Contact: Nicholle Granger
ngranger@voaches.org
April 6, 2022 Woodbridge, VA
National Disability Provider Association Names Madison Landmesser Recipient of 2022 Virginia DSP Award
Recognition honors excellence in workforce providing long-term supports and services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) has announced that Madison Landmesser, a direct support professional at VOACC, has been named the recipient of the 2022 Virginia DSP award. Landmesser joins 50 other recipients of ANCOR’s 2022 Direct Support Professional of the Year Awards, chosen from a field of more than 300 outstanding nominees.
“VOACC is overwhelmingly proud of Madison, for her award recognition of course, but more importantly for her dedication and commitment to true community inclusion for the individuals we support, especially during what has been such a challenging time for the people we support. We cannot think of anyone who more clearly demonstrates the power of person-centered supports, and we’re so grateful that ANCOR has recognized Madison with this high-profile honor.”
Since 2007, ANCOR’s annual DSP of the Year awards recognize outstanding professionals who deliver long-term support and services to people with I/DD. The awards celebrate DSPs’ important role in ensuring individuals with I/DD are included and empowered in the community and raise awareness about a direct support workforce in crisis. Inadequate investments in this essential workforce have led to turnover rates approaching 50 percent and double-digit vacancy rates—challenges amplified significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“From helping people with activities of daily living to supporting them to connect with long-lost family members and so much more, direct support professionals like [award recipient’s name] are proof-positive of the crucial roles this workforce plays in communities across the country,” said Heidi Mansir, president of ANCOR’s Board of Directors and executive director of Uplift, Inc., a disability service provider based in Gardiner, Maine. “ANCOR is proud to celebrate [award recipient’s name] and the 50 other professionals who comprise the 2022 class of outstanding honorees.”
Barbara Merrill, chief executive officer for ANCOR, added: “This is the sixteenth consecutive year ANCOR has presented the Direct Support Professional of the Year Awards, and the third class to have been honored since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we’ve been saying it for three years now, the challenges presented by the pandemic have collided with a recruitment and retention crisis in our workforce to wreak previously unthinkable havoc on our system of home- and community-based supports. For that reason, there’s never been a more poignant time to celebrate people like [award recipient’s name] and the more than four dozen other DSPs who exemplify excellence in our field.”
Madison is featured in ANCOR’s “Recognizing Excellence” publication located HERE. Her article is on page 70.
About ANCOR
For more than 50 years, the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ancor.org) has been a leading advocate for the critical role service providers play in enriching the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). As a national nonprofit trade association, ANCOR represents 1,600+ organizations employing more than a half-million professionals who together serve more than a million individuals with I/DD. Our mission is to advance the ability of our members to support people with I/DD to fully participate in their communities.