Speaker 0 00:00:00 Okay.
Speaker 1 00:00:04 <inaudible>
Speaker 2 00:00:58 And good evening. This is disability and progress where we bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. There's cafe 90.3, FM Minneapolis. And KFA I dot O R G. My name is Sam I'm. The host of the show. Charlene doll is my research team. We have several people with us tonight. We have Heidi Smith, who is the executive director of Wynnona O R C or ORC. Good evening, Heidi. Hello. We also have Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman with us. Good evening, John, how are you against Senator Hoffman or whatever? You'd like me to call you. Um, Steve Howard, who is the executive director of what Cosa, uh, I believe in St. Cloud high States
Speaker 2 00:01:47 Also remind everyone that, um, if you want to be on my email list, you may email
[email protected]. You can also download our app. That's in the app store for cafe. I to listen to us and carry us with you and hear our archives, our archives for two weeks, we are also podcasts. So you can go to our podcast, ask your smart speaker to play it. And it will tonight. We're talking about, um, disability services, virtual day at the Capitol, which is very important and it's important for many reasons. Uh, but this year it's special because it's a virtual. Um, can we start off by each of you giving me just a little bit of a history about yourselves and how you got into where you are now? Hi. Do you want me to start? You want me to go first ladies first? Yes.
Speaker 0 00:02:45 Right. Um, hi. So I'm Heidi Smith. Uh, like you said, Sam on the executive director at Winona ORC industries. And I have been working in the field of disability services for 25 years and been the purest, happiest joy of my life. Uh, I originally came from Iowa, please don't hold that against me. And, um, although everybody else does. And, uh, um, I've been up here, well, down here, it depends on where you're at in the world in Winona, Minnesota, uh, since 2015. And so I've seen a lot of amazing things in my time here and, uh, love what I do. I love advocating. I love meeting our folks at the door and I love seeing them on the day at the Capitol. And, um, it's just, uh, I'm just honored to be here tonight. So that's me kind of sorta Senator Hoffman.
Speaker 3 00:03:40 So Heidi you're from Iowa. My daughter was born in Iowa. I spent 11 years in Iowa working for the department of inhumane services, actually department of human services. And my wife did a radio and television show, uh, deal. Uh, I can't remember whether the care and wait. Karen T was a star one Oh 2.5. Does that ring a bell to you? Kelly is your radio name?
Speaker 0 00:04:07 Yes. She also used to work up here.
Speaker 3 00:04:10 She did. She started at w LOL 99 and a half, and then she went out to San Francisco and I followed her all across the world and the United States. And then, and then in Iowa and our daughter was born in Iowa mercy hospital, and I spent six years in a juvenile detention facility there. Um, actually I was the supervisor at Meyer hall was really, but
Speaker 0 00:04:38 I want to tell you that my job when I left Iowa was I was the deputy director for the Iowa department of human rights. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:04:48 Florida Hoover building. That's where I worked. Um, yeah, yeah, <inaudible> union isn't it it's like, there it is. But, um, I was doing, uh, early intervention services and I was a part when part H became part C and I was part of that team went around to all 99 counties. You know why there isn't a hundred because culturally decided they didn't want to split it. And Sandy keep a big one, but I love Iowa, Heidi. So, um, and that's just one of those things, but Sam, I, I was elected to the Senate in 2012. Uh, having spent eight years on the, get up in school board and four of its vice chair. And prior to that, it was, uh, on the federal inter-agency coordinating council during the Bush administration where I advised an assistant on the education matters that are pursuant to public law, 94, one 42 and 99, four 57. So there's a mouthful for ya. Um, I'm a dad, my daughter is now 24 years old and, um, you can check her out the hope Siri, uh, if you want to go follow some good stuff that she'd been doing, but that's, uh, and I'm married to Yvette, um, radio chick 84. So, um, that's her, that's her stop and she's kind of fun to follow on Twitter and Facebook as well. So it's good to be back and chatting with you again.
Speaker 2 00:06:09 Thank you, Steve. You're next? Okay.
Speaker 3 00:06:12 Well, thanks Sam. I'm Steve Howard. I'm the executive director for a program called what Cosa, uh, in, uh, the way park and St. Cloud areas. And we're also in sock center. Um, I've been there for 13 years now. And prior to that, I was down in the metropolitan area at, um, at that time, uh, called Midwest special services, but now called MSS. And I was, um, I've been in the field for about 34 years and, uh, um, uh, just absolutely enjoyed it. Um, uh, there's nothing I would rather do, uh, got all of the education background and stuff like that. But what I like to tell people is I'm, uh, I was the guardian for my brother who is very, uh, severely, um, involved and challenged. And, uh, he passed away three years ago from, from, uh, pneumonia, but, um, it's really been the thing that got me going in the field and, uh, being a military family. And we got a drug all over the United States and drug him along to, and, and talk about normalization. He did exactly what the rest of us did. Uh, so I've just really enjoyed being in the field. I think I've just kind of felt like a naturally flowed right into it, uh, both from my family, but then, you know, it just seemed like the right thing to do professionally. So anyway, uh, just loved every minute of it and, uh, and, uh, looked forward to going to work every day.
Speaker 2 00:07:30 Thank you very much. Um, John, I know that you're not with us the whole time, so I want to pick on you first. Um,
Speaker 3 00:07:40 I know,
Speaker 2 00:07:41 Uh, but I want to start out can, we're we're really talking about the virtual day of the Capitol. Um, it does every state have a disability a day at the Capitol?
Speaker 3 00:07:54 You know, I don't know. I mean, that's a great question. Maybe Aaron knows the answer to that, but I would, I would assume
Speaker 2 00:08:03 He's not sure about that. Okay. I was just curious about that. I guess I never thought that I should have pre prepped you, sorry, but, um,
Speaker 3 00:08:11 That's okay. Actually, you know what, it's, it's, it's interesting because like I know Chicago, Chicago has this big parade. They do every year that highlights the distributed service providers and people with disabilities and it's disability day. I mean, they do this whole thing about inclusion in the show, how things are are working within the Chicago Metro, they shut down downtown Chicago and, you know, I wish Minnesota would do something like that. So I don't know if there's every day, but here's the thing, Sam, it's not just about doing it one day a year, everyday should be disability day on it. You know, we should be reminding you and educating our elected officials. What are wants wishes, desires, and dreams are right, because if we're not telling people about it, nobody else is going to be thinking about it. And that's, that's evident. Look at our whole thing with the vaccine, roll out, look at our whole thing about retention grants, battle Jim abler. And I battled for four months just to get money, to be able to keep organizations on float during this whole crisis that was going. So it should happen every day. Sam,
Speaker 2 00:09:10 I'm glad to hear you say that. And I do want to encourage, we are global show now. So even though sometimes we concentrate on our local people. Um, we are out here for everyone and I want to encourage people that if you know that you have a virtual day or a day on the, at the Capitol to go to that and attend that, and also to advocate for yourself because it's so important. And I do want to ask you Senator Hoffman, because as you know, I mean, you just pointed out yourself. There's so much divisiveness. I feel like in the political field in the last four years, especially, but we're still coming out of it, I think. And we have a little bit of a battle to kind of even things out I think, and, and get things back on the, the right road. And I want to know, I want to know, because I feel like there's, everything is made into a, this side, that side. So you're one of the people I feel like that really tries to reach across the aisle and work with people. What does that mean to you?
Speaker 3 00:10:17 So when my daughter was really young and I would take her to Washington DC, uh, I had the pleasure of, she got to hang out with, with like Jim Ramstead and there's a picture in my office, uh, of Burton Jim Ramstead and, and, and the rammer said, you know, John, when you have a discussion on, on health and human services or education, he used to say, you need to leave your ego out in the hallway and you really need to focus on what's in the important, at hand. What's the important matter that you're talking about. And, and in this case, you know, disability knows no economic socioeconomic, no way crosses every conceivable kind of category there is. Right. Um, just so happens, disability, poverty go hand in hand, but, but that's a whole separate issue, right. But when you're talking about, you know, equity, where's the intersectionality conversation.
Speaker 3 00:11:07 That's there, that's not a political statement, right? When you're talking about services and supports or, or family's wishes, it is embedded in due process rights, right? And, and you look at education, for example, it started in Pennsylvania and the arc, and then it moved to mills versus DC. That became a Supreme court decision. That was challenged that again, an attachable versus, um, Texas, and that recently this Garrett case in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, there you go, Heidi really talked about what is a related service, right. But, but, but, but it really comes down to that. We're talking about it, a civil rights for people when it comes to that kind of stuff. So having set that aside that is not going to do with politics that has to deal with what are my has instead as a system, when it comes to people with disabilities. And, you know, and there are some people in this current venue that say, well, you know, Minnesota is the best at providing services to people with disabilities.
Speaker 3 00:12:06 Well, what if we were number two when we did a thing and I'm like, Nope, somebody needs to educate you about why that's not an okay statement to have or why that's not an okay position to have. And so, you know, that is really what you've focused on. Educating people about the fact that this isn't politics. Now I'll give you a prime example. When we were, we were trying to educate the, the rest of the state on, on this, uh, this piece about, um, the money that the centers for Medicaid services said, we can go ahead and use the federal dollars for retaining programs and retaining organization in my office and Senator Abel's office. And by the way, Sam Senator, it was a Republican, I'm a Democrat. So what, right. I mean, we, we worked 91% of my bills are bi-partisan Sam. And that's how it is when you're in this field, that's where it's at. And, um, we just uncovered things and we still uncovered things because we feel a commitment to making sure that, that we're writing the wrong and we're doing what needs to be done. So set your politics that your ego has. I don't want to give, I don't want to hear anybody say, well, me, me, I mean, that's the thing that just drives me absolutely bonkers. It's no, what's the greater collective here when it comes to people. Yep. Thank you. Yep.
Speaker 2 00:13:25 So, um, when you're working, what does it mean to you when you hear people come and tell you their story?
Speaker 3 00:13:32 Uh, personal stories are absolutely they, their, their, their mood, it causes the system to say, am I doing what I'm doing and what I should be doing? And I'll give you two, three examples last week. Uh, two moms came in front of our committee, right? And, and these two moms, Kathy ware, and Daniel Harris, who I've known for many, many, many, many, many years, right. Um, one happened to have worked with pacer center in the, in the maternal child health world. She understands title five, Bernie, but else. The other one is an actual, um, case manager, uh, works in social services and has for 30 some years. But they were talking about how waiver re-imagined, wasn't thinking about, you know, this is going to be an absolutely setback waiver me, imagine phase two is what we're talking about, right. And how their children are going be, let go.
Speaker 3 00:14:21 So here they are. And they're telling their story about what it's going to mean to them when their services are cut and their dollars are cut, and they're forced to put their children into corporate residential group setting, wrong way to go. It moves the chair enough where he's like, we gotta do we're we're on this. Right. And then it was just that follow-up so that's important, but you got to keep it very germane to what the conversation is. The third was, there was an individual who came in and talked about substance use and substance use disorder and, um, recovery and her brother committed suicide because there was not good sober house for him. Right. But the story of how she told that the system could have done something different in order to help that individual. And that caused a lot of people to sit back and go, wow.
Speaker 3 00:15:14 And then I asked the question, you know, are we forcing individuals to comply to what our system is doing? Or is our system being responsive to what the individual needs are for people that you can individualize needs are? And Senator Amy was like, I'm going to steal that. And so, but that's what it comes down to. Right. And so personal stories mattered, and it makes that personal story connects you to the individual. That's making decisions because if they don't understand that, and there's other examples of that when it comes up left and right. Lots of politicians there, they're not doing something also. They know somebody who knows somebody, it's the rule of six, who was that? Do thank you, Heidi. There you go. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:15:56 So, um, how do you think it will be this year? This is the first year that you've guys have been virtual to my understanding. Um, obviously for obvious reasons, uh, do you think it will be more, that will be happening because of that? Do you think it will give more people a chance to connect or do you think this will be more difficult?
Speaker 3 00:16:20 No, it's a, that's a great question, Sam, in, in any look at this is going on a year now let's go and virtual and stuff, we're doing a little bit of hybrid where you have, you know, some people in person and other people what having zoom or whatever the platform is made access to people in this position, a lot easier and a lot better because we never would think of this format when it comes to having a meeting. Um, look, there's, you know, seven of us gathered in one moment and we didn't have to, you know, park my car in downtown Minneapolis, knock on the door and wait for somebody to come down and bring me up at the elevator. And it'd be crammed in that little studio and go, I don't want to be here. Right. It's like, so now you're in an environment that is, you know, very, uh, normal and natural to you. And so it's opened up that access side of it a lot better. Um, but I miss, I miss having people here, I miss the, you know, when we would have our rally days, you know, the ability day at the Capitol, it was great thousands of people in here, you know? And, and then I would say go out and, you know, make sure that your elected officials know you're here. And they would
Speaker 2 00:17:43 A sense of adrenaline when people are together. Right. It kind of comes people and gets people going and helps get that energy to want to tell your stories and, and help reach out about these things,
Speaker 3 00:18:00 Social beings. That's for sure. Right. Social themes
Speaker 2 00:18:04 Talking about, um, the disability services virtual day at the Capitol. And can you real quick, we'll, we'll cover it again at the end, but tell us when the, this date is and what time it starts and how people can get involved in case we lose anybody till the end.
Speaker 0 00:18:24 Sure. I can do that. Okay. Um, so you, it's actually on March 9th and all the fun and excitement starts, uh, at nine o'clock. So it's easy to remember March 9th at nine. And, um, there's going to be a Facebook live aspect as well as the zoom. And, um, if you register, uh, and I'll have to get that website, I didn't put that in front of me, but I bet Aaron will find it for me. Uh, we can, um, get you registered. You can, uh, they'll actually hook you up with your representative, uh, at that registration. And there'll be a lot of different opportunities. Thank you, Aaron disability services, day.com. All right. And they'll get you hooked up with your legislator and it'll be, we're going to try and do the energy, the raw that's kind of my job that day. Uh, so we're going to do what we can virtually. I have been known to be crazy behind my computer as well, so we can, uh, try to make that energy happen, like y'all said, but March 9th, starting at nine.
Speaker 2 00:19:30 Excellent. Um, I want to talk to Senator Hoffman here. Um, I know that you have some other things to get to. I want to just, again, thank you so much for coming on with us, but is there any other things you want to tell us about before you have to go?
Speaker 3 00:19:46 Yeah, I do. I think, I think it's important that you guys really pay attention to when the governor proposed his budget. There's a lot of things within there and DHS is proposal in that budget. Um, there are some, um, systems changes that are going to affect everybody across the board. And, and, you know, we have, uh, this waiver re-imagined phase two, not ready for prime time. I want some people that are smarter than me to take a look at that and then send a, a note to myself and Senator Abel's office about why isn't it ready for prime time, but not just tell us the problem, but tell us what the solution needs to be. Because when we ask them about their modeling, they go, Oh, what, we don't know what modeling you're talking about. It kind of scares us thinking again, is the system creating a system that we're going to have to force people into?
Speaker 3 00:20:29 Are we, is our system being created, that's really, uh, to the unique and individualized needs of the individual with disabilities. And so the other one is dementia choices piece on that as well. Um, looking at that, and then as we noticed, there's the $1.9 billion federal thing. There is some health and services nationally. Um, and if anybody wants to get walkie and read the thousands of pieces of paper and identify what are the things that Minnesota needs to be doing for people with disabilities within that framework, um, you gotta alert us. I mean, that's the thing that, that is there. I, um, you know, I've got ADHD, but I don't have enough time, you know, to spend 25 hours a day reading through thousands of pieces of paper. So if anybody's out there looking for something to do and they want to, and then the other thing I'll tell you is there was a task force that was done a couple of years ago about looking at employment of people with disabilities in the state of Minnesota, specifically in response to some of our stuff with the connect 700.
Speaker 3 00:21:30 Right? And, and the, the things that we've found is that we do have the ability to make this a model state when it comes to that, but we're not managing it well. So we have this task force that was created, came with some suggestions and ideas. We just had that turning to a bill, which will get dropped. Tori Western is going to be the chief author. You're going to see Jim abler, myself, Mark Qur'an will be on. So it's going to be a bi-partisan um, uh, bill it'll be in the house. Uh, Frank Hornstein will have, and cause he was one who helped him initiate it. That's going to be a game changer for how we employ, how we making sure that the system there's some conciseness behind, um, you know, reasonable accommodations, right? Like why is it one agency can do 599 requests for reasonable accommodations and grant five 98 and another one?
Speaker 3 00:22:16 No, you know, it's like, well, we need to have some urgency on how we look at how this is applied. What is reasonable? Right. We need ADA knowledge. We need some people with section five Oh four of the rehabilitation acknowledge. And so, um, I'm really looking forward to pushing this bill across because it's going to be a game changer. And it's something that plenty started Mark Dayton pumped it up. Um, it was an executive order. And then this current governor also, uh, renewed that executive order and said, he said, let's fix the system. And so Senator Abel and I are going to actually bring statutory language, it's going to embed it and codify it locks. So there you go.
Speaker 2 00:22:51 Thank you very much. Um, and we always love having you on. So come on just to come on. Sometimes
Speaker 3 00:22:59 I got to do as Charlene, you just get ahold of the cabinet. I mean, you know, get it, get it in. Or, you know, now Aaron knows how to other areas funny. Cause we were trying to get Aaron we're, we're like connecting and things. And finally he's texting me. He's like, Hey, you and Abel are so hard to get ahold of it. I think I texted back to just get it in the calendar. Sometimes you just got to put it in the calendar and then, you know, go with it. Does that make sense? Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:23:25 Thank you. Let's start out by asking. So why are employment and day services so important to Minnesota with disabilities? Who wants to take that one?
Speaker 3 00:23:41 Well, Heidi and I are looking at each other, like we don't want to step on other, which is the first
Speaker 4 00:23:46 Time we've ever been cordial to one another now. Right? Um, don't change anything now
Speaker 4 00:23:57 John knows us. So, um, well, I mean, it, it, uh, it's so incredibly important to, uh, uh, provide, uh, good fulfilled choice driven lives for whoever wants them in our community. And this, uh, there there's a contingent of our community that, uh, uh, can do many things on their own and our services, uh, help them. We, you know, we specialize in depending upon wherever they are and they're serving in their ability level. Uh, we enter into that. We meet them where they're at and, uh, we do our very best to try to help them be the best they can be. We like to think that we're helping people fulfill their dreams and uh, you know, and, and not everybody's going to reach all their dreams, but you know what, that's the same for the entire community. And we're, uh, we're all, uh, going to be out there swinging as long as we can to try to, to try to fulfill whatever dreams and be successful, uh, any way that we can and, and providers like what, someone on RC providers that are really trying to meet the people that we serve, where they are and trying to be very individualized and, uh, and trying to then help them be more active in their community.
Speaker 2 00:25:12 So talk a little bit about what that means though. Like you guys offer lots of services, but what do they make possible for the people that your agency serves to do laundry
Speaker 0 00:25:24 Happy to do that? I'm glad you can see on my verbal non-verbal illness about I'm going to answer that one, you know, um, one of the things, uh, that I'm very, very proud of at Wynnona ORC, uh, we actually do, we have a commercial laundry and we do the laundry for the local hospital and all the nursing homes.
Speaker 2 00:25:45 Oh really? Yes, that's cool.
Speaker 0 00:25:48 Cool. Um, and we, we process about 800,000 pounds of linen a year. And our entire soil side of laundry is ran by people we serve, uh, and the folding of the laundry, the machinery of the laundry, all of that is done by the people that we serve. And when COVID hit, you want to talk about appreciating, uh, our services. You know, there was obviously a surge in need, the nursing homes for additional cleaning and for, uh, obviously to have COVID, uh, friendly processes to we, you know, we were getting rid of the virus and, uh, we're certified laundry in our folks were right on that. And we never, ever closed. We never had to, uh, we had to let our folks go for awhile, but we worked hard to make sure it was a place to come back to. And the pride that the people that work at Wynnona oversee have knowing that they do that for our community.
Speaker 0 00:26:54 I have goosebumps every time I tell that story and I have them now in, you know, so for me, I think about what we offer them, but I really think about is what they offer our community. You can't close. They would be, our community would have, I wouldn't go to the hospital. If I knew they weren't clean linens, dear, your people who are there, do they, do they, do you feel like they have an excellent understanding of that, of what they do for the community? You know, the people, people with disabilities that work at Wynnona ORC have a very good understanding of that. And I'll tell you a couple of really funny stories. Um, I was in the ER once a few years ago, uh, and I was inspecting the linens, even though I was there for my own issue. Um, and that was so proud of how they looked and how they smelled and, and our every time one of the people, people disabilities that works in our, in our laundry goes to the hospital. They always come back to saying, you know, I told everybody there that I cleaned those and that I did a really good job, you know, so, you know, it, it's, uh, it's a sense of pride for all of us knowing we make that difference. Um, talk about the current funding mechanisms. Why are they so important to living the best lives that they can with people with disabilities?
Speaker 0 00:28:24 Steve, I just want the funny questions. You're the color commentator and right. So
Speaker 4 00:28:34 Yeah, well the current funding mechanisms as we, um, get funded through, uh, both our County and our state, and then of course our medical assistance funding, um, is a 50% match from the federal government and then also matched by the state. But the funding that we have right now, uh, is critical funding. Um, without it, people don't do things, they don't go do laundry. Uh, you know, it goes to, has our own thrift store and we have our own document, shredding business. And, and those things are things that are, are really, uh, our community relies upon us for those things. Uh, we're not a charity. Okay. Um, the people make donations to our programs and stuff like that, but they come to us and they say, when are you going to be open again or whatever? So the funding mechanisms that we have are mechanisms that have to remain stable without, without those mechanisms and went out those opportunities, people are not going to be able to be their best selves.
Speaker 4 00:29:36 And, um, they're being their best selves and being a part of the, the Dr or, or through store, uh, that's the way we, they support their community. And so it's great. I mean, I, we have the community come in to our thrift store and, uh, uh, we have, uh, the people that we're serving, uh, running the cash register, that sort of thing. And, you know, I go in there as a secret shopper, you know, and I don't even like to shop okay. And I'm just, I'm standing around behind a corner and kind of watching them. And I mean, the, the people that are coming through are so complimentary and the people who are actually checking people out and stuff are beaming they're, they're like, uh, taking the compliments and people are saying, you know, you're doing such a great job. And, uh, and they'll ask them, are you going to be here then for a long time?
Speaker 4 00:30:24 And they'll say, you know, no, no, actually I'm going to learn some skills here and then I'm going to go out and I'm going to find some other things in the community to use those skillsets. So, I mean, um, it's a stepping stone kind of a thing, but without the, without the opportunities that we get, uh, you know, we can't Mark up our services like a loaf of bread or, or milk or gas. We get paid a flat rate for doing what we do and we stretch it. And every way we can. So it's so important that everybody out there knows that we're really good stewards with the money that we have, and we can pull rabbits out of hats. We've been pulling them on their hats for years, and we've been providing services that are, uh, second to none. Uh, and, uh, I do consulting all over the country with the, um, CARF, uh, Tucson. And, um, I can tell you I've surveyed in all 50 States and Minnesota is right there at the top because we, we invest in, we, we have great passion for what we're doing.
Speaker 0 00:31:23 What is it, what does it mean to have a person centered or person for system? What does that mean? Uh, I'll take that one cause that one's fun.
Speaker 4 00:31:35 This
Speaker 0 00:31:35 Girl, Oh, I can't wait to have an adult beverage with you, Steve. I shoot so much, um, you know, person centered it's, uh, all about the hopes and dreams of that person. And it's not about the system and our system should be designed for opportunities and options for people to gain those skills. We, Steve and I do what we do to create an additional supportive opportunity to gain the skills needed to go out and be competitively employed. I always equate, um, person centered too. My dad wanted me to be an insurance salesperson. And I only thing that I liked about it when I went out and applied is that I had a fabulous outfit.
Speaker 0 00:32:34 I hated it. I, I tried and I just blah, and I found this field and it just warmed my heart. And I thought, you know, we all should have the opportunity to try things that make us tick and then pursue those things based on our hopes and dreams for me, person centered is the same. I had the opportunity to tell my dad that ain't happening. I tried it. Everybody else should have the opportunity to say, you know what? I tried that I didn't like it. I really want to do that. I want to do something that has to do with that. And that to me is what we do. We say, okay, let's figure out how to build the skills to get everybody to where you want to be. And, you know, that's, that's what we do.
Speaker 4 00:33:24 And Eric, you're really quick adding to that. I mean, I absolutely, um, uh, saying hi, he's got it down. Uh, exactly right. And, um, the other piece is too, I think people have gotten used to over the years, um, uh, more asking for what they think we can provide rather than asking us for what they want. And I think person centered is what you want. Not here's here's or four things decide on those because that's what we can afford financially. I think it's what do you want to be without boundaries? And that's what we need to shoot for. So again, yeah, I, um, I agree totally with Heidi and also just the whole concept of reaching for what they want, not what we, the only thing that we can do.
Speaker 0 00:34:09 Yeah. Senator Hoffman told us why he loves to hear these stories, but why do you feel that it's so important, um, for legislators to hear constituent stories? What does that do, do you think for, for the voter?
Speaker 4 00:34:26 But I think stories bring the point home, uh, you know, we can say Heidi and I, but 25 years, 34 years, we've seen a lot in our time and we can say what we've seen, but for people who actually, you know, when I present to, um, crowds of people or whatever, when I'm speaking, when I shift into the mode of being, when I had a brother with disabilities and a provider from that perspective, people take on a whole new understanding to what I'm trying to get across. And so, uh, you know, it's an important part of it is trying to identify with them, um, and trying to have them identify with us. Uh, wouldn't you say, Heidi, anything else with that? Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:35:08 Yeah. And to me it's all about the stories or the impact. Um, and I don't ever want my, my advocacy as an executive director to be clouded and mixed up with, um, me trying to figure out what's best for RC. And so a story that comes from somebody who's been directly impacted by anything is much more powerful than me then, you know, on a podium and saying, this is like Steve said, what, what do we need? This is what we need. This is what I've seen. Um, maybe I can be an expert in the background and as hard as it is for me to be in the background, it is important that the people who are greatest impact by good decisions, the legislators make and bad decisions, or even just decisions. It always seems concerning to me when I decide what's best for everybody. And I haven't asked the impact question. So I'm here to advocate. I will, until they tell me to stop talking. But honestly, the people that are most impacted have the best ability to make the change. And Hoffman said that
Speaker 2 00:36:24 I want to talk about direct support, um, professionals or the S PS. And can you tell me about a little bit about what they do and why?
Speaker 4 00:36:37 Y uh, I'll jump in here hiding, and I think we'll both do a little on this one, because it's such an important, uh, topic for discussion, but, uh, um, what am I a very dear friend of mine that used to be my supervisor said there's nothing, uh, the, the, the most important thing we give to the people that we serve are the people that we hire. And I, and I can't think of it being said any better way than that. Uh, the people that we hire are amazing, amazing, talented, and skilled professionals who have, uh, decided in their lives. I don't want to be an insurance salesman and in Iowa, okay. I want to serve people with barriers to employment or challenges and daily living. And, and, uh, so the people that we provide or that provide services, um, under the banner of what Cosa are, uh, patient dedicated individuals who are very, very talented at listening to individuals.
Speaker 4 00:37:36 And I'm hearing what they're saying, actually listening to what they're saying. So, um, they, uh, the team, uh, as we call it out, what CoStar, what goes to team are, uh, something of great pride for, for me, I think, uh, we're, uh, uh, constantly looking for, um, new team members who want to be a part of it. And I think as we rebuild our services after COVID, we'll need additional, uh, folks. And so, uh, we're always looking for anybody in the St cloud area. You like to come and work, uh, but what Cosa, you know, stop in and let us know what your thoughts are, but, uh, yeah. Anyway, uh, go ahead. Why don't you,
Speaker 0 00:38:12 It's warmer in Winona. So don't move to St. Cloud. We're the Miami,
Speaker 0 00:38:24 Miami of Minnesota. We have Palm trees and every, um, you know, TSP is the heart of what we all do and, uh, DSPs do not get paid enough. Uh, and part of that is because our funding barely covers. And I think about, uh, what our job coaches in our DSPs do in the community. They go out and they do work at other organizations. We have a huge, incredible janitorial service, and we go into big manufacturing places and clean their floors and production areas. And I think, wow, you know, the people that we serve have this amazing advocate with them, working with them, teaching them skills and all that. And they're doing that. And the work beside them, and they're getting paid crap. And, you know, we do what we can as providers to make, uh, the best salary we can for them. But it ties back to funding.
Speaker 0 00:39:20 Like Steve said, we can't gouge our customers with, you know, $4 loaves of bread or whatever. You know, funding really is what drives the decisions for us and how, and how we pay people. And the people we serve deserve great people. I'm totally stealing that by the way, Steve, the most important thing we can do, uh, for the people we serve as the people we hire, I didn't even have nuggets of wisdom like that in you. Um, so great. I love RDSP. I always tell them I don't have a job if you're not here for me about the special connection. I mean, they do, right. They have a special connection to the clients. They're amazing. And they all advocate stronger than anybody. I know, and they, they are empathetic. They, they build relationships. Uh, they, to me, they build a foundation for what it takes to work in the community, because we all have coworkers, no matter where you work and a big part of how to get along in the workplace is how to work with your coworkers and our job coaches and our DSPs that work with our folks, do an amazing job of being that good role model for that.
Speaker 0 00:40:35 And what I love is when people move on, because people move on, uh, they'll say the best thing about my job is the people that I work with. And they're not talking about me. They're talking about the people with disabilities that they have connected with. And to me, that is fine. I love that. So yeah, the connection is, I mean, and that's another goosebump moment. I mean, I started in this field a long time ago as a DSP and I fell in love with it and I, they can't kick me out. Steve might try, but I love, and the love comes from those relationships of the people we serve. It's an amazing, amazing field.
Speaker 4 00:41:20 I would say our DSPs partner, there's an, it's not a control or a power relationship. It's a partnership, uh, to again, to meet them where they are and move them along, whatever their dreams are, whatever successes they want to see for their lives. So that, and that's a challenge. That's not an easy thing to do, get to know a person well enough to be able to find out what makes them tick and, and, and help them move forward in that respect.
Speaker 0 00:41:47 Absolutely.
Speaker 2 00:41:51 Well, if you, um, I guess if you had to say how their jobs are difficult or complicated, how, how might that be? What makes their jobs hard?
Speaker 0 00:42:02 You know, there's a couple of things that make their jobs difficult. First of all, we haven't come as far in our culture, as we need to, to respect and understand people who are different. We've got that, right. We have a long way to go. We've come a long ways. We have a long way to go. And a lot of times that is a shock to them when they go into community with a group of our folks and people with disabilities have a lot of things that they have to overcome and the barriers and the, the, uh, uh, the acceptance. And, and I think one of the hardest things, but becomes the most rewarding for, uh, our DSPs is recognizing that challenge in our individuals and learning to advocate for them and teaching them to advocate for themselves. Because it's heartbreaking when you know, somebody at an organic level and your friends and your relationship and your coworkers and other people perceive them differently because of something they see in them as a disability. And I think the greatest gift and the hardest thing is to have our DSPs navigate that in, in the real world, we have a long way to go.
Speaker 2 00:43:19 Mm. Yes. And I think you can say that all across the board with differences, not just disabilities, but all differences. Right.
Speaker 0 00:43:30 I agree. Totally agree. Yes. And I'll tell you, um, this is a little sidebar, but I won't go off the rails too far, Steve. So don't be looking at me as, as a director of human rights in Iowa. It is one of the greatest things I'm very proud of doing that work. You know, you find that oppression becomes so much a part of people's lives that they don't, they don't even know that there's a better way. And a lot of the people that work at ORC the job coaches will come to me and say, I just had the most amazing conversation with a person with a disability, because I said, you don't have to hear that you don't have to be treated that way and you deserve to be treated with respect. And I think for me, that is probably the greatest gift we give. Um, the people that we serve is the gift to understand that we all deserve to be respected. I, to talk to you about,
Speaker 2 00:44:32 You know, you always hear that you get what you're paid for. And I think the stories of minimum wage or a wage raise is not just in the, um, grounds for people with disabilities or, or caretakers or it's everywhere. Right. So talk about, you know, that whole, you get what you pay for and are you able to hire quality people? Um, and what do you do to offer, what do you offer them, I guess, to make them want to stay there and keep working there?
Speaker 4 00:45:08 Yeah, that's a, that continues to be a long-term challenge. Uh, you know, from time to time, people ask me what keeps you up at night. And I, and one of the things that keeps me up at night is to keep the Makossa team at the level of proficiency and ability and skilled ness that they need to be, to provide the very best services that we can, uh, the people that we serve deserve the best. And if we can't provide that, then they need to go someplace else. But no matter what they do, they deserve the very best. And it is a long-term challenge. It has been in the almost four decades that I've been in the field. I can honestly say every year, I thought next year is going to get a little bit better and next year, and we have a better years and tougher years.
Speaker 4 00:45:53 Um, but I would say that, um, when you keep your standards high, uh, as an organization, which the providers that I know here in Minnesota, do an excellent job at, um, we don't just hire a, you know, a breathing body that comes through the door. People have to be dedicated, they have to carry that passion with them. And, uh, and so, yeah, it gets to be a little challenging from, from time to time the pain, uh, part of it is, um, how do you already mentioned? And she's exactly right. It's, you know, one of the frustrations that DSPs have is the director, I'm sorry, direct support professionals have. It's just a lack of, uh, what would appear to be a lack of appreciation. So when you say, what do you guys give them? I don't mind telling you, we do our very best every year to be as creative as we possibly can and never cheap the budget when it comes to making sure that we can do a few things for our staff.
Speaker 4 00:46:47 Now, when I say that, I say maybe like a Christmas party and a, and Thanksgiving, you know what Cosa we give certificates to Thanksgiving for free Turkey. And, you know, so when I say that they're modest types of things, I think, but there are things we'll let the staff really know that we do appreciate them. And, uh, and so, you know, we've had people, uh, you know, what Cosa who have come to me and they've said, you know, Steve, I think I got to go for a buck more an hour or something. And, and we've had them come back in six months saying, you know what, Steve, the buck wasn't worth it. Um, the, the family orientation, the team, the people that we serve here is, is really a very fulfilling, uh, part of, they want to be a part of a Cosa. Now at the same time, Verizon doesn't take hugs and then need money. And so, and so that's why, you know, they are DSPs. They monitor the, the political atmosphere and the legislative process. They know, uh, when cuts are coming, they also know, and when we're not able to, uh, rally the, uh, the legislature to support them better financially and stuff. And I think it leads to a feeling that they're, they're just not appreciated. And so we do our very best with the dollars that we have to try to funnel those dollars for moms to appreciation with, to let them know. We really do care about them.
Speaker 2 00:48:11 So tell me about how COVID you knew it would come up didn't you, but has, has affected, you know, your levels of staff and being able to provide services and whatnot, and keeping going.
Speaker 0 00:48:27 So we started last February, um, the last day of the Capitol, which by the way, was the last time I did anything super fun and public. Uh, last March, we had 48 staff here. That's about what we typically run in a typical world. We are down 31. Wow. And yeah, it's a, it's a huge, and a lot of us are wearing some pretty weird hats around here. Um, I have a Turkey one, if you want to see it anyway. Um, I love that those that are here are dedicated and, um, this is going to sound kind of weird and I'll keep it short, but it also created an opportunity for those that believe in the mission to stay. And for those that maybe weren't really on board with the mission to move on and that's okay, too. So the, the core of folks that we have right now at ORC are so dedicated to the mission and what we do.
Speaker 0 00:49:28 These are people that spent three months doing the jobs that are the people with disabilities we normally have here do. And they said, we, we made it, we had a motto that our mission was to return to the mission, and God bless him. He had COVID has been hard, but we've pulled together as a family. And we're like, we gotta be here at the end of this for everybody who isn't quite back yet. And so, you know, for me, COVID has been crap. I miss my friends, you know, we can go into a whole hour therapy session about all my issues COVID, but the bottom line is it's an opportunity. And a lot of, if not, all of the people I've talked to that run organizations have said, how do we make things better? And they've taken the pause to make things better at their organization. So, yeah, it's been tough, but it's been an opportunity to,
Speaker 2 00:50:22 I want you guys to give information of how people get involved with this virtual day at the Capitol, once more, please.
Speaker 0 00:50:30 Sure. So it's March 9th and it starts at 9:00 AM. And the I'm scrolling back up to my cheat sheet because Erin helped me out disability services day.com is the website. And if you go there, you can sign up, you can register, you can find out when your window of social media blitz is going to take place. Uh, you can, um, figure out where the Facebook live is going to be, uh, the different links with legislators. There's just all kinds of information on that website and March 9th, starting at 9:00 AM. And it's going to be fun. We're going to do our best to make virtual a virtual day of fun
Speaker 2 00:51:19 And sorry.
Speaker 4 00:51:21 Hey, real quick, you can also learn more about our programs that, uh, more minnesota.org and that's, uh, M O H R M n.org and MOA. HR stands for Minnesota organization for abilitation rehabilitation. That's our state association. And, uh, they have some wonderful resources available to you there. If you want to learn more about what we do,
Speaker 2 00:51:43 All right, in 30 seconds list, just a couple of things that need to change to help you guys secure people who, you know, keep secure and people of quality and keep this great thing going
Speaker 4 00:51:55 Well. We love our, we love our DSPs and we appreciate them the very best we can, but it's, it's, it's goes without saying that, um, they need support, uh, in every respect. And that means financially to always remember that we're all on the way to disability. Every one of us, we're just getting there at different times. Okay. And people, our DSPs realized that. So that's what they've got to have. They've got to have the support, uh, both, uh, you know, have the, the moral support, but also the financial support
Speaker 0 00:52:28 Move the needles forward.
Speaker 2 00:52:30 Excellent. Thank you guys very much for being on. I really appreciate the time you've spent to this good luck to the VR with the virtual day of, at the Capitol, and, um, really pushed those senators. I think they need it.
Speaker 0 00:52:45 Thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 00:52:47 Thank you. This has been disability and progress. The views expressed on the show are not necessarily those of candy I, or the board of directors. My name is Deborah and the host of the show. If you want to be a part of our emailing list, you may email me at disability and the progress all written out at Sam, jasmine.com. And this is cafe 90.3, FM, Minneapolis and cafe i.org, Charlene dolls. My research team adding Harvey was my engineer. Thank you both. We've been speaking with Heidi Smith, executive director of Wynnona O R C P. We're also speaking with Minnesota state, Senator John Hoffman, and also Steve Howard executive director
Speaker 5 00:53:26 Of what Cosa hope you weren't offended that you were last every time. Thank you very much for joining me.
Speaker 1 00:53:33 <inaudible>.
