Our Mission:Community Interactions, Inc. (CI) provides quality services for people with intellectual, physical and behavioral health challenges to help them create lifestyles consistent with their communities while respecting individual choice, self determination and culture.

Leading CI into the Future

Michael McDonnell, III, CI’s newest board chairman and partner at the law firm of Kutak Rock LLP, has ties to the disabilities community that run very deep. Those ties were established early on through his family’s outstanding legacy, championing the rights of men and women with disabilities in Pennsylvania and the country.

His father, Michael McDonnell, Jr., and his father’s cousin Dennis J. Haggerty, Esq., known as the “Father of the Right to Education Act,” and recognized nationally by six Presidential appointments to the “President’s Commission for Mental Retardation,” practiced law in Delaware County and were two of the leading movers of change for the disabilities community from 1964 onward.

In addition to his own two-decade-plus litigation experience, his connection to working with people with disabilities and the organizations that serve them, Mike is the father of two young boys with disabilities. His oldest son, 12, was diagnosed in 2003 with an autism spectrum disorder, and his youngest son, 9, suffered a perinatal stroke that left him missing the use of part of his brain.

“You can say I was prepared for this life,” says Mike. “What started as an expectation of a mission became even more personal than I could have imagined. It was like the good Lord said, ‘you can handle it.’”

Plan for the FutureNeedless to say, CI’s mission is near and dear to Mike’s heart. Prior to becoming board chair (a role he took over this past January from Doug Trout, who is now CI’s Managing Director for Programs and Services), Mike served as board vice chair for three years. In the 90s, he served as special counsel to CI.

In continuing our concept of a “Holistic Approach to a Quality of Life” for the persons we support, their families and the staff that support their needs and goals, we are expanding our belief in our commitment to - Respect - Trust – Accountability. The expansion of the concept has evolved into the “CI Way” that is composed of four core competencies:

• CI Cares Model – Defines how we interact with and support one other

• CI Smart Model – An assessment process that assists in defining the needs and desires of the persons we support and that directs the program and services in which they participate

• CI Family Partnership – The recognition that family involvement is a major component in a person’s life

• CI Diversity – The implementation of the belief that through diversity we learn to care and share in a meaningful way

Our Managing Director, Doug Trout, is facilitating the development and implementation of the Core Competencies as the foundation for the CI Way. Programs to introduce and to develop the Core Competencies are an ongoing process. Moving forward we will seek your support and, whenever and wherever possible, we would welcome your participation and feedback.

Be well…and many thanks to the families and friends of CI and to the staff for their continued care, support and development of the persons we support.

Donald Szegda

740 South Chester Road, Swarthmore, PA 19081 • 610.328.9008 • www.communityinteractions.org

Spring/Summer 2015

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Message from the CEO

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740 South Chester Rd.Swarthmore, PA 19081610.328.9008www.communityinteractions.org

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CI Board of Directors• Michael McDonnell, Esq.—Chairman• Elizabeth Besvinick—Vice Chair• Kathy Toomey—Treasurer • Debra Hufnagel—Secretary• John Campbell• Debbie Fecho• Patience Lehrman• Walter Olds• Joanne Pola

• Patricia Spratley

CI Executive Staff• Donald T. Szegda—President and CEO• Gary Clift—Senior Vice President and CFO• Diane Hannah-Wilson—Vice President of HR• Douglas Trout—Managing Director of Programs and Services

Back in 2011, when Mike joined the board, the economy was in turmoil and the threat of significant cutbacks to services was imminent. The board and executive staff immediately began to look at ways to restore fiscal stability and keep the organization moving forward. Since then they have been working to affect significant positive change and direction for the organization, recently bringing on two new board members, Patience Lehrman and Patricia Spratley. In the past few years, a three-pronged strategic plan has been developed and implemented that focuses on:

• developing professional expertise of staff and establish CI as a beacon, a “best practice”organization

• establishing CI as a partner with education and healthcare organizations to effect policy change at the state and federal government levels

• expanding CI Cares, a new model of care for people with disabilities that focuses on consumer choice and individualized supports and services

Says Mike, who is honored to be leading the organization’s future, “We see a need for CI to have a brand, and to be an organization that differentiates itself by virtue of our desire to lead in staff development and education, to lead in consumer choice, and also to provide partnerships with other academic and healthcare providers in a way that’s more efficient than in the past. I can honestly say we’re making good progress.”

Leading CI into the Future

CI’s Board of Directors (front L-R): Members John Campbell and Debbie Fecho, (back L-R) member Joanne Pola, secretary Debra Hufnagel, vice chair Elizabeth Besvinick, new member Patricia Spratley, treasurer Kathy Toomey, chairman Michael McDonnell, and new member Patience Lehrman.

cont’d on back page

You can definitely say that Terrence Tobler is a people person. Prior to becoming a CI Direct Support Professional (DSP) three years ago, at age 23, Terrence was a customer service rep for Five Below in Philadelphia. His customers often included DSPs and the individuals they supported, and Terrence, being curious and compassionate by nature, often asked questions about the work they did and for whom they worked.

One such conversation led to Community Interactions and a job application. The rest, as they say, is history. Terrence’s career leap came at a time when he was taking care of his ailing mother, who needed round-the-clock care. Helping her cemented the desire in his mind of helping others. He says:“I was caring for my mother at home, and now I found myself supporting someone at work, and I think that really opened my eyes to what might happen in your life, when you might need someone to support you. It’s just a blessing to really be there for someone who can’t speak up for themselves or do too much for themselves.”Terrence provides direct support to Chanh, who keeps him on his toes all day. Recently turned 27, Chanh has severe developmental disabilities and is non-verbal, but can communicate his needs by pulling Terrence towards what he wants. Chanh is a happy guy and is rarely seen without a magazine in hand. “I love my work. It makes me happy knowing that I’m making a difference in someone’s life just by helping them. When my blessings come, I count them.”

Most every Friday, Nancy Nolan stops by her son Michael Soscia’s new home in Newtown Square for lunch, a tradition she has kept up for years. The spacious Llangollen Home, as it is called, the newest of CI’s community residences, opened last summer primarily to accommodate several of CI’s aging residents who have mobility issues.

Bruce Cassel, who is 72 and uses a walker, was the first to move in, followed by Michael, 55, who is legally blind and sometimes needs a wheelchair. Robert “Robbie” Quinn, Llangollen’s newest and youngest resident at 47, does not have mobility issues, but because the home was spacious enough, its second floor was perfectly suited to accommodate his inde-pendent lifestyle and his drum set. Up until Llangollen, Robbie lived with his family.

740 South Chester Road, Swarthmore, PA 19081 • 610.328.9008 • www.communityinteractions.org

PEOPLE NEWSMAKERS

A Ray of Sunshine

SPOTLIGHT ON

If you are one of Peggy Spicer’s colleagues or regular customers at Goodwill, where she’s worked for almost 20 years, you are one of those fortunate people whose birthday she will remember, and you only have to tell her once.

Peggy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age two and used crutches to get around until a car accident, 19 years ago, left her permanently using a wheelchair… but that’s never stopped her. Shortly after starting at Goodwill on MacDade Blvd. in Holmes, Peggy joined CI’s Person Driven Support Program and to this day receives up to 29 hours a week of assistance. For the past four years, Ramatu Sombie has been helping Peggy mainly with transportation to and from work and to run errands, as well as with meal preparation. Other than that and some housework, Peggy manages very well on her own and enjoys her independent lifestyle.

For the past 15 years, Peggy has been splitting 36 hours a week between working at the Goodwill in Holmes and the one in Swarthmore, across from CI’s main office. As the stores’ receptionist, Peggy greets customers and answers phones, she also sorts donated jewelry and handles donation receipts.

No Place Like HomeTerrence Tobler

CI welcomes its newest board members, Patricia Spratley (left), and Patience Lehrman.

HAPPENINGS

Douglas TroutJust prior to taking on the newly minted role of CI Managing Director of Programs and Services in January, Doug Trout served for three years on CI’s board of directors, the last two as chairman. His affiliation with CI goes back at least 10 years, when he was Executive Director of the Arc of Delaware County. Doug has spent his entire profes-sional career in social services, a field he entered in the 1980s around the same

time the infamous Pennhurst State School and Hospital was be-ing closed. An early opportunity at KenCrest was followed by an appointment at Special People in the Northeast (SPIN), a provider of community residential services in Northeast Philadelphia.“I found that I had an affinity for the work,” says Doug. “At the same time, my twin brother, Jim, had a child with Williams syn-drome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. I watched him parent his child and I came to appreciate how much knowledge and information parents had.”Doug credits parents of children with disabilities for being some of his most significant teachers over the years. While at NHS, he turned his appreciation into practice and started a program called Families in Transition, a family-based mental health services program, through which he obtained clinical skills in family therapy. Periodically throughout his career, primarily as a human services administrator, he has taken time out to step into the role of family therapist, mainly working with families of children with develop-mental disabilities. “You can say I have enjoyed a two-track career in my field of developmental disabilities, where my work in social services informed my work in family therapy and vice-versa,” he says. “It’s been a way of gaining a perspective about the potential nonprofits have to make a difference in the quality of people’s lives.”

Peggy Spicer with, from left, CI Program Coordinator, Sasha Tull, Zonia James, Goodwill Branch Manager, and CI Fiscal Administrator, Sepideh Motemavelian at the Goodwill store in Swarthmore.

“The home is working out well for everyone,” says Sasha Tull, Program Coordi-nator, who oversees ten CI residences. “Except for Robbie, Bruce and Michael tend to keep to themselves and are home all day. Robbie’s been a wonderful addition, because he keeps the socialization open for all them in the home. He engages with Michael and Bruce, and is very in tune with their needs.”

Robbie is very active and works Monday through Friday. He participates in Special Olympics, and his close family ties keep him socially very busy. Accord-ing to Sasha, Bruce is fairly set in his ways. Congenial, but rather reserved, he loves electronics and his radio, and enjoys watching TV. Michael, who needs round-the-clock care, is more of a homebody, and can usually be found in his favorite chair.

Michael came to CI not long after his father passed away several decades ago. For his mother Nancy, CI was a blessing. Until then, Michael had been first at Pennhurst, a nightmare, the mother of four says, that she couldn’t get him out of fast enough, and then at Embreevile State Hospital, which closed in the 1980s.

Michael has severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, which Nancy is sure today would be diag-nosed as autism, but which wasn’t back then. He started out, she says, as a fairly normal child, who was able to communicate his needs, but progressively lost that ability.

Her weekly luncheon date with Mi-chael started at his former residence after it became difficult to take him out on outings and picnics. Today, stopping by the house and bringing lunch is the only way she can spend time with her son. She’s delighted with his new environment and housemates.

“Everybody seems happy at the house, Michael too, although he might not be able to express it,” says Nancy. “It’s a good place, and he’s well taken care of, and that makes me happy.”

“Peggy is a ray of sunshine,” says Goodwill’s Swarthmore Branch Manager, Zonia James. “She brings such a positive energy to work and is highly personable and loved by her co-workers and many of our customers, who she knows by name.”

Peggy is the second oldest of 10 children and grew up in Philadelphia and then Darby. At 22, she moved out on her own. Although she comes from a large family, there is only one brother in Florida with whom she’s in touch. She credits the “little angels,” friends, for helping her along the way.

“I still think about everybody,” she says, “but they don’t come and see me, or talk to me. CI and the friends I have are my family.”

Her work at Goodwill and the friendships she fosters are very important to her. When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with those friends going to movies, on outings, or watching her favorite shows like Dancing with the Stars or American Idol. Friendships have the power to lift us up in our lives, and for Peggy:

“I’m just blessed to have special people in my corner.”

Dinnertime at the Llangollen Home, from left, Michael Soscia, Robbie Quinn, and Bruce Cassel.

(Left to right) Michael’s DSP, Vincent Kanu, Michael’s mother, Nancy Soscia Nolan, and DSP, Fatmata Sombie.

CI patriots enjoyed participating in the Walk for the Wounded at Rose Tree Park on Saturday, May 2nd. (Left to right) Brian Massinger, Bridget Hudrick, Leonard Shalkowski, John Esque, James Barnes and Horace Bostic.