23 Jan Truman Heartland Community Foundation Awards $5,000 Grant to Developing Potential, Inc. (DPI)

Developing Potential, Inc. was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from Truman Heartland Community Foundation to equip DPI’s Independence location with new and improved multi-sensory equipment.

This equipment will provide sensory stimulation, relaxation, and a greater sense of well-being to DPI’s clients. A greater sense of well-being will cause DPI’s clients to feel more comfortable overall at DPI, and will allow clients to better achieve their personal goals in reaching their full potential.

DPI’s clients face a variety of developmental challenges that often severely limit their mobility. The Sensory Room is designed to mitigate the negative effects of those limitations, providing clients with much-needed sensory stimulation. This stimulation helps to improve overall client health and well-being, increasing the quality of life for these individuals.  In the Sensory Room, pieces of furniture give participants who utilize a wheelchair relief from pressure points created by the extended amount of time spent in the chair. Sensory chairs with massage and heat provide an opportunity for individuals to experience different and relaxing sensations, and a sofa provides an opportunity to rest in different position. Swings and hammocks provide an important sensory experience for those confined to wheelchairs, as the swinging motion provides vestibular stimulation that allows participants to experience motion in directions other than just forward and backwards. This helps these individuals develop a sense of equilibrium and balance.

Developing Potential anticipates that 44 individuals at its Independence location will directly benefit from this program.

Developing Potential (DPI) has been providing day habilitation services to adults with developmental disabilities since 1993. DPI began with just one location and eight individuals served. Today, DPI serves more than 145 individuals at three locations in the Kansas City metropolitan area. DPI serves individuals with developmental disabilities through its Day Habilitation program, its Community Integration program, and its Customized Employment program. The Day Habilitation program, with which this request is most directly involved, encourages participants to achieve their personal goals for self-care and independence in areas such as hygiene, physical fitness, creativity, and household maintenance. The Community Integration program helps participants refine their skills by participating in volunteer, social, and consumer activities in the participants’ local communities. Individuals learn to use public transportation, count money, shop for groceries, and develop relationships beyond family and DPI staff. Finally, DPI’s Customized Employment program seeks meaningful employment for those with the desire and ability to work. All these programs help DPI’s clients reach their potential to live dignified, independent lives.