December 2023

Alex is a kind and easy-going guy. He is a hard worker and is very thoughtful. He enjoys playing video games; Call of Duty, Battle Front, and Roblox when he is playing with his niece. This holiday season, he’ll be watching the original (because it is the best one) Santa Clause and spending time with his family. At Wellspring, Alex participates in many different aspects of our programming, though admits that he has a couple of favorite opportunities.

This past Summer, Alex enjoyed collaborating with staff members and other STARS in the Entrepreneur Skills class to plan and develop ideas surrounding the possibility of opening an online store.  This class explored the steps needed to open a business, licenses, customer service, products, and more.  This Fall, Alex is continuing his education from Entrepreneur Skills and taking all those learnings into his Print Shop class.  Alex has really enjoyed sharing his ideas and dreaming with his print shop class about this future opportunity for growth and development.  This process has included creating a name, brainstorming future products, and now he is enjoying using the machinery to practice printing on different items – this included weeding the vinyl for a t-shirt project! This is a perfect class for Alex because he gets to work hands on, pilot something new, and harness his care for others by helping to develop accessible ways to engage in the class through the creation of how-to instructions and guides about using the equipment.

At the Castle Rock Collective, Alex has found community and enjoys working with his coworkers and helping customers. Coworkers and management agree that Alex is a joy to work with and has a great sense of humor. As a Barista, he takes initiative and is working toward independence at each station; point of sale, syrups, and crafting drinks on the espresso machine. Alex is becoming a strong and gracious self-advocate when he needs more time or space to find something or solve a problem.

When asked what his dreams and goals are, he shares that he would like to be more independent. He admits that sometimes he leaves little messes in his apartment before he leaves and would like some support and to create routines to be more independent in this way. He is hopeful that he’ll be able to live at the Unity one day and that the services offered there will help him create routines and keep little messes out of his apartment. He also shares that,  “I want to get a job where I can help people more.” Whether that job is through an employment opportunity at Wellspring or elsewhere in the workforce he doesn’t yet know, but Alex has a heart of gold and a lot to offer.