Inspiration Field - La Junta, Colorado

Erin H.

Inspiration Field has been a valuable asset in the La Junta community for many years, but longtime residents might know it by another name. Formerly known as The Arkansas Valley Community Center or The Girch Center, InspirationField got a new name and a new location when it moved to this address and building in 2013.

From the InspirationField website:

The InspirationField Board has been in existence since 1966; begun by a small group of parents wanting a place for their children to attend school and be with others. Individuals with developmental disabilities typically did not attend public school at that time.

Today InspirationField serves approximately 180 children and adults with developmental disabilities in the tri-county area of Otero, Bent, and Crowley Counties.

Raul M.

I've had three interactions with this place. The first was when I was in court (as a witness- I've never been in trouble!) and a behavioral specialist for an Inspiration Field client stood up in front of the judge and stated they could not provide information for the court because they had just started their job. Really? Where was the upper management? It's their job to be advocates for the clients they are responsible for! A court appearance certainly warrants proper representation from a person responsible for the client. Shaking my head...
Second...calling for services for a client where Inspirational Field is the only provider in the area...no one called me back after several calls. The client IS eligible for services. Inspiration Field is mandated to oversee the funding/ operations/ allocation, but they have not...if you aren't going to fulfill your responsibilities, please give the contract to someone who will. People need help, not un-returned phone calls.
Third, while visiting the Inspiration Field office, I was sitting in the waiting room (waiting) and a staff brought a client out. He was obviously agitated. She told him to, "Sit down and don't move!" This is how you talk to a dog, not a human. Actually, I've never even spoken to my dog like this! This staff needs retrained and then fired if she doesn't correct her approach methods. Her command to the client obviously made him very much more agitated. It was not a good situation. In my experience, staff like this don't just act this way when no supervisor is around-- they act like this often and can and should have been, weeded out by now. I know how hard it is to find staff, but geez, this is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Please train your staff to ASK their clients for things, actions, etc. and not TELL them, which is considered abuse. In the agency I work for, they've fired people for treating clients like this. This just tells me the staff needs MORE TRAINING! Pretty buildings and successful fundraising does not replace core values for human service organizations.

Kevin L.

Great food, nice meeting place!

Robert M.