For Peace of Mind: Your Journey, Your Way, disability services are not just about care. They are about choice, dignity and helping people take part in the community around them.

The Laramie nonprofit began in 2021 and achieved nonprofit status in January 2023. Today, Peace of Mind supports more than 45 participants with disabilities and acquired brain injuries in their homes and communities.

Lynora Tolman, marketing and social media coordinator for Peace of Mind, said the organization was created after founder and executive director Michelle Cook saw a need in Laramie.

“There are a lot of residential services available for individuals with disabilities in Laramie,” Tolman said. “There were fewer community services, independent living services, transportation services, companion services and one to one community living services.”

Tolman said the goal was to give people more options and more access to the community.

“These individuals with disabilities, they deserve to have full access to their community and to be able to make choices about what to do with their life,” Tolman said. “We wanted to provide another option and another way of looking at disability services.”

That approach is especially visible during the summer months, when Peace of Mind works to help participants attend local events, take trips and enjoy experiences that might otherwise be difficult to access.

Tolman said participants may go to Rockies games, Jubilee Days, Freedom Has a Birthday, other community events, vacations or out of town trips. One of the things that makes Peace of Mind different, she said, is that the organization covers staff costs for many of those experiences.

“One of the big things that we do is that we cover all staff costs associated with taking participants out of town on trips, on vacation, in town events, admission fees, meals, all that kind of good stuff,” Tolman said. “That is not something that other providers really do, and it definitely means that we have to fundraise a little bit more.”

For many participants who live on low fixed incomes, that support can make the difference between being left out and being able to take part.

“Our participants are able to go do these trips, these events, these once in a lifetime memories,” Tolman said. “By covering all of the staff costs associated with it, we can make those dreams a lot more accessible.”

Shelbey Gunter, president of the Peace of Mind Board of Directors, said the organization’s work feels different because it is personal.

Gunter said people may be used to seeing disability services where a larger group is transported together to an activity. Peace of Mind, she said, focuses more on the individual.

“With Peace of Mind, you see one staff member and one participant out in the community,” Gunter said. “They do not necessarily have to be in a big group. They are getting that individualized attention.”

For Gunter, that is part of what makes the organization stand out.

“What separates Peace of Mind is that individual attention and making them feel like the human beings that they are,” Gunter said. “This is a lot different than anything that I have ever seen. Peace of Mind is totally different and totally individualized.”

Peace of Mind offers several services, including community living services, community support services, companion services, homemaker services, personal care, respite, child habilitation, transportation and on call services.

Tolman said two of the biggest needs right now are companion services and respite.

“Companion is going to look like one on one support with an individual with a disability or acquired brain injury, helping them in their home or outside of their home,” Tolman said.

That can include helping with chores, going to the grocery store, accompanying someone to an appointment, taking notes or spending time with someone at home or out in the community.

Respite services, Tolman said, are especially important for families with children.

“For families, especially having a child with disabilities or acquired brain injury can be very difficult,” Tolman said. “You are trying to manage the other children’s schedules, your own schedule, and still have time to keep up with the house and all of those good things.”

Peace of Mind staff can provide respite support in the home or take children into the community for activities such as going to the park, the library, the University of Wyoming Geological Museum or other local activities.

The staff who provide those services are Direct Support Professionals, or DSPs. Tolman said DSPs receive training that may include medication assistance, CPR, first aid, seizure training and other certifications. But beyond training, she said the right personality matters.

“You have to at least be willing to go through some trainings,” Tolman said. “Otherwise, being compassionate, being patient, being understanding, being flexible and just being fun as well.”

That sense of fun matters, she said, because enthusiasm helps participants feel comfortable and excited to be part of the community.

“One of the best ways that I have found to get participants out is to be excited to go with them and hype it up with them,” Tolman said.

Peace of Mind is also currently raising money for a wheelchair accessible van, which would significantly improve transportation options for participants who use wheelchairs.

Tolman said the organization serves several participants who use wheelchairs exclusively, and safe transportation requires specific equipment. A wheelchair accessible van would allow participants to enter the vehicle while remaining in their wheelchair.

“That provides them with so much more accessibility and dignity,” Tolman said. “They can schedule things much more short notice and not have to plan for getting transferred in and out of a vehicle.”

Peace of Mind does have a vehicle that can assist with transfers, but Tolman said transfers still require trained staff, physical strength, planning and extra steps. A fully wheelchair accessible van would remove many of those barriers.

“It is going to address all of those problems and just create so much more access to the community for participants with wheelchairs,” Tolman said.

Community members who want to support the van fundraiser can visit PeaceofMindNonprofit.org. The wheelchair accessible vehicle fundraiser is linked on the homepage, and the Giving page includes information about fundraising initiatives, upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.

Gunter also encouraged people to follow Peace of Mind on social media to get a better sense of the organization’s daily work.

“We can talk about it all day, but seeing the faces is my favorite part of it,” Gunter said. “The social media is a great place to visit.”

Gunter said WyoGives is coming up on July 15, and Peace of Mind has big goals this year. She said she hopes more people in Laramie learn about the organization and the people behind it.

“I just want to get Peace of Mind’s mission front and center in the Laramie community,” Gunter said. “The people, Lynora, Michelle, and all the folks that are part of Peace of Mind are just such wonderful people.”

For Gunter, the organization’s mission is easy to support because of the people behind it.

“At the end of the day, these people have the biggest hearts in Laramie,” Gunter said. “I would not be part of the board if I did not see their mission, if I did not see good people behind Peace of Mind.”