Working at PLACES – It’s a Family Affair

Saundra and Will Ramey and their daughter Tia Young were all attracted to PLACES by the chance to help others in the community.

Tia Young and her parents, Will and Saundra Ramey, at the Belvo Road facility in Miamisburg.

It all began when Saundra Ramey retired from the Dayton State Hospital on Wayne Avenue after serving 35 years there as a mental health TPW (therapeutic program worker). She was giving a reference for a colleague who had applied for a job at PLACES when she became curious and asked HR manager Stacy Nolan more about the organization.

“We had a wonderful conversation,” Saundra said. “When Stacy told me about the company’s mission it was music to my ears!” Within a couple days, she applied for a position, was interviewed and hired. Oh, and so was her husband Will, a retired electrician. They were both made job offers the day after their interviews.

Housing advisor Tia Young says, “PLACES is a great place to work. They have compassion and empathy. Helping with the little things is so gratifying, especially when it’s appreciated.”

The couple has both been working for PLACES as quality mental health specialists for the past seven years. Will is a permanent part-time worker at Imperial Court, while Saundra subs for absent staff at various supportive housing and adult care facilities. “We monitor group homes, cook light meals, do light cleaning, monitor medications, and take people to appointments,” Saundra explained.

“It’s important to be a good listener and encourager,” Will added. When their daughter, Tia, saw how happy her parents were working for PLACES, she decided to leave her job as a corrections officer and become a housing advisor at Belvo. Tia helped open the facility when it was new in 2009. She left once to take a job as a dispatcher for a transportation company but missed it so much that she came back after just three months.

A former electrician, Will Ramey helps out when he spots a leaky faucet or some loose flooring that needs to be glued down. “We call him Mr. MacGyver,” says wife and co-worker Saundra, referring to the 1980’s TV series about a troubleshooting secret agent.

“As a corrections officer, you’re limited in how you can help people,” Tia said. “PLACES enables a deeper level of helping.” In speaking about her 15 years of prison work, she explained, “In the system, they’re thinking of survival. It’s a whole other world. People don’t know if they’ll live to the next day.” Now she sees ex-felons striving for something better as tenants of Belvo. “They feel ‘this is mine’; they don’t have to share. There is no privacy in a prison.” When asked what it’s like to have three family members all working for the same company, Tia said, “It’s great! If I have a problem or need to be off, I can pick up the phone. One of my parents can sub for me. And because my parents work at all of the PLACES facilities, I get to keep up on what’s happening everywhere else!”

Saundra Ramey and her husband Will are on the go, driving the van for tenants when transportation is needed. Because they work at facilities throughout the area, the couple mystified their accountant when they submitted W-9’s for Huber Heights, West Carrollton, Miamisburg, Vandalia and Moraine.

So how do the Rameys manage the complexity of an ever-changing work schedule? “If somebody wants to know if I’m available, I tell them,‘Call my wife!’ ” said Will.

Saundra maintains the couple’s calendar, using black ink for Will’s jobs and red for her own. They make the effort because PLACES is so dear to them. “I’m in love with all the facilities,” Saundra said. “What’s important to us both is family, then church, then PLACES.”

Renovations Nearing Completion at Tangy

Housing First Program facility gets spruced up due to generous grant to MVHO.

Some of the recent renovations.

Four tenants at Tangy Court in Harrison Township were proud to move into their newly renovated apartments in late August, thanks to a special grant received by facility owner Miami Valley Housing Opportunities.

PLACES works in partnership with MVHO under the Housing First program to provide safe, clean housing in the community to homeless single adults diagnosed with mental illness and substance abuse issues. The Tangy facility opened in 2007 and is home to eight tenants. Four were transitioned to other community facilities, allowing the other four apartments to be renovated.

Facility manager Nanci McGuire, who is in her second year managing Tangy and Imperial court, said four apartments were completely gutted and renovated with new paint, carpeting and flooring. The kitchens have new cabinets and appliances, the baths have new fixtures, and the furniture was replaced.

“They took everything out and in some places even put new walls in,” she said. “Central air has replaced window units, so residents will be able to control the heating and A/C for the unit themselves.” MVHO also renovated the building’s façade and put in a new parking lot. “It looks like they manicured the shrubs, too,” Nanci said. “They always take good care of the yard, with weekly maintenance.”

“The residents are really pleased with all their new things,” Nanci said. “One got new carpet that exactly matched her existing furniture.” Another was so eager to avoid dirtying his new home that he was taking several showers a day!

MVHO renovated Imperial Court, another Housing First facility, five years ago. “It’s beautiful now,” Nanci said. Imperial Court houses 12 tenants.

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