Mission Moment Monday: Syndie Leonard Hamm

WellLife Sets a High Bar for Services at Station Road Day Habilitation Program

 

We recently sat down with Syndie Leonard-Hamm, a Program Site Director with WellLife Network’s Developmental Disabilities Division. Syndie manages four WellLife Day Habilitation (Day Hab) programs located throughout Queens. These sites include Station Road, Long Island City Day Hab, Queens Without Walls, and Lennox Without Walls. We met Syndie at the Station Road program, which currently serves 122 individuals who have Intellectual/Development Disabilities (I/DD). Defining Success: According to Syndie, “success is all about the small wins.” She told us about a client who came to WellLife Network with extreme behavior issues. This person would throw herself on the ground, rip her clothes, scream, and display self-inflicting behavior (SIB). Around the same time, a non-verbal individual joined the program. This person was unable to control their aggression toward staff and exhibited SIB. Today, both are model program participants who meaningfully engage in classroom activities with zero behavioral issues. “The other day (the non-verbal participant) came up to me, shook my hand and said, ‘hi.’ She is extremely introverted so having her come up to me like that was a major milestone,” said Syndie. This type of transformation is common at Station Road and a testament to the tremendous work of Syndie and her dedicated staff.

 

A Day in the Life of Syndie:

We met Syndie on a cold February day in Queens, NY. She sported a long-sleeved pastel pink shirt, blue jeans, fuzzy socks, and black crocs. Her disarming charm and warmth made us feel instantly welcomed. Southern hospitality is one of the many personable attributes that she maintains from her upbringing in Florida. As the Program Director, Syndie keeps vigilant supervision over the participants and staff at each of her facilities. She starts her day at 7:00 AM by greeting everyone who enters the facility at Station Road. By 8:00 AM, she is covering staff, making sure everything in the facility is organized, clean, and in working order. At 9:00 AM, she goes over meetings, schedules, billing, and administrative work for the four facilities she manages. Then, it’s back to doing rounds. Sometimes she sits in the classroom to observe or help her staff. Other times, she works one-on-one with clients.

Overcoming Adversity During COVID-19:

In the midst of the pandemic, Syndie made it her mission to keep Station Road’s doors open as other facilities around her were closing. She attributes the mass closures of other Day Hab programs to a failure to adapt in the wake of COVID restrictions. “Many companies have suffered. A lot of people don’t want to come back after COVID. I try my best with remote learning,” she said, “managers have problems with it because their staff isn’t tech-savvy, or they didn’t want to sit with the participants to explain it to them.”

But in a short time, Syndie got her team up to speed. She even took it upon herself to go out and deliver iPads and tablets for the families of WellLife participants so they could engage in virtual classroom activities. According to Syndie, “it was either that, or we closed our doors,” and closing the doors was not an option for her.

 

Initially, not all the families were on board. Some gave Syndie pushback. However, giving up is not in Syndie’s nature. she set out to teach families how to use the technology, going as far as making regular house visits to ensure that everyone was able to embrace this new model of service delivery.

 

Unfortunately, not everything can be done virtually. Prior to COVID Station Road, was heavily recreational, taking participants to museums, carnivals, buffets, and more. They have since had to cut out all trips, but they hope to bring back a few events while maintaining COVID protocols. While the world continues to adjust, Syndie keeps her ideas bubbling as she patiently waits for the day that things can go back to normal.

 

Closing Thoughts:

As I sat down to speak to Sydnie, we talked about her journey to WellLife Network. “I began in foster care prevention where I worked teaching parenting classes and mending families back together,” she said, “I was always a people person, so I’m not surprised I ended up working with people.” After working in the mental health field, she landed a position at WellLife, where she started as a Senior Medicaid Service Coordinator on Feb. 15, 2007.

 

Walking around the facility, Syndie reiterated the importance of making a home for the participants at Station Road. She pointed to all the bulletin boards full of photos of staff and participants that she puts up, seemingly trying to put some soul into the place. All the boards with different titles, Station Road Day Heart, Station Road at the Red Carpet, Station Road Reading Group, Station Road Day Trips, all have a story to tell. Among the bulletin boards, there are pictures with beautiful sceneries, inspirational quotes, and paintings created by past participants.

 

While many have left the field in recent months, Syndie continues to find new ways to make her program better. She knows that this job isn’t for everyone and noted that, “I love what I do, not for the paycheck, but for the joy of it. It’s the little things that make a difference.”

 

This past Tuesday, Feb 15, marked the 15-year anniversary since Syndie started at WellLife. We are so incredibly proud to have her on the team!