ARISE - EFR
The theme of the podcast is independent living and advocacy for people with disabilities.
ARISE - EFR
Inside Self-Direction: Featuring Laurie Penney-McGee and Sarah Brittenham
In this powerful episode of the ARISE-EFR podcast, we’re proud to spotlight two incredible voices from our community: Laurie Penny-McGee, a passionate advocate and leader at ARISE-EFR, and Sarah Brittenham, a talented artist and person supported through our services.
🎨 Sarah shares her journey as an artist, what inspires her work, and how creativity empowers her voice and identity.
💬 Laurie reflects on her advocacy work, her commitment to inclusion, and the joy of seeing individuals like Sarah thrive.
Together, their stories shine a light on the impact of meaningful support, self-expression, and community connection.
✨ Listen now to be inspired, uplifted, and reminded of the power in every voice we support.
This is the Arise Exceptional Family Resources podcast, with your host, ceo, bruce Drake.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone. I'm Bruce Drake, the CEO at Arise and EFR, and I am your host for today's Exceptional Talk on Disabilities. We have a real treat for you today and a first for me. We actually have two guests that we're going to be talking to today. We're going to be talking to Sarah Brittenham and Lori Penny McGee and they're going to tell us all about their experiences together and also with OPWDD's Self-Direction Services. Welcome.
Laurie Penney-McGee:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you. I'm really excited to talk to you both and hear your story. Before we get to that, I'm going to ask Laurie to describe what OPWDD Self-Direction Services looks like. So, for those of you who don't know Laurie, she's a Director of Self-Direction Services at Arise and EFR and she's also a support broker. So, Laurie, before we get too far into this, why don't you just give people just a quick background on your experiences, just in the field in general?
Laurie Penney-McGee:Okay, so I am actually by trade a recreation therapist. I actually started in the field as a DSP, as a direct support professional, and then two weeks later was an assistant manager and then a manager at a group home in New Jersey. Many years ago I went to school at SUNY Cortland where I became a recreation therapist. I got hired at Exceptional Family Resources. Like a week after I graduated I started EFR as a back in the day called a residential habilitation coordinator. They realized that I just got my master's in recreation therapy and created a director of recreation and respite position for me. So I was at EFR for seven and a half years. I've also been adjunct faculty at SUNY Cortland for 25 years. They stole me for a little bit full time. I traveled the state and country teaching people about inclusion and accessibility. The grant ran out and I went back to EFR. Because I really did cry all the way home the day I left EFR the first time.
Speaker 2:And we're very lucky that you came back. We're very happy about that.
Laurie Penney-McGee:So I've been at Exceptional Family Resources Arise since 2014 as a support broker, as a manager and then as the director of self-direction services.
Speaker 2:Great Thank you for that. So, Laurie, I know self-direction services is a pretty complex service. We don't have time to go into all the details today, but do you think you can give a couple of minute overview describing the program for people who aren't familiar with Self-Direction, so they can better understand what we're talking about?
Laurie Penney-McGee:Sure. So my elevator spiel. So basically, the state of New York has a variety of services that people have over time just kind of accessed a la carte. So things like community have and respite services and some goods and services services. They work with a care manager who's kind of their social worker, oversight person of their services, who helps them determine what they want to what kind of services they want, and then the state says, okay, you might get eight hours of this and you only get $1,000 for that, and so that's the traditional model of services. So self-direction itself is not really a service, it's a model of delivery. So instead of having sort of a la carte and having the state determine how many hours and how much money you get to spend on different things, the state developed self-direction, which allows people to access the funding that the state has dedicated to them and their services and use it in a way that's person-centered and really meets their wants, needs and the things that they like to do.
Laurie Penney-McGee:So the amount of money somebody has in their budget is based on an assessment. It's the same assessment for anybody in the state. It looks at things like how old the person is, are they in school, what kind of supports and services do they need? And then the state pops out a number from that assessment and that drives how much money someone has. So, for example, a kid who's four might have a much smaller budget than somebody who lives independently and on their own and, you know, has more support needs and has more expenses.
Laurie Penney-McGee:So the team of people that works to help somebody develop their budget is they have to identify an agency, so a fiscal intermediary agency, and in this case it's Arise EFR, and that agency really serves as the HR function and the bank and helps people with their expenses and their budget. They have a support broker, who is the person who is really knowledgeable about all the ways somebody can utilize their budget and they really help the person develop their budget and look at their staffing and their goals and their plan. And they have a fiscal intermediary staff person who also is involved in that, who oversees their budget and helps them pay their expenses and things like that, in addition to their care manager, and they work with the person and their team right. So people have a circle of support or a planning team that gets together and really looks at okay, what does this person want to do?
Laurie Penney-McGee:So that can be their family Oftentimes it is their family, it could be natural supports want to do so that can be their family. Oftentimes it is their family, it could be natural supports. And when we start talking about Sarah a little bit, sarah and I have known each other for a really long time so I kind of started talking to her family about self-direction and I'm a member of her circle of support and you know, just really help her. You know kind of learn about self-direction and how those services are accessed thank you.
Speaker 2:So if I could just ask specifically about staffing so who's responsible for finding the staff? Who's responsible for hiring the staff? Who's responsible for setting staff salaries and training and supervising the staff? How does that work?
Laurie Penney-McGee:Okay, so I'll give a one-minute answer to a 20-minute question. So the purpose of self-direction is that people really have the ability or the support to help really drive and oversee their services. Right? It's called self-direction for that reason, and so, depending on what agency you work with in the state of New York, there's a real difference in how much involvement that an agency and the broker might have.
Laurie Penney-McGee:So at Arise EFR, the broker, the fiscal intermediary we really support people in trying to help them identify their staff in terms of we put ads on our website and on Indeed, and we can help them write an ad. And we can help them identify their staff in terms of we put ads on our website and on indeed, and we can help them write an ad and we can help them interview their staff. We can help identify their staff. The individual with their team determines how much money someone can be paid to be their support staff, right? So in community have that can be as much as $32 an hour. In respite it could be as high as $22.50. Those amounts are capped there only because the state has some caps in funding how that works. But the broker and their team work together to set those salary rates and determine how all those different dollars will be spent in a way that makes sense for them.
Speaker 2:Great, thank you. So now that we know a little bit, we know the tip of the iceberg about self-direction. Let's learn a little bit about Sarah. So, sarah, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Speaker 4:Well, I'm an artist and I play guitar. I have my own business with my parents.
Speaker 2:Well, let's hit those one at a time. So first of all. So what type of art do you like to do?
Speaker 4:Well, I'm currently working on a diamond art, one of those big things that take like half a year.
Speaker 2:Okay, and you are learning to play guitar, or you know how to play guitar.
Speaker 4:Well, I'm kind of like in the middle. I know how to pick the beginning of Blackbird.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's fantastic. And then you said you own a business with your parents.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What business is that?
Speaker 4:It's called Reclaimed Wood and it's basically stuff made out of wood.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 4:And I like them color mandalas and I basically like them, color them in and stuff and I go to two different stores.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 4:One is in Long Island.
Speaker 2:Really. So you're selling some of your stuff in Long Island.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic. There's the only reason to go to Long Island right there. I can say that because I'm from Long Island. And where's your other store?
Speaker 4:It's in Skaneateles. It's called the Artisans.
Speaker 2:The Artisans oh, I've been in there. I'll have to look for your stuff the next time I'm there.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's great. And how are sales going? Sales are booming, oh, fantastic.
Speaker 4:Especially in Long Island, because they want 100.
Speaker 2:100? Men dollars. Okay, fantastic, congratulations, thanks. So we know that you are an artist, we know that you play guitar, we know that you own a business with your family. What are some of the things that you like to do, some of the hobbies that you have?
Speaker 4:One of my favorite hobbies is taking a camera and walking around Skinny Atlas taking pictures.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's great. More towards the art stuff. Right, You're very artistic.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Excellent. So how did you two meet?
Speaker 4:Me and Laurie.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Oh, she got me one of my jobs actually Okay.
Laurie Penney-McGee:On accident.
Speaker 2:On accident. So how do you get a job by accident? I'd love to hear this.
Speaker 4:Well, it's a story about a T-shirt. Laurie walked in with a T-shirt and let's see if I can remember the story.
Laurie Penney-McGee:You want me to fill in?
Speaker 4:Yes.
Laurie Penney-McGee:Okay. So I was working at SUNY Cortland Inclusive Recreation Resource Center. Shout out there, and I had my jacket on, which has a symbol on it of somebody using a wheelchair. And so the pharmacist it's this little tiny, it's not there anymore. Little pharmacy really in the middle of the boondocks, as Sarah would say, halfway between Scandia, atlas and Cortland. There's really nothing out there. And the pharmacist said oh, I thought you know I might want to hire a person with a disability. I understand there's like a program and that would be a great thing to do. Sarah happened to live like a mile from that pharmacy. We actually met first time at the afterschool program. So you were in the afterschool program and I knew you and your mom. I go, I have the person. And then Sarah had the job within like the week. So we say we just sort of accidentally got her job there and you were there for a long time until they closed that business.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I can't remember when they closed.
Laurie Penney-McGee:Yeah, and then we would just run into each other. So Scanny Atlas has been compared to a college campus After a while. Everyone looks familiar, and so Sarah and I would run into each other. Downtown. You take the bus. You like to take the bus into the city? Yeah, and a lot of times you'd be at the corner, so I would stop and say, hey, you'd be at the bus stop.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I go to another program called Launch. It's to help me become more independent and doing stuff on my own.
Speaker 2:Okay, so how did you first hear about self-direction?
Laurie Penney-McGee:Well, Laurie, music Sarah said that Joe Whiting is the Bob Dylan of our time, and so then we started doing some of Joe's concerts locally together. And then I teach Zumba. So we started talking one day about Zumba and you've been in my class for like eight years ever since. So I scoop you up right and we go to Zumba together.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I think I know the routines like a little too well. I think I know the routines like a little too well.
Speaker 2:So, Sarah, since you've been enrolled in, so how long ago did you enroll in the self-direction programs? Do we know?
Laurie Penney-McGee:About six months. Right yeah, six months.
Speaker 2:All right. So how has your life changed since you've started being self-directional? What has it meant for you so far?
Speaker 4:Well, it's always been a blast for me. I'm still kind of a newbie. I'm getting to know people.
Speaker 2:Okay. Are there things that you're able to do now with your self-direction budget that you weren't able to do before?
Speaker 4:Well, when I go to the mall, I'm always in search of a Josh Allen jersey.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you're a Bills fan. Yeah, we won't hold that against you, tara, it's okay Now. Do you go to the mall on your own? Do you have staff who work with you?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I have staff who work with me and whenever I want to do something, it's like okay, let's jump in the car and do it.
Speaker 2:Well, that's great to have a staff person that you've hired. Did you know them before or did you meet them for the first time when they interviewed to work with you?
Speaker 4:When they interviewed to work with me. I just had an instant connection with this person.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's great. That's what it's all about, right? Is that instant connection? So how much time do you spend with them and do we want to recognize who is this person? Her name's Nancy, all right. So how often do you spend with them and do we want to recognize who is this person? Her name's Nancy.
Speaker 4:All right. So how often do you see Nancy each week? I see her every Monday and Tuesday, and I'm going to be part of a talent show with her on Friday.
Speaker 2:Oh, fantastic Playing the guitar.
Speaker 4:Yep playing guitar and doing a song that I've written.
Speaker 2:Oh, fantastic. Maybe sometime we can have you come and play it for us.
Laurie Penney-McGee:It isn't the EFR talent, shall we?
Speaker 2:So what would you tell someone who doesn't have self-direction?
Speaker 4:Well, for me it's always been a blast. I'm kind of making friends here, there and everywhere and just come on down.
Speaker 2:Excellent, excellent. I can't believe we're almost out of time. I know I think I could sit and talk to you two all day long, but I do want to thank both Sarah and Lori for spending some time with us. Ladies and gentlemen, that was Sarah Brittenham and Laurie Penney-McGee, sharing their experiences with self-direction. Thank you all for joining us and we hope you'll join us the next time as we continue to explore the vast array of services provided by Arise and EFR. Thank you both.
Laurie Penney-McGee:Been a pleasure, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:This has been the Arise Exceptional Family Resources Podcast with CEO Bruce Drake, recorded and produced at the WCNY Public Broadcasting Studios. For more information, visit our website at contactefrorg. You can also follow us on Facebook. Thank you for listening.