“It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” says Steve Bonacci, a Frazer Center Direct Support Professional since April 2021.
Steve began working with people with disabilities in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York where he grew up. When he first entered the field, he was unsure as to whether or not he would be suited for the work. He started off by providing transportation for people who needed to get to and from work. Eventually he worked at a group home for residents with severe developmental disabilities. “They needed the most help, and not many people wanted to work in that situation.”
Steve came to realize he had a propensity for the work. But when his fiancée was offered a position in Georgia, he moved with her. Once here, he decided to go to college to study Special Education, but when he realized that was not an option at his chosen university, he ended up studying Science Education.
That decision eventually led Steve to a career with Dekalb Medical as Operations Coordinator for mobile clinics. In his free time, he volunteered as a coach with the Fayette County Special Olympics in sailing, softball, and bowling.
After he retired from Dekalb Medical, Steve continued volunteering with the Special Olympics, and he joined the Seed & Feed Marching Abominable Band. But he wanted more.
One night at band practice, he asked a fellow Abominable—Frazer CEO Paige McKay Kubik—if the Center had any job openings. As a matter of fact, Frazer was in need of Direct Support Professionals after reopening from the pandemic closure. So Steve applied.
Almost one year later, Steve has developed strong bonds with the adult participants in his group. Like every great DSP, he shares his own passions with the people he works with while getting to know each individual’s proclivities and aspirations.
Steve likes to cook, and one day he brought in some monkey bread he had baked with his granddaughter. The participants loved it, so Steve decided to teach his group how to make it. Now it’s a favorite group activity.
“My goal with cooking is to teach the participants how to make things that they can do with minimal oversight at home,” Steve says. “Grilled cheese sandwiches and heating up soup to go with it, that sort of thing. It gives them a great deal of satisfaction to show their families and roommates what they can do.”
Steve and his group also like to go out into the community. The Atlanta Botanical Garden, Woodlands Garden, libraries, and parks are all favorite outings. “I didn’t know how it would go over, but I also took them to the Van Gogh Exhibition. They were mesmerized—captivated by the whole experience.”
In his time at Frazer, Steve has noticed positive changes among the participants he works with. One young woman likes to stay comfortable in her own spot at the same table every day. Although she enjoys going outside to play basketball, she would rather stay at Frazer than go on outings. One day Steve invited her to Exchange Park to shoot hoops with the group, and she surprised everyone on staff by saying yes. What might seem like a small step was actually a giant victory for her, and it’s the kind of success that keeps Steve fulfilled in his work.
“Steve is a strong advocate for his participants. He’s passionate about their well-being,” says Unondus Walker, Director of Adult Services. If he notices, for example, that a participant is showing up repeatedly at Frazer without his eyeglasses, Steve is on the phone to a parent, residential manager, or support coordinator to find out what is happening and to help remedy the situation.
This is what a Direct Support Professional does—build relationships, build trust, build community so that individuals with disabilities can grow and thrive.
Steve still coaches with the Special Olympics and plays with the Marching Abominables, but his “retirement” with the adults at Frazer Center is “the most gratifying work I’ve ever done.”