Betsy Cerulo [00:00:04]: Welcome to Room at the Table, an opportunity for you to join me, Betsy Cerulo, and my guests for conversations about creating equitable and inclusive workplaces where leaders rise above mediocrity and our teams thrive. Pull up a chair. There's always room at the table. Welcome to another meaningful conversation on Room at the Table, Betsy. I am Betsy Cerulo, your host. And welcome to my guests today, Laura Howell and Matt Rice, who will share about the critical work they do in their communities. Today we're talking about the importance of treating those with developmental disabilities with respect because so often this community is overlooked and continuing to be overlooked in these times. So please, pull up a chair, enjoy your favorite beverage, and let's get started. Well, hello, wonderful people. Thank you so much for being here today, Laura, it's always good to see you.

 

Laura Howell [00:01:04]: It's good to see you, Betsy. And thanks for having Matt and me with you today. It's very exciting.

 

Mat Rice [00:01:09]: Oh, yes, absolutely. I'm looking forward to the conversation.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:01:12]: Same here. I know we've got some really wonderful things to cover today, so we're going to get right to it. So tell me, Laura, let's start with you. How are your organizations navigating the funding shifts within the state and federal government at this time?

 

Laura Howell [00:01:27]: Well, that's a great question. So my organization is the Maryland association of Community Services, and we are a nonprofit statewide organization of about 125 organizations that support people with developmental disabilities. And my members are largely nonprofit organizations as well, and they are community based organizations and they provide support that help people live in the community. They may help someone get a job. They may help someone volunteer. They may help someone live residentially in their home so they do really critical work. And to your question, it is a very scary time for us and for our members, which is why we exist. You know, we've gone through some major budget challenges at the state level and now we see, you know, significant Medicaid cuts happening at the federal level. And we are very worried about the impact that is going to have on people with developmental disabilities and on community providers.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:02:43]: So you're basically having to work, I'll say, 10 times as hard and that might even be not enough.

 

Laura Howell [00:02:51]: I think that is accurate. We as a community are working incredibly hard and it is really challenging and quite frankly, a very scary time.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:03:02]: Yep.

 

Mat Rice [00:03:04]: Matt, I would tend to agree with what Laura said. My organization is People on the Go Maryland. We are Maryland statewide self advocacy organization ran for and by those with intellectual and or developmental disabilities. So POG's membership is about 500 people at last count. And we have a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, but all of us identify as people with developmental disabilities. Our entire staff and contractors are people with developmental disabilities. I have the privilege of being the executive director and I think from a advocacy perspective, you know, we're working with organizations like max. We're also, you know, working to reach out to our local self advocacy groups and encourage them to to reach out to their state and federal representatives. We've also created a social media team that's working on how we rebrand the conversation around disability. So in other words, reframing the conversation from people who are seen as taking from society by a certain segment of people to people that have something to offer.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:04:45]: Definitely. And since we're talking about some of the funding, I want to ask a question so our listeners know, are you Both, are you 501c3 or 501c6?

 

Mat Rice [00:04:57]: So right now POG is working on becoming a 501c3. We're actually housed at the Kennedy Krieger Institute under the umbrella of the Maryland center for Developmental disabilities or the MCDD for short.

 

Laura Howell [00:05:18]: And Max is a 501.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:05:21]: Okay. Yep. So what I want our listeners to know if you're reevaluating where you're putting your money is to donate to both these organizations because they're so necessary. And actually that has been my feeling is I've re looked at from the company in a personal perspective. I've relooked at where we have given our monies and now putting monies towards organizations that have had funding cuts. And that's what we have to do. You know, we don't like it, but how we can, we can mitigate it is to get it out there to people. Just relook at where you're sending your money and perhaps choose different organizations. Not that the other organizations that I've given to or anybody gives to are not as good, but to really stand behind people that have really been impacted by the cuts. That's how we take care of each other. So Matt, can you share more about People on the Go's anti fascism training? This will be very interesting.

 

Mat Rice [00:06:28]: I would be glad to do that. So recently People on the Go created its very first anti fascism training that was created with the help of our program coordinator, James Orman. And the reason why we chose to do that was because we realized our members are hearing the word fascism thrown out every day on television, on social media, maybe in discussions with their families or supporters. So we wanted to give a training that would provide some of the signs of fascism. We are not saying that any particular person or current figure or even movement is fascist, but what we're trying to do is give people the signs of fascism that they need to watch out for. Like, you know, possibly infringing upon a group's freedom to. To speak or freedom to assemble or in the case of this strong man. And I use that terminology very deliberately because historically fascist movements have been male, not saying females can't be fascist, they just haven't been yet. We are encouraging our members to look out for those particular signs. So it's an hour long presentation with discussion thrown in and we've done two of these so far and I think it's very popular and very helpful with our members. We're not confining this behind a paywall. We want to make this a presentation that anybody with a developmental or intellectual disability can have access to.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:08:46]: And you know, Matt, when you bring up what's out there in the news and social media, we've all seen it. There's so much misinformation out there and assumptions and people are not getting the full picture of what say words. Fascism really is what it means. And the more we educate people is in my opinion, the way that we can probably decrease ignorance. And right now we have to do it harder and I think more intense. I agree. More intense. Laura, any thoughts on the program?

 

Laura Howell [00:09:27]: Well, I think it's incredible and I haven't had a chance to sit in on that yet, but I really want to. I think what's interesting is in the last year we saw some attacks on the disability community that were really unfortunate when we had the plane crash, I think in January, and there were some allegations made that people with disabilities who may have been employed even in airport somehow had an impact on that tragedy. And I think that people with disabilities who also, you know, that's one. That's one part of someone, right? A disability, a gender, a sexual orientation, race. You know, we're all a lot of different things. And I think that the anti DEI movement has really affected all of us, but it certainly has affected people with disabilities because we've seen that specific called out. And I really applaud Matt and his leadership and people on the go for really working to educate people about the. Looking for the signs and knowing your rights and knowing how to navigate that. And I think we could all use that, no question.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:11:09]: So the signs and we see that, you know, the word I want, whether it's it's hate or exclusion, is kind of has really bubbled up. So sadly, the issues that we see have been around for a long time and it seems to be more at the forefront. When you both, in the work that you do, are there some more subtle signs that you see that start to trigger you both that your organizations have to do something different?

 

Mat Rice [00:11:49]: Absolutely. What I will say is I've had conversations with some of our long standing partners about whether or not we remove terminology from our websites or our correspondence that refers to the LGBTQ community or other types of identity. Now I will say that I have, with the support of the POG board and broader membership, I have resisted the calls to do that because I think that the way you fight against ignorance is not by giving into, is by demonstrating your identity, all sides of your identity. I'm not saying that I think groups that make different decisions are wrong. People have to do what is best for them. But I want you to think about what comes after this period that we're in and what are people going to look to when they look back at this period in our history.

 

Laura Howell [00:13:27]: The other thing I would add is that I think so community supports for people with developmental disabilities are funded. It's about half state funding and half federal Medicaid funding. So we rely on Medicaid and the state funding that then draws down federal matching funds in order to provide these critical supports and services. And community providers support a whole person. So if somebody has a developmental disability and is a member of the LGBTQ community or is black or trans or a woman or whatever, the otherness is of someone of any of us, community providers support that whole person. And so there are attacks on and demeaning, I think, of people with disabilities. We certainly see that. But it's the whole picture that affects people with disabilities and their ability to be who they are in the community. People with disabilities are no different from anybody else walking around with us in that we all have our own identities. And community providers at the moment are having to have those real discussions that Matt talked about in terms of if we use certain language or we support people in certain ways as an organization that relies on Medicaid dollars, will that jeopardize our ability to continue to provide these critical supports and services? And they should never have to make those kinds of decisions. People should be able to live their whole lives, not have to hide anything. And the organizations that support them also shouldn't have to hide or change how they support people. So we do see that unfortunately, happening at the moment.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:15:46]: And people with development who have developmental disabilities fall in Every conceivable human group. Everybody.

 

Laura Howell [00:15:57]: Absolutely.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:15:58]: So it's not restricted to a woman, someone who's LGBTQIA, someone who's of color. And I don't really get that.

 

Laura Howell [00:16:10]: The.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:16:11]: The greater decision makers get how this is just impacting across the board. Everyone. And that's what then. That is so frightening. But for our listeners, can you both just share with me? Examples are, what type of developmental disabilities could someone have? I know there's the visible and there's the invisible.

 

Mat Rice [00:16:37]: I, for example, I have cerebral palsy, which is considered a developmental disability. And I'm also legally blind, so that's another aspect of my identity. But, you know, developmental disabilities run the gamut from, you know, those that were caused by birth injuries to, you know, chromosomal differences, like those folks with down syndrome. Everybody. I think, you know, autism is kind of the sexy, if I can use that term, the sexy disability. That. And don't get me wrong, I love my autistic brothers and sisters, and I mean that both literally and figuratively, because I have a brother that identifies on the autism spectrum. And most of our. Many of our staff also identify as autistic. But those are some examples.

 

Laura Howell [00:17:54]: And the only thing I would add to that is it what the difference between what gets categorized as the developmental disability as opposed to a disability, which, obviously, we are part of the broader disability community. But a developmental disability happens by the age of 21 and is not expected to change in a significant way in terms of someone's ability to live independently throughout their life.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:18:22]: A savior. I didn't know that when you said 21. I was not aware of that. And that's my hope, is that through the conversations that people hear, you know, they get more information straight from the people that are involved in the work. So I appreciate that. So, Laura, can you share the wins you have seen and also the challenges that you have seen in Mac's advocacy work?

 

Mat Rice [00:18:50]: Sure.

 

Laura Howell [00:18:50]: Well, we're coming off of probably our biggest advocacy battle that I think that we've ever experienced, and I'm proud to say we've done it collectively with the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Coalition, which we are a member of. Matt and his organization is also a member, and then three other organizations, the ARC Maryland, the Maryland Development Disabilities Council, and Disability Rights Maryland, and those five statewide organizations do a lot of work to educate and to lead change in Maryland. And this year, we really saw a huge budget cut in Maryland to developmental disability services. It came as a bit of a shock. We knew that times were tough, the budget, and that we might have some challenges, but we never expected a. What was the largest cut in the governor's budget was to developmental disability services at $457 million for the coming fiscal year, plus another 200 million in the current, the last quarter of the current year. So it was a massive budget cut. And it really hard to imagine how services for people with developmental disabilities would have continued in any really successful way had those budget cuts remained in place. And so we worked as a community, a really extraordinary community from the moment those budget cuts were announced through to the very end of session, which was not that we're counting, but 83 days from the time the budget cuts were announced, the end of the legislative session. And we just did everything we possibly could. We were boots on the ground, wheels on the ground in Annapolis, meeting with legislators, testifying. The developmental disabilities community has an unbelievable grassroots advocacy movement. And I think people don't realize that about our community. And the way I explain it to people is that historically it really starts with parents, parents who had children with developmental disabilities. And if you go back 50, 60 years and more, those parents were told to put their children in institutions that was doctors, you know, would call and say, or would meet with a parent and say, the best thing you can do is for you and for the child is put the child in an institution. We now know that that is not a good option for people. And probably about 50 years ago, the movement started with parents who started to say, I'm not doing that, I'm keeping my child at home. And which then put pressure and advocacy in first the education system, schools to educate children with developmental disabilities. And that advocacy continues to this day. And then as those children grew up and left the school system and then needed supports as adults, our modern day community service system was created. And those parents fought from the very beginning for that child.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:22:48]: They did, they did.

 

Laura Howell [00:22:50]: And they fight to this day. You can be at a bill hearing in Annapolis and see an 80 year old parent, 85 year old parent testifying, walking the halls because they are always going to advocate. What's a beautiful thing is that while the parents started the advocacy movement, they have been joined in a very powerful way by people with developmental disabilities advocating for themselves, people like Matt, leading advocacy organizations that are comprised of people with disabilities having really the most important voice because they are, they, you know, Matt and our colleagues have the lived experience to talk about what is really happening. And then you have community providers, you know, my members and advocates who are just passionate about these issues and really don't give up and that, to me, is ultimately the most incredible thing about our grassroots advocacy community, is that we don't give up. We don't stop. And this session looked more grim than any session I have ever been through, and it really was extraordinary. And so in the end, in terms of victories to get to your question, because of a whole array of budget problems that happened and then became more apparent as session went on, we ultimately got over a billion dollars restored in the governor's budget between this year and next year. I always say that's a billion with a B. We've never talked about a number that starts with a B. We talk in millions and sometimes hundreds of millions, but never a billion dollars. And it just an extraordinary victory that took thousands and thousands of advocates across Maryland to make happen.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:24:59]: Well, you know what? I'd like you to brag a little bit. Weren't you able to bring together over a thousand people pretty quickly in Annapolis in the winter?

 

Laura Howell [00:25:10]: Go ahead, Matt.

 

Mat Rice [00:25:12]: So we have Developmental Disabilities Day. That. That's in January. That one everybody kind of knows about. And that's usually over a thousand people. But at one point during these budgetary conversations, almost on a dime, we. We called for a rally on Lawyers Mall. And I think. What was it, Laura? About 900 people?

 

Laura Howell [00:25:40]: Oh, it was over a thousand people, for sure.

 

Mat Rice [00:25:43]: Okay.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:25:45]: Incredible.

 

Laura Howell [00:25:46]: Yeah, over a thousand people came to a very cold night in Annapolis with three days notice, and that is unheard of to get a permit to organize. And people moved heaven and earth as a community to be there and to make it known that this was not acceptable, that we could not survive this, and that something had to be done. And that was really, I think, think a huge turning point in the campaign, in this campaign, this session. And, you know, it still gives me chills to think about, and I'm really proud to just have been a part of helping to make that happen.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:26:30]: And it was peaceful?

 

Laura Howell [00:26:31]: Oh, it was very peaceful. It was loud, which was good. But loud and peaceful are two great things that we are allowed to do in this country. And it was really extraordinary.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:26:46]: Now, you and I crossed kind of crossed paths last month. Is there anything you want to share about the bill that was signed? Does it apply to this work?

 

Laura Howell [00:26:59]: Well, so there were a few bills of importance to the disability community beyond this huge budget battle. Governor Moore had as one of his priorities a model employer bill that would say that state government would do more to support employment for people with disabilities. People with disabilities bring incredible gifts to the workforce. And I'm not trying to be sappy I'm just saying the truth, what we see over and over again, and people don't realize that. And so I think Governor Moore stepped up and said, okay, we're going to lead by example and make this a priority. Matt, I don't know if you have something to add to.

 

Mat Rice [00:27:49]: So I think that, you know, the Maryland as a model employer legislation was really key because historically, people with disabilities getting into government has always been difficult. And to my mind, that is where we really need to be. Like, I don't care what part of, you know, what community you identify with. If you are part of a marginalized group, you need to see people in place that look like you. And historically, people with disabilities in government have been a rare thing. So the Maryland is a model employer legislation. We all support it because anything you can do to break down those barriers is so important.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:28:53]: Absolutely. And what I'm so proud of is some of the work that my company does is we support people with disabilities in the federal government and also in the state of Maryland, providing reasonable accommodation services and readers and scribes. And, you know, Laura, you've known me for a long time. That's not my background, but we got into it probably about 15 years ago, and it is such fulfilling work. And the government employees that we support, I stand in awe of the work that they do, the speed in which they do it, the. The perfection, the brilliance, and it's just an absolute honor. It's an absolute honor.

 

Laura Howell [00:29:42]: Yeah. And we appreciate you doing all of that work to help make government jobs, which have historically been great jobs, to have more accessible. It's a win win. It helps the employer and it helps the employee, which I think is great. The one thing I just wanted to mention really quickly as we talk about this is one of the things I see when I see, you know, job ads and you see things like must be able to lift 50 pounds. You know, that is a. That is something from, you know, so old. I don't want to say my age, but, you know, yes, it goes. It really goes back. And you still see things like that even when there's absolutely no reason that, that, that that job description needs to say, must be able to lift 50 pounds. Really, the two times a year that somebody has to lift the heavy box. There's no one else around that can do that. So that you're not limiting access to a job for a reason that is not necessary. If it's real, it's real. But I think a lot of times we see people still thinking about what they need Using kind of old standards that really. And you're really losing out on great employees by not just being a little more creative about thinking about how the work gets done.

 

Mat Rice [00:31:11]: Yeah. And as my colleague Tracy Wright, who's my deputy director and director of training at People on the doe, often says, you know, she says that we, meaning people with disabilities, don't often get the respect that we have earned because we don't have letters behind our name. Now, I want to be clear. I think scholastic education is valuable for anybody if you can find the resources and supports that you need in order to get and achieve that. But there are certain times when lived experience, lived experience matters. And it might be just as good, if not better than having a degree. I personally would like to see more people with disabilities in the public policy sphere. That's my thing. That's where I live.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:32:15]: Well, Matt, I'm happy to say that some of the people that we provide the services to in the federal government, our attorneys, paralegals. Yeah. So. And I have learned so much from their work, and I'm grateful for that. And you know, I'll tell you both that there are times when we've seen job descriptions over the years because our work is in some of our work is staffing that I'll see that line and we'll go back to the customer and say, why do you have that line in there? It doesn't really apply. And oh, you know what, it's an old job description and they'll take it out. So I'm really glad that you brought that to the forefront because those of our listeners that are in that kind of work, it behooves us all to really read through the job description and comment, comment back. Because the only way you're going to have the change or you're going to open up a perspective is why do you have this here? And ask the question. So I'm glad you brought that up. Well, as we're getting to the end, I want to ask you both, and Matt, I'm going to start with you. What is the one thing that you would like to share about how our listeners can support people with disabilities?

 

Mat Rice [00:33:31]: I think the one thing I would like to share is, you know, just show up and share your experiences with POG as a whole. Share your experiences with your legislators. And, you know, if you know somebody that wants to advocate and they have a developmental disability, you know, I don't care what your background is. I want you.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:34:03]: Wonderful, wonderful.

 

Mat Rice [00:34:05]: And you can reach out to POG through our info email which is infoogmd.org and we'll connect with him.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:34:21]: Wonderful. Thank you, Matt. Laura.

 

Laura Howell [00:34:24]: And I would say I wholeheartedly endorse Matt's pitch for advocacy. That is a passion he and I both share, but I'm gonna say even more broadly than that. You know, it seems so basic, but treat people with disabilities the same way you want to be treated. We. We see so many people that feel, you know, either uncomfortable or they have their own emotional reaction. And it. You know, people are people, and you may like them, you may not like them, but you don't know until you actually get to know someone and, you know, if you can open a door. So whether it's, you know, opening an employment door, whether it's opening a door to a volunteer opportunity, whether it's opening door to just being a friend or, you know, you know, connecting with someone, you know, people with disabilities want what we all want.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:35:31]: Absolutely.

 

Laura Howell [00:35:32]: The theme through this whole discussion, and, you know, nobody, whether it's a person with a disability or anybody else wants pity, wants to be treated in some way that is not the way you would treat others. You know, people just want respect and opportunity and kindness. And I can personally say that's what I want, and it's what I would like to see happen for people, for everyone, including people with disabilities. I think we would be in a much better place in general if we saw more of that across the board.

 

Mat Rice [00:36:12]: I agree.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:36:13]: Love thy neighbor as thyself. It's very simple. And if people would follow that, our world would be a much different place. Absolutely. So I just want to thank you both. The work that you both do is inspiring. It is. It's so incredible, the difference that you make. And now it is even more important that leaders like you are so visible, so out there leading the charge and teaching other people to pick up the torch, because, you know, there can be thousands and millions of torches.

 

Laura Howell [00:36:58]: Absolutely.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:36:58]: So I just. I just want to say thank you both so much for this conversation, and you always have a friend over here that will fight that fight with you. So thank you both.

 

Mat Rice [00:37:12]: Thank you.

 

Laura Howell [00:37:13]: Thanks, Betsy.

 

Betsy Cerulo [00:37:15]: Well, everyone, thank you so much for joining us today. Please pass on this important conversation and these two amazing organizations to people that you know. And again, you may want to relook at where you're donating your dollars. So thank you both so much, and thank you all for listening today. Have a wonderful one.

 

Narrator [00:37:37]: Thanks for listening to Room at the Table. If you've enjoyed this episode, follow us on your favorite listening platform and share this episode. With a colleague or two or three. For resources to help you lead with purpose and build more equitable workplaces, visit roomatthetablepodcast.com.