Writing on the Wall: Fall 2021

We Take Care of Each Other
Four F’s clearly form the guiding
principles of Provider Damion
Neblett’s home: faith, fun, food, and
family. Underlying all of these is
deep respect and affection that runs
between Damion and the two young
men he supports, Nate and Jabari.
Jabari cements this, “Damion is good.
Damion is smart. Damion is my provider
and Damion is a good person.
He’s trustworthy for me and lets me
be responsible.” That responsibility
includes being a valued team member
at his job of three years as a dishwasher
at Earth Fare. His dependability and
attitude have his co-workers labeling
him “rock star” and even resulted in
a recent raise! Damion is clearly just
as fond of Jabari as Jabari is of him,
lifting up how he can find the positive
in any situation and the fun conversations
they have... sometimes in character
as favorite movie characters.
Jabari continues, “He makes sure we
do things we want and like what we
have in our rooms and stuff... that
we have what we like to eat.” This is
where the other member of the household
plays a starring role. Damion’s
sister and back-up worker, KaShonna
Sheppard is, according to all three
men, a fabulous cook! In fact, it was
her cooking that led to Nate communicating
with them for the first time using
words. Nate is fluent at expressing
his feelings, needs, and wants through
body language and facial expressions,
but Damion shares that when he is
very excited, Nate will sometimes
choose a word to express himself. The
first time was when KaShonna was
offering choices for lunch and before
she could finish her sentence, Nate
excitedly burst out, “Nuggets!” Nate
affirms with a nod and big grin that
he feels supported here and free to
express himself however he chooses.
Damion shares, “Nate is one of the
sweetest, kindest, most fun loving
people I’ve ever had the pleasure of
meeting.” He goes on to describe
Nate’s patience when they were first
together and learning to communicate
well together, ending with, “Now, it’s
like clockwork. Nate, he just does.
He’s incredible.” Nate nods enthusiastically,
his face lighting up as Damion
and Jabari describe the three riding
a rollercoaster at a theme park.
Damion, Jabari, and Nate love to have
fun together, reveling in the opportunity
their flexible schedule provides
of going to the movies and bowling
when they have the places all to
themselves. As they recount the places
they like to go and things they like
to do, church comes up as a favorite.
“Jabari’s faith life is amazing,” says
Damion, who is also a preacher. “Jabari’s
prayer life is so awesome. He
lives Psalm 91 - one of my favorites -
and it blesses me. It touches me.” He
shares that Nate loves going to church
because he gets to see all his friends.
7
The three are also involved in LIT
ministry at Radford, helping with that
program. Church is a clear cornerstone
of their lives.
Laughter echoes across the porch
almost continually during our conversation
but Damion gets very serious
when he shares the impact the two
have on his life. “I tell their families
all the time... they are the best thing
to happen to my life... they really are.
I would not trade anything to have the
two of these... these guys... they are
my family, my friends, my teachers
and instructors... because they teach
me ways about myself I didn’t know
existed.” Asked how he’d describe the
work of a provider, Damion describes
it as a calling. “Every day you have to
wake up and say, ‘How can I benefit...
how can I bless... someone else? And
they always pour into me so I just
love to pour back.” In the end though,
he feels his calling is quite simple.
“It’s life. We just live. We take care of
each other.”
~Angie Covington
Jabari, Nate, Damion Neblett, and KaShonna Sheppard