Together We Can
By Sandi Gerdes, Executive Director
Transitions. They are an unavoidable fact of life. Despite their unavoidability, we resist them. We complain about them. We mourn the old. As the world moves faster and faster, we have less time to acclimate to transitions, to prepare ourselves. Sometimes they happen so quickly we can scarcely comprehend one before the next one happens. Some people adapt more quickly than others. I am always stunned by how long it takes bureaucracies and systems to adapt. At LBSA, we rarely have the luxury of taking time to adapt to change. This can be problematic for our staff and for our clients. Having our pivot feet conditioned and ready to go at any time is necessary to make these transitions.
When I first became Executive Director, I adopted the slogan “Together We Can”. That was a time of great change in the organization and the industry; I knew that I had a lot to learn, and that the organization needed to function as a team. I am one; I am only one. There is much work to do, and none of us can do it on our own. We need each other. We’re better together.
2025 promises to be a year filled with transitions, many of them planned, some we cannot anticipate. Mid-January, we re-opened Elwell House, our final house that closed during COVID-19. We have hired our new Director of Behavioral Support Services and are preparing to launch Behavioral Support Services in the next quarter. We are waiting to see how proposed budgets and new administrations impact our services, our reimbursement and our staffing.
Some of our transitions are people transitions. We have hired some people and are losing some people. We lost a long- term client, Lisa Gieseke, in January. Lisa had been a part of the Association since 1977, when she was 13.
We have clients who are experiencing transitions: some of them are moving away from home for the first time in their lives, others are aging and experiencing the challenges of that transition. Some of them are moving from one home to another. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes it’s not a choice the person made that must happen anyway.
We are caught in the winds of political transitions. We rely on the government for 60% of our funding. That means when the winds of political change blow, we are caught in the storm. We’ve already heard that Medicaid is being considered for major cuts, which will definitely impact our clients and services. Governor Walz has promised in his State of the State address to walk back the increases made in our reimbursement in 2023-2024. We will need your voices, more than ever before, to protect our fragile services and the vulnerable people we support. They need you. We need you.
Transitions. How do we navigate them? When we navigate them together, the trip is easier. Someone to help us create a path through the untrodden land. Someone to listen when we’re sad, or frustrated, or angry or joyous. Someone to teach us what we need to know. Someone to create solutions with.
Together we can. It’s a mantra of hope and promise on a path that can seem dimly lit and scary.
You are all a part of the togetherness. You all bring solutions, hope and promise. A cup of tea on a long day. A moment of grace when life goes unexpectedly sideways. A gift of time or money when we need it most.
We’re on a journey together. We expect some unexpected twists and turns. We ask for your support and your voices as we navigate.