greater purpose, “everyone is trying to contribute to help get services for our folks and keep those services in place.”
Chris is currently setting his sights on getting to understand and advocate for self-determination with the people he serves. As Chris summed, “it’s a lot of work right now, but listen, that’s just a learning curve.” As we begin this new journey Chris is pretty optimistic. “It’s making huge changes in people’s lives,” Chris said. Chris shared his vision, “it’s what activists have been fighting for decades, and now we’re not at the point where we’re realizing it.” For those who wish to keep with traditional services Chris has this to say, “I think our system is still a great system and we’ll always have a need for it.” He continued, “it’s best for a lot of new families to get started in our traditional services.”
There is one individual he serves that was one of the very first people to receive Self-Determination. The first years were a bit rough but as you persist it gets easier. “It’s not that complicated, just a lot of new jargon and stuff like that,” Chris explained. Self-Determination is great at providing services where there currently are none. You can personalize the services you wish to receive.
If serving others and helping them realize their dreams is your dream job don’t hesitate to apply for the Far Northern Regional Center. Sharing his original hesitation to apply Chris shared, “I was intimidated by the job, or I probably might have even done it sooner.” For all the amazing people Chris has touched these past 20 years we are blessed that Chris made the decision to apply. After 20 years of service Chris truly sees the full vision of his work. “Seeing the bigger changes over time that we make in people’s lives, it’s just really awesome.” Chris continues, “there’s not a lot we really do in the short run, but in the long run we make a huge difference in people’s lives.” In sharing the mentors and those people who have helped him to find success throughout his career Chris remembers the struggles he had at first. “I would be so exhausted I would just go home and pass out as soon as I got home I was just so mentally fatigued.” Chris continues, “it’s a little overwhelming in the beginning but there’s all sorts of people that helped me in the beginning, and then that’s kind of what we do in turn.” The Far Northern Regional Center is a job of self-discovery. It’s a journey that we don’t travel on alone. We have the help of our fellow co-workers, the incredible people we serve and the families that are connected to the people whose dreams are being realized.