Staffing remains an issue for Rochester nonprofits that help people with disabilities learn life skills

Dec. 30—ROCHESTER — Katrina Schut has a goal in mind when working different jobs: work like her dad.

She likes the rhythm of her work, from placing barcode labels on Mayo Clinic materials to the relaxing nature of cleaning. It's a rotating mix of mainly production jobs, plus fast-food restaurants, that she's done for 35 years. At the Ability Building Community in northwest Rochester, Schut said "every day it's something different."

"I've learned to be patient with people. I've learned to just do my job and liking it," said Schut, who is employed through one of

ABC's programs for people with disabilities.

While Katrina and her dad Wayne don't regularly work together on jobs, Katrina, Wayne and her mom Joyce enjoy volunteering at the annual Celebrating Abilities fundraiser. Wayne works as a direct support professional.

"Ever since I was a little girl he had the job here at ABC," Katrina Schut said.

Katrina is just one of hundreds of individuals who are impacted by organizations like ABC, PossAbilities and the Southeastern Minnesota Center for Independent Living. The nonprofits work with people with disabilities on life skills, including employment goals, social life, learning internet safety and navigating the apartment hunting process.

But staffing challenges mean people with disabilities can wait long periods before they enter services at these organizations.

After the pandemic years of paused and impacted programs, PossAbilities, SEMCIL and ABC want to return to serving more people with disabilities. The hurdle: staffing.

"There's a lot of options out there for people. And working in this field ... is unfortunately still a very underpaid field," said ABC Director of Program Innovation Sarah Timmerman.

The organizational services are funded through government reimbursements, which do not cover the staffing costs, Timmerman said.

"People are desperate for services, we just don't have the staff to support them," Timmerman said.

People haven't been able to move off the waiting list for more than a year. Timmerman wishes they had a solution while remaining optimistic for more staff.

"It kills me to have a waiting list. It just it breaks my heart that I have to tell people that there's no options right now," Timmerman said. The past few years are the first time ABC has had a waiting list in her 23 years. "I would bring everyone in off the waiting list right now if we had the staff to support them."

SEMCIL's mission is "helping people where they're at with what they may need to live more independently" in the 11-county area around Rochester, said Executive Director Jake Schuller.

Through weeks, months or years of service, people with disabilities learn to advocate for themselves at school or work, undergo the homebuying process or even add a ramp to their home.

In one example, a woman needed firewood for her houseboat in Winona. Over the next nine months, she learned budgeting, looking at apartment options and searching for housing assistance through working with the organization, Schuller said in describing the woman's journey.

"It really depends on what that individual needs, and they are in control of what those services are," Schuller said.

ABC and PossAbilities also have independent living skills, life enrichment and employment programs. Timmerman said ABC wants to help people with disabilities make their own decisions.

"Independent living for a very long time and still today to a degree, right, is like, 'Do you have a place to live and do you have a job?' That's not necessarily the extent of how people live their lives. A large portion of my life is recreation ... and socialization ... and just because you have a home doesn't mean you're living your life the way you intend to or the way you want to," Schuller said.

Schuller said

SEMCIL is a good place to find guidance on the next step in life

as people with disabilities work with and for others with disabilities. The organization has cooking classes, driver's education and adaptive gaming. Leaders hope to add an outdoor club and invite other teams to workout with the local wheelchair basketball team.

Over his 25 years employed through a program at ABC, Andy Fockler enjoys greeting his friends coming into the front production area or closing out their schedule for the day. He's also known for his award-winning hokey pokey dance.

"I like everybody here," Angie Bielen said in the back production area. Next year, she will celebrate 30 years of employment through a program at ABC.

The production areas include large rooms throughout the ABC building with scheduled groups working on jobs for mostly Mayo Clinic. The areas are designed with people's support needs, including accessible work tables and options of 1:4 and 1:10 staff-to-individuals served ratios. People also have "jigs" — a tool holding open a bag or rectangles on a board marked for bundles of 10 — to support their physical and cognitive limitations.

"We really have work that meets the needs of all the people we serve and then we can work with people on ... teaching the small steps first and then ultimately building on being able to do multistep jobs to ultimately be able to do a job from start to finish," Timmerman said.

Timmerman said skill-building is constant, from understanding the work environment to social interactions and conflict resolution. People set their goals in employment and recreation, such as learning to count or adding work hours.

"There's so many more things than like work-specific skills, like how to put something together, that people build here. It's being on time, working your shift, not being on your phone while you're working, how to get along with your supervisor, how to get along with peers, how to deal with feedback that you don't necessarily like," Timmerman said.

One of the organization's goals is encouraging people to work in the community. Timmerman said the

Cosmic Corner,

a convenience store in the ABC building, is a chance for people who want to be a cashier to work on interactions with customers, among other skills.

When PossAbilities asked families what youth with disabilities needed, the answer was clear: skill-building opportunities. Marketing Director Stacy Shones said families wanted to see safety tips, kitchen appliance skills, food preparation, relationship tools, money management tips and internet usage. The needs are the foundation for the recent skill-building classes, which started in November with fire safety.

Shones said the first class was "phenomenal." The classes move between different teaching methods, focusing on the needs of the students, whether spending time in another room or leaving the firetruck sirens off.

"The classes are interactive, engaging and allow for a lot of moving because we know after a long day sometimes you just need to get up and move and be comfortable," Shones said.

She's learned, too, the skills classes share more than the subject matter: Students are learning social interactions and classroom respect.

The

upcoming classes

include healthy eating tips, sexual health education and navigating the internet. The standalone classes are $10 per person with a support person or family member attending at no additional cost. And "we'll just keep building (the classes)," Shones said.

Shones and Executive Director Sue Mackert said PossAbilities "(evolves) with what the community needs" with programs that "ignite imaginations and contribute to the quality of life for as many individuals as we can."

"People with disabilities, historically, have been shunned, misunderstood, marginalized, or ignored," Mackert wrote in an email to the Post Bulletin. "We are teaching survival skills, which includes being a contributing member of society. The more we are able to connect people together for the common good of supporting one another, the more successful we will be in integrating people with disabilities into our community."

With waiting lists and serving fewer people at ABC, PossAbilities and SEMCIL, the three organizations have searched for ways to adapt programs with fewer staff. Programs are offered in a building more than the community. Families and caregivers take on additional hours of training. Services are offered online.

"The pandemic taught us we can provide services to people with disabilities without being one-on-one, face-to-face all the time," Schuller said. "We can do self-taught things by creating online learning platforms or you can do broad-based conversations through online platforms as well."

Since her son with a disability, Zachary, was 12, Timmerman planned for him to work at ABC. Now, he has a stagnant spot on the waiting list. While he's home by himself, he loves to play video games but they know the socialization and employment routines at ABC will help him grow. He graduated from John Marshall High School in 2020.

"It makes me think about what the future for him is if there's no services out there. He needs supports," Sarah Timmerman said. "I do the best I can as mom but I also have to work full-time and I can't be the service provider and mom at the same time, and there are many families that do that."

As disability services are largely funded through the government, grants and donors, Schuller said it's difficult for nonprofits to hire staff without increased funding. From advocating to educating and budgeting the funds, Mackert added working with legislators is a "partnership."

"I spoke to a leader about funding several years ago. Her advice was: 'You have to find an angel to support disabilities,'" Mackert wrote in an email. "I have not yet found that angel, but I have found many who have been willing to assist as they learn about the important role all people play within a healthy, inclusive city."