Help Hammer & NER make our communities better places. You are invited to participate in the discussions that affect you and the people you care about every day including those we support, their families, and staff.

Advocacy is the action of sharing information or making requests for funds and services. We are making requests to decision-makers who provide a majority of our funding—elected officials in Congress and the State Legislature.

Picture this scene: It is a warm day, and you are in line at an ice cream parlor. The two customers in front of you receive large scoops that look delicious and a perfect way to make one’s day. When you receive your cone, it is much smaller, so you ask the server why you received less. The response is, “They asked for more, you did not.” Sometimes the complicated world of politics and government resources can be similar: Those who ask for resources are more likely to receive them.

Lead DSP Stacy Esposito with Anne, who is supported at our Stone Creek Apartments program, advocate for disabilities services.

There is always a role for you in advocacy. It is important to remember that advocacy can take many shapes to fit your time and style. Legislators are less likely to cut resources for people they meet regularly or hear from often. The goal of our advocacy efforts is to educate elected officials about Hammer & NER and the need for their support for future services. Some elected officials are seeking ways to cut significant amounts of government budgets. We must let them know we cannot afford cuts to services, staff, and facilities. Any funding cuts could impact services and the ability to keep all our homes open.

We will work with you to find your advocacy voice. Perhaps you enjoy visiting legislators at the Capitol during our annual “Disabilities Services Day at the Capitol” each spring. If you prefer calling or e-mailing their offices to request a vote for or against an issue that affects you and the people at Hammer & NER, then we can work with you to contact them.

Legislators are less likely to cut resources for people they meet regularly or hear from often.

Advocacy is about amplifying your voice. If you want to tell legislators you support something, tell them how you feel. If you explain your situation and ask your community of family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to get involved, now you have amplified your voice, similar to speaking into a microphone because more people will now hear you better.

As Hammer & NER’s Director of Advocacy, I look forward to working with you to find ways to amplify your voice and get involved in our future. You are unique and so are the ways to be an effective advocate. We will work with you to find your strength in the advocacy world. If you would like to get involved in advocacy, please contact me at Michael.siebenaler@hammer.org or (612) 772-3825.

(Photo above: Meeting with Representative Ethan Cha (District 47B) during Disability Services Day at the Capitol)

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Rally in the Rotunda!

We had a GREAT day during Disability Services Day at the Capitol on Tuesday. About 100 people from Hammer & NER were in attendance including those we support, their staff, family members, Board members, and volunteers. We really know how to represent! Following the Rally in the Rotunda at 10 a.m., we had an opportunity to meet in small groups with State Senators and Representatives from districts where we have home and apartment programs. The day was all about advocating for disability services, sharing the challenges we have been facing with staffing shortages and pay equity, and telling our stories.

Waiting for the bus outside our East office

Hattisha Gary is a DSP from our 9th Avenue home in White Bear Lake. This was her first time attending Disability Services Day at the Capitol. “I had a wonderful time going with some of the ladies at Cedarwood,” Hattisha says. “I think it is good to see and learn what has been happening over the years. The good and bad. One of the highlights was seeing one of our ladies speak to the Senator for herself, peers, and staff. It made me proud to see people in our community care and fight for equal rights for the people we support.”

Hattisha adds that one of the challenges of the day was accessibility for those who have a hard time walking up stairs. While the Capitol is a beautiful building, the wide marble staircases can be very difficult, perhaps even dangerous, for those with mobility issues. Waits for elevators were sometimes long, causing our groups to be late for meetings with Legislators.

“There are a lot of logistics that go into getting everyone there,” says Mary Gaasch, Hammer & NER’s Director of Advocacy & Community Relations. Mary helped organize the many details for the day. “We work really hard to make it as accessible as possible for everyone. We think about parking, accessible vans, access to buildings, where the elevators are, along with the invisible barriers of those we support who may have sensory disorders or hearing or visual impairments. But at the end of the day, it’s all about creating opportunities for those we support and their staff to share their stories and experiences.”

Meeting with Rep. Ethan Cha

Everyone from Hammer & NER got to meet with at least one Legislator. The work we put into planning the day is well worth the opportunity to raise our voices and connect with our state representatives. Thank you to everyone who participated. You are helping make a difference!

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Bob Lockwood has influenced change for decades

Bob Lockwood

Meet Bob Lockwood, parent, Board member, and lifelong advocate for people with disabilities. Bob and his wife fought for full inclusion in the community for their two daughters, Stacy and Dru. “We were told to turn them over to the state,” says Bob. “We fought that for a long time. In fact, we fought all the way along.”

Decades before the ADA was passed, the Lockwoods worked to get their daughters the support, education, and resources they needed to live full lives. In 1985, they opened one of the first group homes in Minnesota, and later joined the Northeast Residences family in 2016. Stacy passed away in 2021. Dru continues to share her rich life with her friends and staff at Hammer & NER.

I had the opportunity to enjoy a cup of coffee with Bob and ask him for his advice for a new generation of advocates working to ensure people with disabilities have all the resources they need to live life to the fullest. At a pause in our conversation, I overheard two young women nearby talking about a child’s birthday party.

“She wants to invite them and their paras from school, so they can have help if they need it,” said one. “I told her she could invite them, but the paras probably can’t come because they are not working then.” “Maybe invite the moms?” suggested the friend. “Yeah, that’s what I suggested,” said the first mom. “I told her we can help, or the moms can help if they need extra support.”

I was deeply moved. I know in this world—where little girls imagine ways to support their friends with disabilities at their birthday parties—would not have been possible without Bob’s influence in our community and his tireless advocacy. His battle for education, inclusion, resources, housing, and staffing for people with disabilities is benefiting people with disabilities all over the state of Minnesota.

And his advice for us?

“Advocacy must be a top priority for all of us to keep getting the services we want for our loved ones,” Bob told me. “We focus on legislators—and we have to—but we need to include families, neighbors, friends, and the general public. Use social media, invite your legislators into your home, and be fully informed. Advocacy starts with me.”

Thank you, Bob. We admire your loving dedication to your daughters and your determined advocacy for all people with developmental disabilities. We are so happy you are part of our family, extended.

Mary Gaasch is Director of Advocacy & Community Relations. Mary first joined Hammer Residences in 1996 as a Direct Support Professional. Mary meets with key elected officials to advocate for the people we serve and the staff who support them.

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Rep. Phillips serves up a “Congressional” lunch.

Joel and Mary Amundson were also present to meet with Rep. Phillips. Their daughter, Sarah, is supported at our Royal Oaks apartment program. They are also Rep. Phillips’ constituents and volunteer on our Advocacy committee. In addition, Hammer & NER Board member, Don Haberman, and CEO, John Estrem, were on hand and talked with Rep. Phillips about Hammer & NER’s staffing concerns. We shared a report with Rep. Phillips from our national trade association, ANCOR, “The State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2022.”

Rep. Phillips chats with Janet Roberts and her son, Alex.

The report describes the impacts of a decades-long shortage of DSPs, which has accelerated into a crisis that now threatens access to services. The report found that:

• 83% of providers are turning away new referrals due to insufficient staffing. 
• 63% of providers are discontinuing programs and services. This represents a staggering 85.3% increase since the beginning of the pandemic.
  
• 55% of providers are considering additional service discontinuations due to the current high turnover and vacancy rates.
  
• 92% of providers are struggling to achieve quality standards which can force immediate discharge of people who were once supported and, in the worst cases, complete and permanent agency closures.
• 71% of case managers are struggling to find available providers.
• 66% of providers are concerned that vacancy and turnover rates will increase with the end of the Public Health Emergency. Providers remain reliant on the availability of increased funding and emergency regulatory flexibilities pursuant to the public health emergency to maintain basic operations with reduced staffing. They will face a devastating fiscal cliff when that temporary funding expires.

Thank you, Rep. Phillips, for stepping up and experiencing a day in the life of a DSP at Hammer & NER. Our staff, like Elliot, Rose, Franklin, and Tammy at the Carlson home and others who support over 360 people with intellectual and other disabilities in our group homes and apartment programs deserve a fair wage for the work they do. Thank you for visiting and learning more about us and those we support. 

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Approximately 90 people from Hammer & NER attended Disability Services Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 28. The group included many people we support along with their staff and family members. We began the day by boarding chartered buses from our West and East Central offices and heading to the Capitol. We then joined hundreds of others from the disabilities services community in packing the Capitol rotunda for a huge rally that included an array of speakers including Governor Walz, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, and Brion Curran, a former member of our NER staff who now serves as a representative of District 36B and continues to be an advocate for the disabilities communities. We then broke into several smaller groups to meet with the senators and representatives who represent the districts where our Hammer & NER homes and apartment programs are located.

Pam Janczewski is Director of Residential Services for our east metro homes and was one of the group leaders.
We had about 20-25 people in a conference room with Senator Steve Cwodzinski (District 24) and Representative Carlie Kotya-Witthuhn (District 49B). Don Haberman (one of our Board members and a Hammer & NER parent) started the conversation. Our meeting was emotional and moving. There was supervisor from another organization who talked about the staffing shortages and how difficult it is to ask her employees to work 80 hours a week. She knows that by even asking she is risking losing them and how every time another staff person leaves that is difficult for everyone (individuals and other staff). There was a self-advocate from another provider who also spoke up and said that every time he gets a new staff it takes three or four months to adjust to him and what he needs which impacts the hard work he has done to build and maintain his independence. It was heartbreaking to hear. 

Some of the Hammer & NER staff and individuals also spoke up, One of our staff talked about living wages for DSPs. She is a single mom and has to work more hours just to pay the bills and support her daughter, but every hour she works is extra time away from her daughter. Another person on our team talked about being single staffed in an apartment program and how difficult it can be to make decisions between two individuals’ wants and needs. She mentioned someone needing to go grocery shopping but another person needing medical attention: You choose the person who needs medical attention, but now when will the other person be able to go get food?

(From Left) Barbell Landfair (Program Manager), Kelsey, Jennifer, Katherine, Shannon, and Jennifer’s mom, Joann Heller (in back).

Nate Reed is a Fundraising Manager on our Hammer & NER Development team and led another one of our groups. 
The thing that stuck out to me the most is that almost every legislator mentioned that we had the largest group so far this year (the entire event) and how important that was. The questions from the legislators were relatively basic and focused more on “what is the need” and a few asked, “what is currently happening” in the legislature that they could learn more about. Their responses to the stories and struggles that were shared were as varied as the people themselves. Some were very engaged while it seemed others couldn’t wait to get to the next thing.

Overall, from those who were engaged, you could feel the compassion and understanding for the struggle to get funding for staff. In our meeting with Senator Kelly Morrison (District 45), Barb Lebowitz, Julie Wesley-Wong (Board member), and Don Haberman (Board member) each shared about their experiences as they have loved ones who are supported by Hammer & NER. They talked about their struggles and fears related to the workforce issues. That struck a chord with the Senator.

We are thankful to all of the people we support, their staff, and their families who joined us at the Capitol. Thank you for speaking up and sharing your stories and helping us urge our legislators to stand up for you!

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