Dear Imagine friends and family,
Imagine in the Season of Treason: As a society, we have a reached a moment when principles, values, law and the other social sources of consistency in communities are being suddenly and dramatically devalued while interruption, strife, challenge and suddenness have peaked. We will be changed. And frightened.
I want to start a conversation about how we intend to stay the same and how we’ll change willingly because I know that our community is vulnerable and uncertain at the best of times. We should be honest now and we need to be ready.
From the start of my non=profit, government funded career until January, the vision of the future has been based on the values and purposes of those in policy-making positions. Today the people in those positions in our federal government have removed values and purpose from consideration and we are left with few clues as to how our environment might change.
Standing by the water: When the environment changes, and it has dramatically, all of creation needs to adapt and we will. We will change to survive, but life for a non-profit organization is our mission and our established values. Our mission will remain to empower people with developmental disabilities through service and advocacy. Our core values will continue to be:
- Outstanding service (person centered and avoiding complacency;)
- Safety and Security (for the people we serve, our staff, our families and neighbors;)
- Fabric of the community (participation throughout the County and Country by everyone in our family, welcoming our neighbors from near and far into what we do;)
- Employer of Choice (Imagine’s employees are diverse, and we acknowledge and pursue their well-deserved inclusion and equity as we do for the people, we serve;)
- Lifelong learning (Continuing to innovate, adjust and adapt through every chapter of history, and;)
- Empowerment (We are here so that diverse individuals can make choices and advocate and implement, however the core constitutions and scriptures may be edited and accepted- these are ours.)
Who we are and what we are here for are not subject to the electoral process or judicial review or the consensus of our political class. You can have confidence in the above. We’ll fight as needed to preserve what is written above. We’re up to the challenge and fired up for it.
All that you touch, you change; Whatever you change changes you*:
Having chosen what to hold constant, the price of our faithfulness is that everything else has to adapt. While the environment has grown less certain, our planning will be shorter term. While our funding is threatened, we will be more conservative in our budgeting than I recall our ever being before and also more open to non-government resources.
Our interactions with the public might be less enthusiastic and noisy and grimmer and more determined. Personally, those of you have known me a long time know I’m a cantankerous old cuss and a troublemaker, but I’m appreciating that what I owe you know is dry powder and a ready arsenal. I’ll keep it in mind. Change isn’t easy for me either.
But change is here. And we will adapt, faithful to everything we refuse to give up. I’m grateful that our clients, caregivers and stakeholders are on our side and glad to be on theirs.
*This is quote from Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower. The title and “Standing by the water” are from the hymn I Shall Not be Moved. That’s where we are, fam.
Also, see below for details on our next party, March 7. Getting together is something we will keep doing.
We are producing a report covering the half-decade since COVID. Our story is an aggregate of all of your stories and we’d love to hear from you your memories of life together with Imagine since lock-down began. Whether you are an individual we serve, a caregiver, a parent, conservator, family member or friend, we’d love to include a memory of your experience in the last five years with Imagine. If you wanted to send a photo all the better.
This half-decade report will replace the annual reports we would have sent out if we could have kept auditors and they kept up to date. Guys, I’m going to keep these paragraphs here until some of y’all send something up. You think you’re stubborner than me? Please email me with your memories.
In The Year of Person-Centered Practices, how the changes in our infrastructure are targeted towards person-centered practices.
In the HR Corner, All about our internal reforms.
Our new column, titled for today without approval of the author, Supported Living Servings, continues with Jessica feeling slightly apologetic, very enthusiastic and as thorough and wordy as me. The first part is the newest.
The Person-Centered Evolution column this month is about person-centered practices and organizational efficiency.
The Community Connections column this month, Raul made some big plans for us.
Our usual stuff in the column around self-determination.
The Advocacy Corner is terse and grumpy.
Our monthly Transparency at Imagine column invites you to our Board meeting which has moved to on February 26.
This month we have our client spotlight on Tiffany. The Staff Spotlight this month is on Perla M. The Spotlight on Change is about Resilience.
As ever, I am at your service. If you have any questions, feedback or want to try and outword me, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can write me here. I look forward to hearing from you. My planning is different now, but I ain’t going nowhere.
Gratefully yours,
Doug