Looking Back…and Forward

It’s somewhat hard to believe that a couple of days ago, on May 2nd, I celebrated my 18th year anniversary as the Executive Director of Garden Center Services. To say that the decision to accept this position changed my life would be such a huge understatement! After a long career working in this field, beginning as a direct care staff over 45 years ago, I came to this agency hoping to support the adults with developmental disabilities in ways that would respect each person’s hopes and dreams and also focus on their strengths as well as their needs.

At the time of my arrival the agency consisted of the one Developmental Training Program on State Road, the Intermediate Care Facility, and two community-based group homes. This in itself was quite an achievement from what started as a classroom organized and overseen by a group of volunteers in a donated space above the garages at Reavis High School in 1956! I was able to implement some very basic changes that were helpful to the agency’s bottom line, but the actual elevating transformation slowly came about as we began supporting our individuals to live community-based lives of their choosing, influenced by the unique gifts, preferences, and needs of each person. Our staff began working in partnership not only with the person, but also with those who loved him or her, to move towards a life of connection, contribution, and meaning.

It was as the culture of the agency changed that more and more individuals and their families were choosing GCS to be their service provider. Over the years we have been approached by our state funders to take responsibility for several programs that were struggling, and this also added to our numbers. The result has been the addition of ten more community living arrangements and another day program/office location, as well as a revitalized volunteerism and community employment initiative. Prior to the spread of the Covid-19 virus, GCS was supporting about 140 individuals, with 75 of those persons living at one of our residential locations. This past year has been an unimaginable, very challenging year. I am so pleased to share that by taking incredible precautions, utilizing very creative staffing schedules, scrupulously gathering all the necessary Personal Protective Equipment, and educating our staff on the latest CDC guidance, we have been able to come this far with only a handful of active cases, two hospitalizations, and no fatalities! I cannot say enough about our employees, up and down the line, that have moved me by the care, kindness, and dedication they have demonstrated.

The joy and meaning that this position has brought into my life has been immeasurable. My life has been so enriched by the individuals we serve, by their families, by our supporters, and by the finest staff I have ever had the pleasure to work with. I am proud of what we have accomplished together so far, and am confident that we will continue to find ways to improve the quality of life for the persons we serve, and one another. I want to express my deepest gratitude to each of you and commit that I will strive to exhibit respect, empowerment, and compassion for you all as we continue on this journey together.

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Response to US Health Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s, April 16th Briefing on Autism

By Gerry Beagles • April 17, 2025

Any of you that listened to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s remarks yesterday about the “autism epidemic” would have spent your time more intelligently if you had watched an episode of the Three Stooges. Kennedy referred to autism as a ‘disease’, versus a developmental disability, and stressed how it destroys families and greatly limits the contributions that persons with this neurological condition can make to society. What a bunch of hogwash! There are many individuals dealing with autism that are living contented, productive lives filled with connection, contribution, and meaning. There are people in the arts, playing sports, employed, paying taxes, enjoying loving relationships, and certainly sitting on the damn toilet! The Secretary’s message is just more misinformation and simply reinforces the stigmatization that holds individuals with an autism diagnosis down and keeps so many in our country from experiencing the gifts and positive impacts that they share. Please join us and the many advocates supporting persons with neurological differences in seeking a future for these incredible, courageous individuals, where they are suitably championed to create and enjoy the lives they deserve!

Elation to Anxiety

By Gerry Beagles • March 3, 2025

The joy and happiness of inclusiveness and acceptance were all around us, fanned by the heavy beat of 70’s rock music being played by the volunteer DJ. It was our agency’s Valentine’s dance, hosted by the varsity baseball team over at St. Laurence High School, and both the individuals we support, and the student-athletes were having a blast. One of the major changes I have personally experienced over the last 50 plus years around services to persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities has been the movement to see all of us as people first, realizing that it is all the marvelous differences that brings life its’ juiciness! I was very impressed with the welcoming spirit of the baseball team and their strong determination to ensure that our folks would have a terrific time. The entire coaching staff, led by head coach Pete Lotus, demonstrated true leadership as they jumped in and enjoyed the party as well. Whatever the baseball teams’ record is at the end of the season, the Valentine party was a huge W! Sadly, it only took a few days for the elation we had experienced from the dance to change into stress and anxiety due to statements and actions taken by President Trump and those that seem to be blindly following his agenda. Initially, it was the attempt to stop Federal funding that was a threat to the continuation of our services which caused intense fear and worry with many of our parents, guardians, and families. There was a short reprieve as that executive order was rescinded, only to be followed by the next gut punch in the form of a bill that would cut $880 billion in Medicaid funding, which is the main source of financial backing for disability services in Illinois and throughout the country. It has become the highest priority for all of us to communicate to state and U.S. legislators the unfathomable negative ramifications of this bill becoming law! Some of my colleagues and I are traveling to Washington D.C. next week to share our collective stories with as many congresspeople as possible. Inside the March/April special issue of The Leaflet are some heartfelt reflections by persons whose lives are uplifted daily by the services we provide. I hope you will take a few minutes to reflect on the stories they share. May you be safe, and LOUD!

Cutting Medicaid Funding Hurts Disabled Members of Our Community

By Gerry Beagles • February 28, 2025

Across the many neighborhoods that make up the metropolitan Chicago area, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) rely on an array of support services to live, work and thrive. Nationally, 69% of the community providers that deliver these services are turning away new referrals while 39% are discontinuing existing services because they lack the funding needed to recruit and retain qualified workers. This puts access to services in jeopardy at a time when nearly 512,000 disabled Americans are languishing on their states’ waiting lists. Now, another crisis looms. Community-based services are almost exclusively funded by Medicaid, and in Congress, the House recently approved a budget resolution directing the committee that oversees Medicaid to slash $880 billion in spending. Such a drastic cut will all but dismantle the federal Medicaid program, leaving hundreds of thousands more Americans without the services they need. As a provider of these services, I know firsthand that every community, including this wonderful city of Chicago, is better when it includes everyone— regardless of their disability. If Senators Durbin and Duckworth and Representative Casten agree that our community is stronger when it includes people with disabilities, then they must reject any proposals to cut funding from the federal Medicaid program. Sincerely, Gerry