Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: The Arc Pregnancy Related Desert is preparing for their 75th summer soiree. It's coming up later on this week. CEO Liz Sanblom is here to tell us a bit more about what the ark is and does and about this event in particular. It's pretty historic, Liz, right? 75 years. Yeah.
[00:00:16] Speaker B: Yeah, we're excited.
[00:00:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Good to have you. Thanks for coming back. Appreciate it.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: Thanks for having us.
[00:00:19] Speaker A: Oh, you're very welcome.
So this is a big year for ARC of the South Shore, right?
[00:00:24] Speaker B: Yeah. So we were founded in 1951 by a group of moms who really just wanted to find their community. Right. And advocate for their kids. And since then, we've grown into an agency that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout their whole lifespan.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Not only that, but there are arcs all over Massachusetts, right?
[00:00:44] Speaker B: There are all over the country, as a matter of fact. Yep. So we have 17 affiliates in Massachusetts and we work on advocacy and supporting people through direct services. So it's really cool. Each of the 17 are a little bit different and have all their own personalities.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, was it always based in Weymouth here on the South Shore?
[00:01:04] Speaker B: It was. We were founded in Weymouth and we have been at one of our locations since the early 60s in Weymouth. So we have two locations in Weymouth and our main offices are in Hingham.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Okay. And how many communities do you serve?
[00:01:19] Speaker B: We serve all of the typical South Shore communities. So we have 11 group homes that are in Milton, Braintree, Rockland, Cohasset, sorry, Scituate, Hingham, Weymouth.
[00:01:34] Speaker A: Yeah, so we're all over the greater South Shore area.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Yep, exactly.
[00:01:37] Speaker A: And roughly how many families would you say you serve on a yearly basis?
[00:01:41] Speaker B: Oh, gosh, our numbers really vary. So we support probably over 2,000 families directly, but we take phone calls from people, we help people out with providing information to them. So. And we do that for any families across the state. So, yeah, so we're there to support anyone with even the minor questions all the way through, being hands on and helping them support their families through their careers.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
An age range of your clientele.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: So our early intervention starts at birth, so there are littles birth to 3 years old. And we have, I think, one of our women that we support as close to 85 at this point. So we literally support people throughout their entire lifespan.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: Tell me about the folks who do that support. You must have an amazing staff.
[00:02:31] Speaker B: One of the things reading through all of the old information and things like that was really powerful for me is how much has changed, but at the same time, how much has remained the same. So without those direct support staff, we couldn't be who we are. Right. We could have all the greatest programs on paper in the world, but if we didn't have the people that actually did the work, we could not be where we are today. And they're like family members to our individuals. You know, they're with them by their side through medical procedures, through sad times, through happy times, celebrating birthdays. So those direct support staff are really the heart of what we do on who we are.
[00:03:10] Speaker A: Yeah. We should mention this is relatively new for you, right? Just a little over a year.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: It is, yep. In this role, I've been in the field for my whole entire career. But in this role, it's been just over a year, and I love every minute of it.
[00:03:23] Speaker A: What have been some surprising moments for you, would you say?
[00:03:27] Speaker B: There's certainly a lot of challenges, and I think nothing has been surprising. But being on this side of things, and because I worked for more, the policy makers in the past, being on this side of things, how I navigate through those challenges is just different.
But it's always exciting. There's never a boring day.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: That's a good thing.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: Yes, exactly.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: Are there any kind of outstanding needs at ARC of the South Shore that you see?
[00:03:59] Speaker B: Sure. So, I mean, we always, you know, we have a lot of funding through the state and our state partners, and we're always very appreciative for that. But what people do when they support us through donations or volunteerism or things like that is they really enrich our services that we're already providing. So there's only so much that our state funding can do for us financially. And so having volunteers come in with special talents and leading a group to teach them how to paint or something like that is amazing. And then donors and sponsors, you know, we really use that money, as I said, to enrich things, to beautify things, to provide above and beyond what we can through our state and local funding sources.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: Who is eligible to receive services from ARC of the South Shorelands?
[00:04:54] Speaker B: Great question.
So it depends on our different programs. So we have about five. Five different programs. But typically, and generally, the people we support with intellectual and developmental disabilities have to be eligible for services through the state's Department of Developmental Services in order for us to be able to support.
But again, like I said earlier, we take questions about that process. How do I get my loved one eligible?
Will my loved one be eligible? Can my loved one be eligible? And we're happy to support that we also support some seniors through our personal care management program and adult foster care program. And for the early intervention kids, you know, talking to your local, you know, your pediatrician, things like that, they can make the referral, but you can also pick up the phone and call us and say, jeez, I think that my child would benefit from these services. How do I get them?
[00:05:52] Speaker A: Okay, good to know.
And this again, is available to anyone in the state, regardless of ability to pay, Is that right? Yes.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:00] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: Which makes the soiree all that much more important.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: The soiree is very important. So, yes, this is our 13th annual soiree. It is adjacent to Webb State Park. So we're in a beautiful location right on the water outside in a tent.
It's June 18 from 6 to 9.
There's still some tickets available, and if people want to purchase tickets or become a sponsor, you can go to our website, arcsouthshore.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: Okay, great. Tell me about that night. What's going to be happening?
[00:06:32] Speaker B: It's a fun night. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, but even when it has, we do it, we do it. So really, guests come and enjoy a great evening under a beautiful tent. As I said, the location and the setting is awesome.
It features tasting, different foods and beverages from a lot of our south shore favorite restaurants. So we have Abbey park, we have Novara, we have the Beth Kitchen and bar, we have Tosca, Homestead Harvest, Montelios, Fratelli's Bakery, Plymouth Coffee Co. And lots more.
My favorite part of the event is our individuals put on a fashion show. So we have some great partners that have helped us organize. And we did it last year for the first time. And the energy in the tent with our guys walking down the red carpet in their cool clothes with big smiles on their faces. Really great.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: Who your mod?
We have.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: Oh, gosh, we have about. I think there's 15 or 20, really. And what we try to do is we try to really get a good diverse group from all of our different programs. So we try to. Last year we had a family from early intervention. We had a couple of people from our autism supports program, our residential program. So it's really fun to watch. And they feel like superstars for the night.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: Really let them own Arc of the South.
[00:08:00] Speaker B: They've been practicing. If anyone follows us on social media, you'll see a few little snippets with big smiles and quite the moves on the.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: Oh, that's really neat. To give the clients an actual role in supporting the programs that help them. Right?
[00:08:15] Speaker B: Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
[00:08:17] Speaker A: Where do the fashions come from?
[00:08:18] Speaker B: We have a couple of different sponsors this year and I'm not sure I have the full list of names, but we have like, casual wear, we have fancier stuff. So we have different categories this year. So I'm really excited. They. They kind of keep it a secret for me.
[00:08:34] Speaker A: Oh, I see. Okay.
Are you one of the models?
[00:08:37] Speaker B: I actually was fitted for an outfit this year, so I'm not quite a model, but and I get to introduce the folks as they come down, so that's exciting.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: So is there actually, like, runaways?
[00:08:47] Speaker B: Yes, we do. We have a red carpet that they walk on and cameras are clicking. Yep. It's fun.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: Fun. Okay, so it's more informal. It's not like a sit down dinner type of setup.
[00:08:58] Speaker B: No, it's really a tasting setup so people can go and visit the different restaurants and such and try bits of different food that they have. So that's really cool. We also have some neat, you know, we have some neat lighting and things happening this year to celebrate our 75th.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: Really.
[00:09:18] Speaker B: It's going to be a bit of a party atmosphere that we're exciting to share. And I have to say, without our sponsors like Plan of Mass in Rhode Island, South Shore Bank, Eastern Bank, Starkweather and Shipley Electro Switch and rsm, that makes this all possible because holding events like this, you know, it's a lot of work. And without sponsorships like that, we couldn't make it as successful as we do.
[00:09:43] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: Of course. I just have to shout out, Brenda McCarthy couldn't be here today. She's usually with me. But she does such a great job pulling us all together.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: Yeah, and we thank her for she provided a lot of background material and support information for us for our discussion today. So we thank her for that as well.
Are the funds raised at the soiree kind of geared to one particular program, Liz, or is it just overall?
[00:10:06] Speaker B: It overall supports our program, but we have a list of things that we sort of identify, like what could this money benefit? And as I said before, you know, within, like our, as an example, our 11 homes, there's outdoor space, but sometimes there's not shade in the backyard. So it could, you know, we could use that towards buying a gazebo or umbrellas. Beautification enrichment technology is a huge piece of all of our lives at this point. Right. And so individuals are learning technology and there's some amazing technology to help them be more independent.
[00:10:45] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: So that's another thing. You know, those are all examples of things that can enrich People's lives, help them be more independent, that we utilize the funds towards.
[00:10:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I hadn't thought of that. But actually, just during the news, I just did a story about translation services at the polls.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:11:02] Speaker A: It's starting to play a role in all of our lives.
[00:11:04] Speaker B: And we're trying to also be available for families from diverse backgrounds that maybe English isn't their second language. So I actually heard that and I was like, that's great that Quincy's doing that. And yeah, there's some incredible resources out there.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Very good. Do you have a kind of a goal for the fundraiser?
[00:11:22] Speaker B: Well, we would love to raise as much as possible, of course, but we don't have a specific goal. But wouldn't it be cool if we could raise like $75,000 or more for your 750 year?
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Right? Yes.
[00:11:34] Speaker B: That would be really neat on that
[00:11:36] Speaker A: night about how many folks we have
[00:11:39] Speaker B: about 250 that come. We have valet services, which is wonderful. So people don't have to stress about parking and try to figure all of that out.
So that's a great thing. And again, it's just a night to really celebrate who we are and this partnership that we've had with the Self share community for 75 years.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: Yeah, I bet a lot of folks are just learning about it for the first time as well that it's available. So you really. It's kind of a dual role. You have centers where folks can go to receiver services, but you go into people's homes as well.
[00:12:15] Speaker B: We do early intervention goes into people's homes. Our personal care management, our adult foster care all go into people's homes. We're doing some really cool pilot programs. We where we're inserting some pretty intensive services into people's homes because families have to make a big decision. Right.
Do I keep my loved one at home and support them and what does that do for me and how do I navigate those challenges? So we're there to support families to do that?
[00:12:44] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Or your day programs, right? In our day programs as well.
[00:12:48] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: About how many service providers do you have, would you say, on staff right now?
[00:12:54] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. Well, we have 250 people that are employed by us.
[00:12:59] Speaker A: Really?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Yeah. And growing and growing.
[00:13:01] Speaker A: Are there opportunities?
[00:13:02] Speaker B: There are lots of opportunities. And you can visit our website again, arcsouthshore.org or you can email careersarkcelshore.org if you are interested in working for us. And if anyone's interested in learning more about who we are, we can set up impact tours. We can. I'M willing to talk to anyone.
So, you know, we're available to answer any questions people have about what we do and who we are.
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: Or opportunities to volunteer.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: I was just going to ask about volunteer opportunities as well. Including at the soiree, I'm guessing.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: Yeah, they're set up in our staff fight over volunteering at the soiree because it's such a fun night and everyone wants to be a part of it. So we're good for the soiree. But we do have some great corporate volunteer opportunities where groups will come and they'll beautify, like the Early Intervention Plan playground.
They put together some accessible picnic tables for us at our day programs. I was just there the other day and the wheelchairs were rolled right up to them and people were really happy with them. So there's a lot of opportunities to help us out.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: I've noticed you talked a lot about outdoor settings. Is that important in this field?
[00:14:16] Speaker B: Well, again, because the day program setting is right on the water. It's such a beautiful setting. But yeah, we have a lot of people who love the outdoors. A couple of our group homes, some of the people that live there love to garden. A few years ago we built raised gardens so that they could garden right in their own backyard.
People like to go for walks, so being outside is really important.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: Okay.
So again, it is the 13th annual Summer Soiree, June 18, 6 to 6 to 9, 9pm at Webb State park in North Weymouth arcsouthshore.org To purchase tickets right up till Wednesday.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Right up till Wednesday at 5pm 5pm Yep, we have a few tickets left.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Okay. Find you on social media you mentioned as well.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: Yes, we love to get new followers on social media.
[00:15:04] Speaker A: Excellent. Anything else we should share with folks right now?
[00:15:07] Speaker B: I don't think so.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: Are there 75th anniversary activities we do.
[00:15:10] Speaker B: We have some stuff lined up for the fall. We have, we're collaborating with Hanover Crossing. So that's excellent. Exciting.
So again, follow us on social media to hear about about some exciting things that we have coming up in the fall.
[00:15:24] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:15:25] Speaker B: We're also going to be walking or some people might be running at the Doug at the Flutie 5K coming up in the fall. So there are some opportunities to to participate side by side with us at those activities.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: Oh great. We'll have you back before then.
[00:15:39] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:15:40] Speaker A: Maybe Brenda can join us. Thank you.
[00:15:41] Speaker B: Perfect.
[00:15:42] Speaker A: Thanks so much, Liz. Great to talk to you. Have a wonderful event.
[00:15:44] Speaker B: Thank you. Joe. Thanks for having us.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Oh, you're very welcome.
