Hope Ignited

In October, we hosted a reception for members of the Laura Baker Society, which includes past and present board members, people who have given over $100,000 during their lifetime of giving, and members of the LBSA Legacy Club – people who have included LBSA in their estate plans in one way or another.

We thanked Society members for their commitment to the organization and shared LBSA’s vision for the future with them. We also recognized Kent Holden as our most recent Robert Bonner Distinguished Service Award recipient.

Here’s a synopsis of what they heard:

  • Especially in light of the last few years, organizational sustainability is our mantra. The reality of IDD services is that funding is designed to cover 60% of costs.
  • Over the years, you have heard “One size doesn’t fit all” and “We need a spectrum of supports.” As the world adopts the language of being “person-centered” and focused on “whole-person care,” we continue to advocate for people to have access to true person-centered care. Not care that is designed and monitored by people whose biggest concern is its cost effectiveness, but by the people who need the support, who rarely demand or require cost intensive solutions. We want people to be able to be artists or entrepreneurs, to be able to dream solutions. We want people to live where they choose, whether that is in their own apartment or home in the community or in a group setting where their friends live.

We want people and their support circles to decide, not government entities.

2023 is a year of renewal, a great 126th year.

  • We have reopened homes that were closed and are offering services to people we weren’t able to support during the pandemic.
  • We have a significant waiting list of people who want our services.
  • We have hired more than 40 staff members.
  • We have increased our pay by over 60% since 2020.
  • We are providing homes for people who either have been or would have been homeless without our housing support.
  • Our sustainability strategies include:
    • Development and Advocacy: You all have been generous financial supporters and fervent advocates. Your willingness to share the messages both to legislators and your own networks have created voices that rise above the noise of our modern world.
    • Program Expansion: These are new initiatives, designed to create supports for the future, and to provide income that helps to fill the gap in our reimbursement.
      • Family Navigation
      • Housing Support
      • Behavioral Support Services

We anticipate the continued need for our core residential services, for people who have the greatest need for support, and will continue to evaluate the level of that need continually.

In 2024, we will continue our renewal: finish opening homes that are closed and fill other openings.

We continue to add staff members – and need to add another eight to 10 to be able to complete filling those openings. We are planning an early 2024 launch of Behavioral Support Services. We are excited to have our first professional development referral for that program! We look forward with hope and anticipation to striding purposefully into our next century!

Together we can, and we do, and we will.

Thank you again for being the community of caring and support.