Getting Ahead Helps Those in High-Stress Jobs Deal with Struggles

The Blade wrote about Sunshine Communities and others' development of a new resource for DSPs: Getting Ahead In The Workplace! Great job, and great read!


After almost three years at Sunshine Communities in Maumee, Toni Hazen-Mansfield, who wears close to a buzz cut, occasionally wants to pull what little hair she has out of her head at the end of a long workday.

A support center for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, Sunshine’s staff members occasionally deal with crises when individuals become aggressive or when “things go haywire,” said Mrs. Hazen-Mansfield, 24, of Bowling Green,

“Things ... normally can go from zero to 100 real quick,” she said. “[But] I love my job. It doesn't scare me.”

It’s a job that Mrs. Hazen-Mansfield arrived at via a circuitous route.

When she was 11, she began caring for her ill father while her mother worked full time. 

Despite the balance of finishing homework, caring for her father, and helping her mother lead the household, she graduated valedictorian from Jackson-Milton High School in North Jackson, Ohio, receiving a full-ride scholarship to Youngstown State University.

To read more on this story, click here: Getting Ahead Helps Those in High-Stress Jobs Deal with Struggles 

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