Welcome to ARISE Mentor’s, LLP. We are a Medicaid agency that provides services to adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are located in Oregon and currently service individuals in the Portland Metro Area, but certified to provide supports throughout all of  Oregon.  We were founded in 2016 by Drew Stinson and Rex Goode, who have a combined 39+ years experience working with individuals who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 2022, we hired an agency manager, Kathleen Garrett, who has experience in residential management and working with children. Between Rex, Drew and Kathleen, there is over 70 combined years of dedicated service and experience between them.

Our direct support professionals come from a variety of backgrounds and experience. They all share a passion and enthusiasm for the work that we do. See some of our employee profiles linked to on this website.

You can find out a lot about our philosophy for how we work with individuals by visiting the other articles on this website. We provide training in influential interviewing in addition to the required trainings in mandatory abuse reporting and first aid.

All members of our team maintain a workload with individuals so that everyone up to the owners of the agency are in touch with what it is like to work in the trenches with our supported individuals.

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

Developmental disability

• ​​Developmental Disability (DD) is a severe mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments
• Begins before an individual is 22 years of age or 18 years of age for an intellectual disability;
• Begins in and directly affects the brain and has continued, or is expected to continue, indefinitely;
• Causes significant impairment of daily living skills (adaptive behavior) such as, but not limited to, communicating, grooming, dressing, safety and social skills.
• Other developmental disabilities include autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or other neurological disabling conditions.

See the full definition of Developmental Disability in OAR 411-320-0020.

Intellectual disability

• ​Intellectual Disability (ID) means significantly sub-average intellectual functioning with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 70 and under as measured by a qualified professional, along with a lack of daily living skills (adaptive behavior) such as, but not limited to, communicating, grooming, dressing, safety and social skills, that show up prior to 18 years of age.
• Individuals with IQ’s of 71-75 may be considered to have an intellectual disability if there is also significant impairment in adaptive behavior as diagnosed by a licensed clinical or school psychologist.

• See the full definition of Intellectual Disability in OAR 411-320-0020.

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

Adults In-home supports

​We offer services to individuals who live in their own home or with family or friends.

• ​Services offered have specific eligibility standards and are accessed through the local Community Developmental Disabilities Program (CDDP) or Support Services Brokerage​.
  An Individual Support Plan is established with each adult to identify supports provided based upon their health and safety needs, interests, choices and goals. Each plan uses a person-centered planning process.
• It’s also important to understand and learn about supported decision-making as a part of this process and how it allows a person with a disability to make choices about their life.
• ​Supports are provided through a CDDPor Support Services Brokerage to eligible adults living in their own or their ​family’s home to help them remain in their home and be engaged in the community.
• A person is assisted to create an Ind​ividual Support Plan​to arrange for needed supports for things like personal care, shopping, meal preparation and more.

Children In-home supports

We offer supports to children and families ranging from in-home family support.

• Services offered have specific eligibility standards and are usually accessed through the local Community Developmental Disabilities Programs (CDDPs)​​.
• An Individual Support Plan is established with each child and their family to identify supports provided based on their health and safety needs, interests, choices and goals. Each plan uses a person-centered planning process.​​
• For youth transitioning to adult services, it’s also important to understand and learn more about supported decision-making and how it allows a person with a disability to make choices about their life.

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

Al Capone
1930

The old saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Nobody quite knows who first uttered or wrote it. It’s at least as old as the first half of the 19th century. There is much abou it that is true. There is even more about it that I don’t like. If you were to read all of the quotes about best intentions by all of the famous people who have spoken about them, you’d have a pretty dismal view of mankind. In short, good intentions have a bad rap.

Speaking of quotes about good intentions, notorious gangster of the Prohibition era, Al Capone, was quoted as saying, “I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man (from How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, 1936). (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

Photo by Mwesigwa Joel on Unsplash

I recently watched one of my favorite films, based on a true story and an autobiographical novel of the same title. The film was, To Sir, With Love. It was the story of a man who had studied to be an engineer and wanted to work in a communications plant, but was having trouble finding a position. The necessity of needing to earn a living lead him to accept a position in a London school in a rough neighborhood, but he kept seeking a job in his chosen field.

He was assigned to teach what would be, in American schools, the senior class. The students were about to enter adulthood with few prospects, most of them not sure why they even needed an education. As a result, they acted out their despair by baiting their teachers.

Enter Mr. Thackery, never having had a teaching position before. He paused on his way to see the principal to look into his classroom and began his mental assessment of the task ahead of him. He saw teenagers sitting on desks, papers flying, smoking, and general chaos.

His negative impression of his students was further aided by a jaded teacher who had nothing good to say about the class and the students. Some teachers tried to encourage him, but there was not much they could say that was positive. As he began trying to teach it was quickly obvious that the youths were going to live up to their reputations and even beyond that. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

Gilt bronze equestrian sculpture of Joan of Arc by Emmanuel Frémiet in Coe Circle (at NE 39th & Glisan) in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, U.S.A

One of my favorite legends about Joan of Arc was when she told her generals that she was going to scale the wall of a certain city to take it back from the English. One general said, “No one will follow you over that wall.”

She replied, “I won’t be looking back to see if anyone is following.”

One of the biggest misconceptions about self-directed supports is that we are supposed to just follow along with everything a customer wants to do and that a customer who is resistant to change should not be influenced to change. While it is true that our customers choose the supports they want and how they are delivered, we have a responsibility to them and to those government entities that fund our work to use those funds appropriately. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

My morning routine consists of waking up at 3:40 AM and heading to the gym. I take with me my cell phone and a large Bluetooth headset. After swimming, I take my headset out of my gym bag and set it on the bench next to me. After getting dressed, I hang it from my shirt collar and leave.

A couple of weeks ago, I did this routine, but instead of hanging the headset from my shirt collar, I absentmindedly left it on the bench. When I got to work and looked for it, I realized my mistake, except that I thought I left it at the snack bar where I got a protein shake for the trip to work. The worker looked for it on the counter and couldn’t find it. She suggested I call back later and ask the front counter people if it had been turned in as lost-and-found.

That’s what I did. I started out by asking if a Bluetooth headset had been turned in. While I was trying to describe my headset, the person on the other end of the phone was talking about walking over to the lost-and-found shelves. He said he didn’t see it. I tried again to tell him that it was not the little ear-bud kind of Bluetooth. It was big enough to fit over my head with a microphone that extends. I was pretty sure he hadn’t heard me say that part and had told me to call back later and again over the weekend. I called back later that day and then twice on the weekend. Each time, the person answering the phone told me they didn’t see it and it seemed to me that they were tuning me out every time I tried to tell them it was going to be big and obvious with a camouflage coloring.

That next Monday morning, I asked the early morning person at the counter to look for it. She opened up the drawer and there it was. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

Original Publishing Date – June 5, 2018

Today is an important milestone for our company. It isn’t measured in anniversaries, dollars, or the size of our company. It represents why we love doing what we’re doing, and unfortunately, for confidentiality’s sake, I can’t give you details. I’ll refer to our customer as Paul, though that is not his real name. As with all of our customers, Paul has a developmental disability that means that he requires support in various areas of his life and we provide that support.

I first met Paul many years ago as an independent contractor, doing this work. At the time, ARISE Mentors did not exist. My dear friend, Drew Stinson, and I were both in this field, and we were referred to as skills trainers. Our job was to assist our customers learn how to do things like housekeeping, laundry, money management, cooking, nutrition, safety, social skills, communication, accessing medical care, using community resources, and participating in community activities.

Some of you who do not have disabilities may take doing these things for granted. Without the support we provide, many of our customers would sit alone in their homes, if they have homes, or be out in the community and encountering problems they are not equipt to manage alone. Many lack the communication skills to express their needs or understand the advice they are given. Many are targets for people who would take their money, dignity, and freedom. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

We hire personal support workers for adults with developmental disabilities who are looking to learn skills and reach new levels of independence. Days with clients are filled with learning, support, and fun. If you are looking for an opportunity to make a difference in the life of some of the greatest people in the world, read on. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

We’ve jumped over every state-mandated hoop and are ready to rock ‘n’ roll. Now we need some employees and clients. We’ve had some leads for both, but we need even more.

Take a look at our employment page and our employment FAQ.

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.