Altya Henson, MS, School Certified Psychologist, Employee

I came to Richmond Community Services as a naïve kid from the island of Jamaica with just a high school diploma, looking for pretty much any kind of temporary job to help my husband support our young family. Fifteen years later, I’m flourishing in my career with Richmond – and I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.

When I started out I was in direct care, doing the bathing and the feeding and the everyday care for people with really significant physical and intellectual disabilities. At first I just felt a sadness for them, but you know, once you stop seeing the multiple disabilities and see the person, then you get it. Their ability to speak to me without words – with their smiles, their slight movement, their eyes – that’s what really keeps me here!

In addition to job satisfaction, Richmond offers employees the opportunity to move up. With my supervisors’ encouragement and support, I earned a B.S. in psychology. As my responsibilities grew at Richmond, moving from direct care to program and service coordinator to manager of a team working with the most medically frail, so did my desire for an advanced degree. I’ve just completed my Masters of Science degree in psychology and am now a certified school psychologist.

I manage a group home now, overseeing the care of eight individuals and 20 staff and I also interface with community-based service providers including area schools. I’m going to retire from Richmond. I love it here.

Additional comments: I went to another agency for a short period of time, but it wasn’t the same level of care, cleanliness or supportive environment.

Mildred Delgado, Employee, RN, QMRP, LPN

Opportunities for advancement abound at Richmond Community Services – and job satisfaction is enormous!

I started in direct support as a part-time child care technician at Richmond 34 years ago while I was still in school, studying to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. Now I’m assistant vice president of clinical services and supervise services throughout the agency.

As I took advanced training and earned my QMRP and RN, more opportunities opened up for me than I could have dreamed of. Many of my friends, on the other hand, had to leave their agencies to get ahead.

But at Richmond many of my managers also have moved up through the ranks. They’ve been supportive and mentoring throughout my career here. And I encourage the same kind of success stories for the people I supervise, urging them to reach for the stars and strive to get ahead.

But it’s more than career growth that keeps me at Richmond. It’s the strong bonds I’ve developed here. It’s knowing that I am making a positive difference in the lives of the individuals we support and their families – watching them grow as I’ve watched my own family grow.