Team 209 Roommates
Meet Ashley
Ashley is an incredible young woman with a broad range of gifts and talents. She advocates for herself and others with Down Syndrome. She has bravely navigated many challenges in her life and is the face of courage and perseverance. She graduated from Harper College, is an actress and is pursuing her vision to launch her own business with her Team called, Just A Dollop.
Ashley is an inspirational role model for many people. One of her dreams is to teach others how she has learned to cook healthier. She is working on a cookbook where she learned how to swap out unhealthy food for healthy food and then add just a dollop of something special to a meal to make it delicious.
After the loss of her mom, Ashley’s Dream Team circle of support surrounded her, together participating in a person-centered plan to help her move through a time of grief and uncertainty. Ashley’s support has expanded to include her Team 209 Family of roommates and staff who provide everyday support with life skills coaching, cooking, cleaning and socializing together. The Dream Team has evolved with Ashley, and continues to support her as she designs her life.
Meet Rachel
Rachel was born with a sparkle in her eye. Her charismatic, independent spirit has served her well. She has spent the past ten years learning life skills, living with roommates, traveling to see friends in California, working, and volunteering.
Rachel continues to learn how to advocate for herself and is known as The Girl with a Plan as she searches the internet daily for fun activities, crafts, and recipes for Just A Dollop. Learning how to live a healthy life has been one of her goals in the past year. After losing over 50 lbs, while working with a nutritionist and House Manager, Gina, Rachel and her two roommates look forward to sharing their success at weight loss.
Rachel is proud to tell people she works at Lou Malnati Pizzeria and Gia Mia Restaurant. She also volunteers as a teacher’s aide. She loves to spend time with friends socializing. Crafting is one of Rachel’s favorite activities. She is currently working on her art skills. Rachel looks forward to spending time in Michigan with her family where driving the boat is high on her list of outdoor activities.
Rachel is surrounded by her Team 209 Family, roommates and staff. Using her person-centered plan she continues to develop self sufficiency with the support needed to follow her dreams and continue to make plans!
Meet Ruth
Everybody loves Ruth! Her sense of humor and smile make her the Life of the Party. She has grown from a little one who rarely spoke to an independent young woman continuing to grow daily. She recently joined the 209 family where she is realizing her life goal of becoming an independent, productive member of a great community.
A hat, and the days’ favorite Chicago sports team apparel are her favorite and she is a die-hard White Sox fan! Ruth spends time texting friends and family, working, attending a day program, and pursuing her hobbies of jigsaw puzzles, collecting baseball cards, bowling, and teaching her parents how to use technology! As the resident schedule keeper, she makes sure everyone is on time.
One of Ruth’s goals has been to cook for her family, learn portion control and make healthy choices. A pair of over the elbow oven mitts helped her overcome her fear of using the oven. She takes pride in several meals she can prepare by herself including her signature dish, Pigs in a Blanket. Of course, she is working with her team on a healthier version of this for the Just A Dollop Cookbook
Ruth loves to laugh and tell jokes with her new roommates and amazing staff, is flourishing with the help of her new Team 209 family and is well on the way to living her best life.
Team 209 Friends
Meet Erika
Erika is a courageous, spunky, humorous and determined young woman who has faced many health challenges. According to her mom, “A twinkle in her beautiful blue eyes, and a ‘wink’ for her Dad at birth, she is our miracle.” It is that determination, drive for independence and zest for life that have served Erika well in all her endeavors.
As a young woman, who happens to have Down Syndrome, Erika lets it be known that she does not want herself or others defined by a label. She has had many opportunities to educate and inspire others as a presenter at National Louis University, the Arc of Illinois, National Association for Down Syndrome, International Best Buddies, St Raphael Church, the ACF, Chicago Chefs of Cuisine Association, and as an honorary Culinarian Member to the Culinary Profession and Hospitality Industry.
Erika is competitively employed in the Food Service Industry proudly serving students at Neuqua Valley High School, her alma mater, for over 23 years and she has volunteered in a variety of positions including at her Church, the Children’s Museum and the Cancer Center to name a few. In her time off, she assists in a pre-school class and loves to research the developmental stages of the children in preparation. A multitude of topics such as medical terminology, food additives toxic to our food supply, and family history, fill her love of research.
Erika has joined a new adventure with friends creating a video and cookbook called, Just a Dollop and is thrilled to share her food safety experience on this project with the group. Erika looks forward to living in her own home with roommates in the future supported as a valued member of the community!
Meet Bridget
Bridget has had an amazing journey as an advocate for people with disabilities. Her mom helped her prepare for this journey starting in her school years where she was in choir, band, drama, student council, the speech team, in plays, and in the youth and government club. In Bridget’s words, “many people helped me succeed. I worked hard to reach my goals and so did everyone who was part of my educational team – including my family.”
On her website, www.butterfliesforchange.org Bridget talks about her life and dreams:
“I learned that if everyone works together towards a dream, amazing things can happen! Now I am an adult, and my life is filled with exciting things. One day a week, I travel down to Chicago to the University of Illinois Dental School where I am a children’s dental health educator and assistant at the Pediatric Dental clinic. I am also working with PACE bus company as a spokesperson for "Hop on the Bus" which is a program to assist people with disabilities to navigate the PACE bus system. I am currently the Vice President of NADS (National Association for Down Syndrome).
One of my dreams is to become a television or movie actress. I have been in many plays and musicals, and I am involved in a theater group for actors with special needs. A dream came true for me because I was in a movie with Miley Cyrus called LOL in 2012. I loved working with Miley Cyrus and the other actors. I think if more people with disabilities are in movies and television programs, the world will stop judging and segregating us and they will see us as people with gifts who can participate in our communities.”
Bridget loves to hang out with her friends and is excited to participate in outings, activities and the newest Just A Dollop adventure with the Team 209 gang whenever she can. Bridget has also recently become a mentor for her good friend, Ashley, who is beginning her new role as a self-advocate and public speaker. Bridget and Nancy continue to mine opportunities for the two girls to help OPEN DOORS for other people with disabilities to “Dwell in the Possibilities”, a subject Bridget speaks about frequently.