UCP Oregon
  • HOME
    • Mission & History
    • UCP'S Leadership >
      • UCP'S Directors
      • UCP'S Board
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • SERVICES
    • Brokerage >
      • Brokerage Services >
        • Brokerage Videos
    • Supported Employment >
      • For Job-Seekers
      • For Employers
      • Be "Ability Aware"
    • Supported Living
    • Children's Services
    • Family Support
    • Bill Porter Memorial Fund: For Applicants
  • CAREERS
    • Why You'll Love UCP
    • Careers FAQ
  • NEWS
  • EVENTS
    • 2022 Toy Giveaway
    • OMSI Play Labs
    • Family Support Workshops
    • Family Support Group
    • 2022 Walk, Roll 'n' Run
    • Skate Night
    • Family Conference
  • WAYS TO GIVE
    • For Readers of Portland Business Journal 2022 >
      • Learn More About UCP Oregon
    • Donate
    • Raise Money While Shopping
    • Planned Giving
    • Corporate Partnership
    • Other Ways to Help
    • Give Parents a Break
    • Bill Porter Memorial Fund: For Donors
  • This is Our Voice
    • Share Your Story
    • Be a Legislative Advocate
    • Formal Complaint

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM UCP, 2022

12/24/2022

 
Picture
Happy December!

During this month, the UCP community will be celebrating in different ways, including cultural, family, secular, and spiritual traditions.
​

Hanukkah started on Sunday. Winter Solstice occurred this week. Christmas and Kwanza are right around the corner, too. Some folks may not celebrate spiritual or secular occasions in December, and some folks may be grieving or having a tough time.

We are holding you--all of you!--in our hearts. We're thankful for each and every one of you. We couldn't do it without you.

  1. UCP’s Family Support celebrated with an awesome Cinnamon Bear Cruise, and also hosted the annual Holiday Toy Giveaway on December 21st and 22nd.
  2. UCP’s Brokerage Department celebrated the season by delivering holiday food boxes and toys to its customers.

Thanks to everyone at UCP who has helped make this season bright!

​See you next year.

UCP Day at Camp

9/26/2022

 
Picture
As you may know, UCP’s second brokerage, UCP Mentors, just celebrated its first birthday.

To celebrate, Sasha Vidales, the UCP Mentors Brokerage Director coordinated an event called “UCP Day at Camp.”

Employees from both brokerages attended. They explored the trails, practiced archery, navigated the aerial course, did some arts and crafts, and more!

PS: a giant shout out to Sasha for coordinating the event. It was so much fun!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO MENTORS

9/1/2022

 
Picture
Happy first birthday to UCP Mentors!


One year ago (on September 1, 2021), UCP Oregon officially opened our second brokerage, UCP Mentors Brokerage. Since then, we have welcomed over 500 customers and 26 employees to Mentors. Wow!
 
As Sasha Vidales, the UCP Mentors Brokerage Director says, “Please join us in celebrating with Mentors’ customers and employees. We look forward to providing person-centered services at both of UCP’s brokerages for years to come!”
 

THANK YOU TO THE PARENTS

6/19/2022

 
Picture
What a busy week! Happy Juneteenth! Happy Father’s Day! Happy Pride!

This week (the week of Father’s Day in America), UCP Oregon is giving a shout-out to the parents of our customers.

Our Director of Brokerage Services, Sarah Noack, attended a picnic Blue Lake this week. The event was held by “Off the Couch” events, and several of UCP's customers attended.​

As Sarah says, “One of the things I walked away with was appreciation for the parents who show up for their kids their whole lives through.”
 
As Sarah adds, “We spend a lot of time in ‘adult services’ talking about self-determination… about and muddling our way through the conflicts that can arise between adult children and their parents. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the love and commitment many parents give to their adult children (our customers). As I caught up with a few parents yesterday, I was struck with the love, the impact, the hours, the grief, the heart, the strength, the grit, and the hope of so many parents, who are giving so much to their adult children over their entire lives. It is beautiful.”
 
Thank you to all the parents of our customers.

FROM THE DESK OF YVONNE

5/24/2022

 
Picture
Mabuhay, UCP fans!
 
(That’s a Filipino greeting, if you didn’t know).
 
As you may have heard, May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI).
 
UCP’s Yvonne Miller (a Personal Agent) taught us that greeting, and also started a conversation with the UCP Mentors team about ways to acknowledge and celebrate all things AAPI.
 
Below is an excerpt from Yvonne’s email and some resources they provided.

PS: Thanks to the other UCP Mentors team members shared about their identity and more ways to connect with the AAPI culture! 
 

How can we all get involved in supporting the AAPI community?


  • Create a space for AAPI voices and genuinely listen to their stories.
  • Don’t generalize the AAPI community—we come from more than 50 different ethnic backgrounds and each one is unique.
    •  “I am not your Asian stereotype” (Ted Talk)
  • Also, get informed! There is a lot of AAPI history and it is important to know about the good and the bad.
    • The History of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
    • ASIAN: How you see me
    • Stop Asian Hate
​

HAPPY 6 MONTH BIRTHDAY TO UCP MENTORS!

3/17/2022

 
Picture
Hi, everyone! We just wanted to say… “Happy 6-month anniversary to UCP Mentors!”
 
As you probably know, UCP Oregon launched UCP Mentors (our second brokerage) on September 1, 2021.
 
Six months later, UCP Mentors is going strong… and so is our original brokerage (UCP Connections).
 
Here are some interesting facts about UCP Mentors:

  1. Current number of employees: 24.
  2. Current number of customers served: more than 530.
  3. Brokerage Director Sasha Vidales worked previously at The Mentor Network as a Personal Agent and Quality Coordinator.
  4. Some customers currently supported by UCP Mentors were originally enrolled with The Mentor Network when they opened in 2001.
  5. UCP Mentors recently added a Personal Agent who is bilingual in English and Spanish to support our Spanish-speaking community.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BROKERAGE SERVICES

Thoughts From Sarah

1/6/2022

 
Picture
From the Desk of Sarah Noack, Brokerage Director, UCP Oregon

Greetings, all!

As I reflect on the past year, there were beautiful highlights and certainly many difficult lowlights.

In the spring of 2021, I could not have imagined how I would be catapulted out of my home office and into a massive undertaking—establishing a second brokerage (“UCP Mentors”) in order to take on the customers from another brokerage (“Mentor”) that was closing.
 
In some ways, taking on 600+ customers and starting a second brokerage was completely unfathomable to consider amidst a pandemic.
 
In other ways, it provided the perfect opportunity to shift focus onto something fresh and energizing.
 
I knew that I wanted to be a part of a safety net that could catch Mentor’s customers and employees. And I knew UCP had the organizational values and foundation to do right by folks.
 
What I didn’t know was how powerfully the community would come together to make that happen.
 
All of UCP’s existing (and new!) brokerage employees gave so much—their skills, gifts, and efforts—to make absolutely certain we were ready for our new customers.
 
Every single need was met with “here is what I can do.”
 
People stayed focused and positive even when we were overwhelmed. Problems were met with curiosity and tenacity.
 
And through those months, the team of former Mentor employees stepped bravely forward, responding with heart and grit and hope and determination.
 
When UCP Mentors opened on September 1, I felt like we had successfully landed the Millennium Falcon! I am so grateful for everyone, whether they served as Chewie, Yoda, Han, or members of the band that plays the funky music in the cantina.
 
Here we are four months later.
 
The dust is settling. And we see what lies ahead--more rebuilding, more growth, some healing, and lots more work.
 
But for now, I want to pause for a moment and say “three cheers” to everyone who was involved. Hooray for us all! Here is to collaboration, community, and customers! Happy New Year!
 
--Sarah Noack, Brokerage Director
Learn More About UCP's Brokerage Services

Meet the Leadership for Our Brokerage Teams

9/10/2021

 
Picture
As you may know, UCP Oregon has been offering brokerage services since 2010, under the name “UCP Connections.”
 
Effective September 1st, we added a second brokerage (“UCP Mentors”), in order to serve brokerage customers that had been previously served by The Mentor Network.
 
This is a big change; we’re now supporting 600 additional brokerage customers!

 
At the heart of this transition are the employees. We were able to bring over an amazing team from The Mentor Network. We also promoted several folks internally, and hired several talented, passionate new team members from outside UCP.
 
We also made changes at the management level. We created a new “Director of Brokerage Services” position, which will be held by UCP’s former Brokerage Director, Sarah Noack.
 
Tara Coen was promoted to serve as Brokerage Director for UCP Connections; Sasha Vidales (a former employee of The Mentor Network and founder of Creative Goal Solutions) was hired to serve as Brokerage Director for UCP Mentors!
Learn More About Our Brokerage Services

A Big Announcement

9/8/2021

 
Picture
​We have big news!
 
At the beginning of June, we learned that one of our peer agencies (The Mentor Network) was closing their services in Oregon, including their brokerage services.
 
UCP Oregon—in partnership with Oregon’s Department of Human Services Office of IDD Services—made the decision to support 600 of Mentor Oregon’s former brokerage customers.
 
We’re keeping our existing brokerage ("UCP Connections"), and adding a second brokerage ("UCP Mentors") to serve the new customers.
 
We’re hiring additional brokerage staff, and also adding a “solid gold” team of former Mentor employees, who bring a wealth of experience, heart, and commitment to their customers. These new customers and staff joined us, effective September 1st.   
 
UCP’s two brokerages will function as two united yet distinct entities.
 
We understand this change came as a surprise, and that everyone will have different feelings and thoughts. We are offering information sessions for customers affected by this change, ensuring they have the chance to ask questions and share their voices.  
 
As time goes on, we’ll be sharing more information about this big change. But, in the meantime, we hope you’ll join us in welcoming our new customers and employees.
Learn More About Brokerage Services

UCP Is Hiring: Personal Agents

7/14/2021

 
Picture
As you may have recently heard, UCP is growing! We’re opening a second brokerage (more info coming soon).

We're hiring for several Personal Agents (Caseload Managers) for both our existing Brokerage (UCP Connections) and our new Brokerage (UCP Mentors).

As a Personal Agent, you'll support adults who experience various intellectual/developmental disabilities.

You’ll have the chance to make a big difference every day, and be a part of a collaborative, fun, and diverse team.
Learn More Here
<<Previous

    NEWS Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    August 2015
    November 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    AbilityAware
    Advocacy
    Bill Porter
    Board
    Brokerage
    Building Blocks
    CAREERS
    Children's Services
    Choices
    Community Inclusion
    Conference
    COVID19
    Customers
    Customer Survey
    Diversity/DEI
    Donations
    Employees
    Employment Solutions
    Events
    Family Support
    Fierce Love
    Foundations
    Friends Breakfast
    From The Desk Series
    Fundraisers
    Helpful Links
    How To Help
    Jobs
    Mental Health
    News
    Our Voice
    Stories
    Supported Employment
    Supported Living
    UCP Connections
    UCP Foundations
    UCP Leadership
    UCP Mentors
    Volunteer
    WRR

UCP Oregon is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
©2023, All rights reserved.


Privacy Policy
UCP Oregon
305 NE 102nd Avenue, Suite 100
Portland, OR 97220

​Phone: 503-777-4166
​Fax: 503-771-8048
Email Us
Photo used under Creative Commons from Jason McHuff
  • HOME
    • Mission & History
    • UCP'S Leadership >
      • UCP'S Directors
      • UCP'S Board
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • SERVICES
    • Brokerage >
      • Brokerage Services >
        • Brokerage Videos
    • Supported Employment >
      • For Job-Seekers
      • For Employers
      • Be "Ability Aware"
    • Supported Living
    • Children's Services
    • Family Support
    • Bill Porter Memorial Fund: For Applicants
  • CAREERS
    • Why You'll Love UCP
    • Careers FAQ
  • NEWS
  • EVENTS
    • 2022 Toy Giveaway
    • OMSI Play Labs
    • Family Support Workshops
    • Family Support Group
    • 2022 Walk, Roll 'n' Run
    • Skate Night
    • Family Conference
  • WAYS TO GIVE
    • For Readers of Portland Business Journal 2022 >
      • Learn More About UCP Oregon
    • Donate
    • Raise Money While Shopping
    • Planned Giving
    • Corporate Partnership
    • Other Ways to Help
    • Give Parents a Break
    • Bill Porter Memorial Fund: For Donors
  • This is Our Voice
    • Share Your Story
    • Be a Legislative Advocate
    • Formal Complaint