Melissa | New Directions, Inc.

Building and Maintaining Relationships

New Directions, Inc. recognizes that unpaid relationships are fundamental in a fulfilling life and have positive impacts to the physical and mental health of a person. As such, we assist and encourage people to build and maintain personal relationships. When people we serve are connected to a community, they are recognized for their strengths and can make positive contributions.

We talk about people's strengths and where those strengths would be appreciated. We talk about about people's interests and how they can connect with others over those interests. We talk about how we can bring community into the lives of the people we serve. As a guide, we use Dr. Angela Amado's Workbook, "Friends: Connecting People with Disabilities and Community Members" published by the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center on Community Living.

We have helped people connect through various different groups and organizations. Here are just some examples:

various churches and church groups
pickle ball groups
puzzle meet ups
drum circles
sports teams
music cafés
VFW socials
anime groups
walking and hiking groups
Boy Scouts
Community Education classes

Covid-19: Updates

Melissa Burke

Program Director

for In-Home Support (IH), Access Housing (AH),

Independent Living Skills (ILS) and

Semi-independent Living Skills (SILS)

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What is it about your work that energizes and inspires you?

I enjoy the relationships at New Directions. I love supporting staff and seeing the smiles that result when individuals meet new staff. I also enjoy watching these relationships grow. I have seen how long-term relationships between staff and the people we support enrich lives.

What’s your favorite tradition?

I love traveling with my family, especially to State and National Parks.

What’s your idea of perfect weekend?

On the weekend, I love hiking, reading, watching TV and doing puzzles of all kinds.

Contact Melissa About...

In-home services

Access housing services

Independent living services

Semi-independent living services

Ross Kigner

CEO

Deb Sherman

Program Director

Jana Guggisberg

Program Director

Melissa Burke

Program Director

In-home, Access Housing,

ILS and SILS

Karen Holt

Director of Corporate Compliance

Residential Openings

Kim Rhein

Director of Human Resources and Finance

Laurie Kigner

Leadership Team Member-at-Large

Simone LaBonté

Advocate of Person Centered Strategies

Carrie Tjaden

Recruiting and Training Coordinator