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Weekend Warrior: Ebere Ezurike

By Nadine Bartholomew

Ebere Toyin Ezurike (Left) has worked at EPIC for over four
years and she is one of the dedicated Direct Support Pro-
fessionals (DSPs) who staff EPIC’s weekend shift. The shift
is quite long, usually totaling 20 hours over the two day
period on Saturdays and Sundays. It is the shift that com-
bines EPIC’s Day Supports and Residential Services. DSPs
who work this shift help with general housekeeping, meal
preparation, bathing and dressing in group home settings.
They also incorporate the community-based activities
found in a Day Supports environment.

“I enjoy working on the weekend shift,” said Ezurike. “It is
more relaxed and I have more time to spend with my peo-
ple. We can travel to locations that are further away and
we can settle into our activities without rushing to return
home. For example, last week my co-worker and I took
our people to visit the Annapolis City Dock and the week before that we visited Sandy Point State Park. Both of these loca-
tions were at least an hour-long drive from our group home, but the weekend allows us the time to get it all done.”

A natural caregiver, Ezurike’s earliest memories are of taking care of her maternal grandmother while growing up in Nigeria.
“I was seven years old when I was sent to live with my elderly grandmother. Due to her failing health the family wanted to
be sure that she was not on her own all of the time. What started as running the odd errand grew into full-time support as I
began to do all of the cooking, washing, cleaning, and even the work on the farm.”

Those early experiences shaped Ezurike into the woman she is today, so she and her husband strive to teach their four chil-
dren the value of hard-work, perseverance, and self-sacrifice. “Both my husband and I grew up in Nigeria and we came to
this country to have a better life for ourselves and for our kids. That said, we want our children to have the same Yoru-
ba and Igbo values that we do. Those values were forged in the fire of adversity and challenges, so when my kids meet with
the people I support I often remind them that life is not easy and no matter the circumstances you were born into, you
must work for what you want. “

What would weekends be without our dedicated DSPs? According to Karen Harvey, Director of the Residential Services pro-
gram at EPIC, “The weekend shift is especially difficult to staff, because most people want that time for themselves. Ebere is
a wonderful person to work with and a wonder to behold on the job. She actually seems to be drawn to the people most in
need of care and she does everything in her power to help them. Ebere has worked her shift without fail, giving our people
the structure and support they deserve. We could not do what we do without DSPs like Ebere.”

Nadine Bartholomew, MBA, is the Marketing Director for EPIC. Nadine has over 18 years of experi-
ence developing and promoting environmental sustainability and social responsibility programs at
both non-profit and for-profit organizations in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.

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