Position: Direct Support Assistant
Years of Service: 8
Sajal Somadder was named one of the Bernard Fineson DDSOO 2024 DSPs of the Year because he is inspiring to be around – both for his colleagues and the people he supports.
“Sajal, who is affectionately known as ‘Sam’, is an employee who is always working at his best, putting the needs of the people he supports above all else and always does so with a pleasant attitude,” says Jenayra Jones, Team Treatment Leader.
In addition, Jones says Sajal is well liked by his colleagues and supervisors because he is so dedicated. There is no task that he cannot handle, she adds, and there is no person that he cannot connect and work well with.
“Sajal is incredibly detail-oriented, independently handling TABS billing daily with minimal errors,” says Jones. “He assists with planning and participating in activities he knows the people we support will enjoy. He also volunteers to work in residential programs during his days off and especially on holidays that he does not celebrate so that others who are celebrating those holidays can take time off to spend with their non-work family.”
Jones continues to say that Sajal is an employee that every supervisor wants to work with – he is an employee who does not use the word no, she says, unless it’s to say, “No, you don’t have to worry about that, I already took care of it.”
“Sajal is also incredibly humble regarding his hard work and takes anything that he is faced with in stride,” Jones says. “If his assignment must be changed to better support the people in the program, he’s the first to tell you “It’s OK, not a problem, I’ll do it.”
There is nothing that Sajal won’t do for the people in his care, Jones adds. Whether it’s helping set-up for their lunch, assisting a person to address goals by reviewing math problems, or admiring art projects, he helps everyone in his care lead better lives because of the support he provides throughout the course of the day.
“Sajal is one of a kind, unique, unrepeatable, distinctive, the one and only, and there is no person quite like him,” Jones concludes.