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TOPIC: Merakey Allegheny Valley School · Pittsburgh Sunday Morning

0:27
Speaker 1: And welcome in. This is a public affairs program shedding
0:30
Speaker 1: the light on the interest, issues and concerns of the
0:32
Speaker 1: greater Pittsburgh. Garrett, good morning, Good Sunday to you. My
0:35
Speaker 1: name is Johnny Heartwell, your host, and today's topic is
0:37
Speaker 1: the marri Key Allegheny Valley School. And they've run everybody, Hello, everybody, Hello,
0:45
Speaker 1: all right, So let's introduce a couple of people here.
0:48
Speaker 1: Ronnie Eric, Senior executive Director, thank you for joining me.
0:52
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having us.
0:53
Speaker 1: Carol Erzen, staff development executive, thank you for being here.
0:57
Speaker 1: Glad to be here. And we have more people than
0:59
Speaker 1: we have microphone, and so let's say good morning to
1:02
Speaker 1: Amy Rossini. Hi, Hi Amy, Hi, Hi, Johnny, and Liz Humphrey.
1:07
Speaker 1: I I met Liz. She is a superstar. She is
1:10
Speaker 1: the Merricke Ambassador. I was doing a kind of a
1:14
Speaker 1: function remembering Myron Cope and met Amy and Liz and
1:20
Speaker 1: invited you guys onto the program. So I really appreciate
1:22
Speaker 1: you taking the time because I think we all are
1:26
Speaker 1: familiar with Myron Cope and of course terrible Tale, but
1:30
Speaker 1: a lot of people don't know the connection with your school.
1:34
Speaker 1: And we'll get into that but let's talk about let's
1:38
Speaker 1: go with Ronnie first, marri Key and mary Key Alleghany
1:42
Speaker 1: Valley School. It's the same thing.
1:44
Speaker 2: But not, It's absolutely the same thing. Mary Key is
1:49
Speaker 2: our parent company, and mary Key Alleghany Valley School is
1:52
Speaker 2: a subsidiary of the Greater merri Key Company. Mary Key
1:56
Speaker 2: Alleghany Valley School was founded in nineteen sixty by Patricia
2:01
Speaker 2: Hillman Miller, Doug Hannah, and the Gunner Bob Prince. Actually
2:05
Speaker 2: in our.
2:06
Speaker 1: History, I didn't know that.
2:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, So Alleghany Valley School actually started in nineteen sixty
2:12
Speaker 2: as a result of the Pittsburgh Home for Babies closing
2:15
Speaker 2: and at that time, the ten individuals that were left
2:18
Speaker 2: there all had intellectual and developmental disability. So those ten
2:22
Speaker 2: kids were where Alleghany Valley School grew out of. So
2:26
Speaker 2: our services expanded throughout the years across the state of Pennsylvania.
2:31
Speaker 1: Now, are you a school.
2:33
Speaker 2: We are not. We actually provide services of residential We
2:38
Speaker 2: do day program, adult training. Community exposure is a big
2:42
Speaker 2: crux of what we do and having a lot of
2:44
Speaker 2: communication out in the community and basically providing twenty four
2:50
Speaker 2: hour care for folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
2:53
Speaker 1: Now I mentioned Myron Cope in the Terrible tow can
2:56
Speaker 1: you explain that connection.
2:58
Speaker 2: Absolutely? We were quite fortunate to be able to have
3:02
Speaker 2: the privilege of caring for Myron's sign and we still
3:05
Speaker 2: do over the years, and back in nineteen ninety six,
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Speaker 2: Myron gifted the control of the results of the monies
3:14
Speaker 2: that come in from the towel portion of that goes
3:17
Speaker 2: to the Mary Key Alleghany Valley School. So we're quite fortunate.
3:21
Speaker 1: So when you see a Stealer game and you see
3:23
Speaker 1: all those yellow towels, obviously it represents the city, it
3:29
Speaker 1: represents the team, but also represents what you guys do
3:33
Speaker 1: as well.
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Speaker 2: It absolutely does, and it helps us to provide our mission.
3:37
Speaker 2: You know, we see that and we think sell, sell, sell,
3:39
Speaker 2: because the more people that buy tells, the better off
3:42
Speaker 2: we we are to provide the services for the individuals
3:46
Speaker 2: that we care for across the state.
3:48
Speaker 1: What an amazing legacy that he presented to you.
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Speaker 2: That we're very blessed for sure.
3:52
Speaker 1: And especially Myron. What a loved man he was and
3:55
Speaker 1: still is and will always be.
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Speaker 2: Absolutely he was deaf, a great supporter of Merricky Alleghany
4:02
Speaker 2: Valley School and his daughter Liz is still involved with
4:06
Speaker 2: us and does a lot on our behalf.
4:09
Speaker 1: Okay, let's get into your personal connection with the with
4:14
Speaker 1: Mary Key, what exactly do you do?
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Speaker 2: Sure, I'm the senior executive director for Merriky Alleghany Valley School.
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Speaker 2: I actually started in an entry level position forty two
4:23
Speaker 2: years ago, so I've we're brand new to this organization,
4:26
Speaker 2: right right right? She started when she was three seven.
4:31
Speaker 2: I was seven. Yeah, So but anyway, so I started
4:34
Speaker 2: an entry level position in the direct care and work
4:37
Speaker 2: my way up through the company. And honestly, uh, you know,
4:41
Speaker 2: I if you're in this field, you don't want to
4:43
Speaker 2: be anywhere else. It's it's a It's an incredible company
4:46
Speaker 2: and I feel like my work folks that I work
4:48
Speaker 2: with are my family as well as the individuals.
4:51
Speaker 1: How about Carol, what do you do well? I can
4:54
Speaker 1: beat that, John.
4:56
Speaker 3: I've been with the organization for just about forty five years,
5:00
Speaker 3: and I have to tell you when I started, my
5:02
Speaker 3: goal was I graduated with a degree in special education,
5:06
Speaker 3: couldn't find a job teaching in the Pittsburgh area, had
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Speaker 3: the wonderful opportunity to start with Alleghany Valley School, said
5:13
Speaker 3: I'll be here six months till I find something better years.
5:20
Speaker 1: Job looking good for years.
5:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, she's off approbation now.
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Speaker 3: And really the reason that I'm there is it's the
5:29
Speaker 3: people that I've met, not just the staff, who I
5:33
Speaker 3: have so many wonderful, wonderful friends over the years, and
5:37
Speaker 3: and you can speak Amy, Ronnie and I all have
5:41
Speaker 3: multiple family members that have also worked for the organization,
5:45
Speaker 3: people like Liz, who I consider a friend and that
5:49
Speaker 3: I've had so many wonderful opportunities, and also the families
5:52
Speaker 3: that are here for those that we support. It's just
5:57
Speaker 3: it really is something that comes from your heart. And
6:00
Speaker 3: as I said forty five years ago, I was going
6:03
Speaker 3: to come in, do a few things and move on, and.
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Speaker 1: It's kept me there. What's your current role?
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Speaker 3: So I'm the staff Development Executive. I oversee all of
6:12
Speaker 3: the training for newly haired staff that are coming in
6:16
Speaker 3: for existing staff, support all of the initiatives that come
6:21
Speaker 3: along with making sure that we have great staff who
6:24
Speaker 3: are well trained. Our staff that are coming in, it
6:28
Speaker 3: could be the first job they've ever had right out
6:30
Speaker 3: of high school. It might be that they're just getting
6:33
Speaker 3: back into the workforce, or maybe just a new student
6:36
Speaker 3: out of college, and so we really provide that support
6:40
Speaker 3: and training so that they really understand how to interact,
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Speaker 3: how to develop skills, and how to support the people
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Speaker 3: that we are there to serve.
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Speaker 1: You know, there's a lot of fantastic organizations in the
6:54
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh area that do address individuals with special needs. And
6:59
Speaker 1: so when you're looking for somebody who maybe you're hiring somebody,
7:02
Speaker 1: you're probably not just looking for somebody who has just
7:05
Speaker 1: gone out of school. They just need they need something extra,
7:08
Speaker 1: they have maybe a special calling or maybe a I'll
7:13
Speaker 1: let I'm not going to put words in your mouth.
7:16
Speaker 1: What kind of individuals are you looking for to work
7:19
Speaker 1: at Mariki?
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Speaker 3: We want people who are have compassion in their own lives,
7:23
Speaker 3: and you can sense that when someone walks through the
7:26
Speaker 3: door for the first time, you really can get a
7:28
Speaker 3: sense of who they are. And when you see them
7:32
Speaker 3: first interact with some of the people that we support
7:35
Speaker 3: and you see that they're bringing joy to them and
7:37
Speaker 3: that those individuals are bringing joy to that person, you
7:41
Speaker 3: can kind of look and say, hey, this is someone
7:43
Speaker 3: that might be around for the next forty five years
7:45
Speaker 3: or so. And with that, we have people that walk
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Speaker 3: in that could be really scared. I've never done this before,
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Speaker 3: and I've really never worked with someone that maybe is
7:55
Speaker 3: in a wheelchair and has cerebral palsy and has a
7:58
Speaker 3: feeding tube or or some some pretty significant medical complexities.
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Speaker 3: And what we have to do is assure them that, hey,
8:06
Speaker 3: we're with you. We're here to make sure that you
8:09
Speaker 3: get everything that you need. So you become the expert.
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Speaker 3: Our direct support professionals. They are the backbone of our organization.
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Speaker 3: They're the people that really make it all happen, and
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Speaker 3: we need to make sure that we have the right
8:22
Speaker 3: people and that we train them well to do their jobs.
8:25
Speaker 1: All right. Today's topic is Marricky Alleghany Valley School Ronnie
8:29
Speaker 1: who is the executive, the senior executive. So we kind
8:34
Speaker 1: of touched on the difference between marri Key and Merricky
8:38
Speaker 1: Alleghany Valley School. But let's dig in a little deeper
8:41
Speaker 1: with what exactly you do, Like, what what is what
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Speaker 1: is Merriky? What exactly is your mission?
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Speaker 2: Our mission is to provide to be a nationally recognized
8:53
Speaker 2: provider of the highest quality of healthcare in the country.
8:57
Speaker 2: That's that's our that's our vision. Our purpose is to
9:00
Speaker 2: provide and put our heart and soul into exceptional care
9:04
Speaker 2: for the individuals we take care of. So a typical
9:07
Speaker 2: day for the individuals that we take care of, and
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Speaker 2: I think it's important for people to realize that we
9:12
Speaker 2: provide the whole spectrum of care throughout the person's life.
9:16
Speaker 2: So we have a lot of individuals who are younger,
9:19
Speaker 2: they're living out in the community homes they are some
9:23
Speaker 2: people have jobs, some people attend adult training centers. All
9:27
Speaker 2: have community exposure, lots of opportunities, probably more so than
9:31
Speaker 2: I do, going to penguins games and movies and picnics
9:36
Speaker 2: and all kinds of things. And then as they age
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Speaker 2: throughout their lives, we also have areas that have twenty
9:45
Speaker 2: four hour nursing respiratory services where we can care for
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Speaker 2: that person through the continuum of care all the way
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Speaker 2: through end of life compassionate care.
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Speaker 1: You know, one heartbreaking statistic here in Pennsylvania especially is
9:58
Speaker 1: that there's always a waiting list for individuals for the
10:02
Speaker 1: received care like this am. I correct there is.
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Speaker 2: There is. There's a lot of different types of care.
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Speaker 2: One of the things that I wanted to highlight today
10:13
Speaker 2: is that Merriky Allegheny Valley School provides waiver services, but
10:17
Speaker 2: it also provides intermediate care facility services, and a lot
10:21
Speaker 2: of people are less familiar with that. That is where
10:25
Speaker 2: we care for people a little bit more medically and
10:27
Speaker 2: physically complex, as Carol had mentioned earlier, people that are
10:33
Speaker 2: in wheelchairs, that might have multiple types of medical conditions
10:40
Speaker 2: as well as just the need for total care, So
10:43
Speaker 2: we provide that care. A level of care as well
10:47
Speaker 2: is the folks that are ambulatory and out in the
10:49
Speaker 2: community constantly and on the go. So really there's a
10:54
Speaker 2: wide range of services, and you know, people just need
10:58
Speaker 2: to get in touch with their base service unit and
11:00
Speaker 2: find out more about Markyelling and School.
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Speaker 1: Wanted to know if this, what's the process if somebody,
11:06
Speaker 1: if there's somebody listening who has a loved one who
11:08
Speaker 1: might need your services, what's the process?
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Speaker 2: They would get in touch with their their county liaison
11:15
Speaker 2: and their base service units who they're assigned to, and
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Speaker 2: then from there let them know what kind of services
11:22
Speaker 2: that they're interested in. And we have our information out
11:25
Speaker 2: at all of these based service units, and you know,
11:29
Speaker 2: people just need to ask and then the processes that
11:32
Speaker 2: they come out, we meet with them, we offer them
11:34
Speaker 2: a tour they get to see the types of services
11:38
Speaker 2: that we provide while it's happening. They get to go
11:40
Speaker 2: to see the day programs, look at the living areas,
11:43
Speaker 2: meet the staff, and then if they are interested in
11:46
Speaker 2: progressing forward, then they just let us know that and
11:49
Speaker 2: we start to work through that process.
11:51
Speaker 1: I briefly mentioned you're the beneficiary of some of the
11:54
Speaker 1: funds from the Terrible Talent Myron CoP's generosity, but I'm
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Speaker 1: sure that's not It's probably doesn't cover all the.
12:01
Speaker 2: Bills, no, but it does assist us in doing things
12:05
Speaker 2: that are above what are the day to day things
12:07
Speaker 2: that are covered. Anybody that lives in an intermediate care
12:10
Speaker 2: facility is receiving state funding, like from an SSI type
12:14
Speaker 2: funding that carries covers basic necessities, food, clothing, shelter. When
12:20
Speaker 2: we want to do these expanded projects like memory care
12:24
Speaker 2: homes or overhead lifts systems or specialized.
12:33
Speaker 4: And all the things that you mentioned, everything like that,
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Speaker 4: they all cost money. And that's where that money is
12:39
Speaker 4: in a lot of money. Yeah, it's not a little
12:41
Speaker 4: for sure. It all costs.
12:44
Speaker 2: And so you know, those funds from like the towel
12:46
Speaker 2: and the other fundraising that we do really help to
12:49
Speaker 2: supplement what the basic needs are.
12:52
Speaker 1: Which is the perfect segue to introduce any who's the
12:56
Speaker 1: development and community engagement manager. What exactly what is your
13:01
Speaker 1: role with Marrikey.
13:03
Speaker 5: Hi, Johnny, Just like you said, so the development department,
13:06
Speaker 5: Oh my, Well, as you know, that encompasses a lot
13:09
Speaker 5: of great things here in the Pittsburgh area and beyond
13:13
Speaker 5: just really making those important community connections. We in Pittsburgh
13:17
Speaker 5: have so many incredible museums, you know, sports teams, cultural events,
13:23
Speaker 5: and the people we support, like Ronnie had said, they
13:26
Speaker 5: are out and about where than we are, and we
13:29
Speaker 5: love having those connections and we're so fortunate to be
13:32
Speaker 5: able to have such an incredible city of support.
13:35
Speaker 1: So fundraising is probably one of the things that is
13:39
Speaker 1: one of your focuses. Obviously, you have a great we
13:42
Speaker 1: talked about the terrible taw so that's probably a great conduit.
13:47
Speaker 1: It's a great way to introduce marri Key to a
13:49
Speaker 1: lot of individuals. But like we said, it doesn't cost,
13:53
Speaker 1: it doesn't cover everything. So what kind of fundraisers do
13:56
Speaker 1: you have right Well?
13:58
Speaker 5: Surprisingly coming up in September on September fourteenth is the
14:02
Speaker 5: Mary Key Avs Golf Open at Chartiers country Club, and
14:06
Speaker 5: this year we are honoring the Pittsburgh Steelers as our
14:09
Speaker 5: twenty twenty six AVIS Champions. So you know, we're tying
14:14
Speaker 5: in a lot of community in Pittsburgh connects.
14:17
Speaker 1: Are we're going to see some former Steelers participating.
14:20
Speaker 5: Oh I would love that, I hope. So we're working
14:23
Speaker 5: Galt some details.
14:24
Speaker 1: Okay, gotcha, it's about a month away, job lady. Yeah,
14:28
Speaker 1: we're on it.
14:29
Speaker 5: That's what I'm going to be working on right after after.
14:32
Speaker 2: And I think we have to add to what just completed,
14:36
Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, of which we are recipient,
14:40
Speaker 2: So maybe discuss some of that.
14:41
Speaker 1: All right, So yeah, the Vintage Grand Prix.
14:44
Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, the Pittsburgh Vitage Grand Prix. That was the
14:47
Speaker 5: same time as Picklesburg. So there was a lot happening
14:51
Speaker 5: in town. Oh that was in July, and.
14:53
Speaker 1: Then August is your thirtieth anniversary of Go ahead, I'll
14:58
Speaker 1: let you explain it, right of.
15:00
Speaker 5: The gift that Myron Cope generously gave to Merriky Alleghany
15:04
Speaker 5: Valley School, the Terrible Towel.
15:06
Speaker 1: Now, obviously you took care of his son and you
15:09
Speaker 1: continue to do so when he gifted uh, you know,
15:13
Speaker 1: the proceeds from the Terrible Towel. Was that something that
15:16
Speaker 1: you expected or was that something out of the blue.
15:19
Speaker 2: Well, the story that I was told by our CEO
15:21
Speaker 2: at the time he came into his office, Myron cop
15:25
Speaker 2: came into His name was Reach Champ. He came into
15:27
Speaker 2: the office and said, Hey, Reach, I'm going to give
15:30
Speaker 2: you this towel. And Read's response was, oh, sure, thank you. Humorously,
15:36
Speaker 2: Oh it's okay, Myron, I have a lot of towels,
15:39
Speaker 2: and uh and you know it's okay, I have a
15:41
Speaker 2: lot of towels. He goes, no, no, I want to
15:43
Speaker 2: give you the Terrible towels. So at that point in time,
15:45
Speaker 2: those proceeds from that point forward then he was no.
15:49
Speaker 1: Preamble, there was no expectation. He just walked in and said,
15:53
Speaker 1: we're doing.
15:53
Speaker 2: That very unexpected. Yeah, and what a great gift it's been.
15:58
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. So the connection with the Terrible Towel and
16:06
Speaker 1: merri Key, sometimes it doesn't get explained. You know, we
16:12
Speaker 1: we know the association with the stealers and the Terrible Towel,
16:16
Speaker 1: but sometimes that connection between marri Key and the Terrible
16:20
Speaker 1: Towel probably gets lost sometimes.
16:23
Speaker 2: Yes, I think it does a little bit, you know,
16:26
Speaker 2: so we try to I appreciate being here today to
16:28
Speaker 2: be able to get that word out that people know
16:30
Speaker 2: when they go and buy that ten dollars towel that
16:34
Speaker 2: those proceeds the majority are coming to Merrikey Alleghany Valley
16:38
Speaker 2: School and learning more about the services we provide is
16:43
Speaker 2: always great exposure, you know, so that they know that
16:47
Speaker 2: in addition to the equipment that you can purchase with
16:51
Speaker 2: proceeds from that, it also gives a lot of opportunity
16:55
Speaker 2: for new and exciting programs, sensory programs, building repair, you know,
17:00
Speaker 2: anything like that that or go above and beyond the
17:04
Speaker 2: basic care needs that they're provided. That terrible towel helps
17:07
Speaker 2: to provide those funds and it's really a wonderful resource.
17:11
Speaker 1: Now Merrikey is the is the parent company? Is it
17:15
Speaker 1: outside of Pittsburgh.
17:17
Speaker 2: Yes, Merrickee actually is in twelve different states, and in
17:21
Speaker 2: addition to the IDD services, they also are large provider
17:25
Speaker 2: for children's services and behavioral health as well. They're in
17:28
Speaker 2: twelve states. Marricky Alleghany Valley School is in Pennsylvania. We're
17:33
Speaker 2: actually in nine counties in Pennsylvania, so we have Allegheny,
17:36
Speaker 2: Beaver Butler, Mercer County. Here in the west, in central
17:39
Speaker 2: we have Dauphin and Lebanon, and then in the east
17:42
Speaker 2: we have a large section two in Philadelphia bucks in
17:46
Speaker 2: Montgomery Counties.
17:49
Speaker 1: So yeah, you're just a small little organization.
17:51
Speaker 2: Correct.
17:53
Speaker 1: So does the do the other you know when you
17:58
Speaker 1: talk about Merricky, does the proceeds from the Terrible Tower
18:02
Speaker 1: go to Merriky or just.
18:04
Speaker 2: They come to Alleghany Valley School.
18:06
Speaker 1: So those funds stay here in the greater Pittsburgh area. Correct.
18:10
Speaker 1: That's amazing. Wow, what a great connection to Yes.
18:15
Speaker 5: Add and to add to that, any official, officially licensed merchandise,
18:21
Speaker 5: Terrible Towel merchandise does have a tag attached to it
18:25
Speaker 5: that says the proceeds benefit Mary Key Alleghany Valley School.
18:28
Speaker 5: And I believe it might have our website on it
18:30
Speaker 5: as well.
18:30
Speaker 1: You know what's funny is that, I'm sure you've seen
18:33
Speaker 1: it on social media where there's individuals all over the
18:36
Speaker 1: world that take pictures of the Terrible tow Where have
18:41
Speaker 1: you seen some of those some of those pictures from.
18:44
Speaker 5: Oh, it's everywhere space, right, I know that's right.
18:48
Speaker 2: Remember they've been in Ireland They've been everywhere.
18:51
Speaker 1: I took mine at chichen Itza in Mexico.
18:54
Speaker 2: Excellent.
18:55
Speaker 1: They're all over the world and it's funny to see
18:58
Speaker 1: pictures of the terrible pow a towel. And so not
19:01
Speaker 1: only are they, you know, supporting the Steelers and steal
19:05
Speaker 1: a nation, but Merricky as well.
19:06
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
19:07
Speaker 3: Can I just add that on a scuba diving trip
19:10
Speaker 3: to bonn Air, my family is about fifty feet under
19:14
Speaker 3: the water showing a terrible pole in the middle.
19:17
Speaker 1: Of the ocean. So yes, oh, okay, everywhere, So we're
19:21
Speaker 1: all crazy. Ah, I love that. Okay, all right, let's
19:26
Speaker 1: bring in the star of the show, Liz Humphrey. Thank
19:28
Speaker 1: you for joining me.
19:29
Speaker 6: Liz for having me.
19:31
Speaker 1: I mentioned that I was I was one of the
19:33
Speaker 1: guest speakers for a Mimor and Cope presentation and you
19:38
Speaker 1: were part of the you part of the program as well,
19:41
Speaker 1: and you're the you'r merri Key ambassador. What exactly do
19:45
Speaker 1: you do?
19:46
Speaker 6: What is that basically help spread the word about the
19:52
Speaker 6: Marky Avs and represent as an individual living in one
19:57
Speaker 6: of their many wonderful group hoems. And I also get
20:03
Speaker 6: invited to some pretty cool events and I just make
20:08
Speaker 6: sure I represent.
20:09
Speaker 1: All right, you told me you ran the place, you
20:11
Speaker 1: were in charge, You're you're the CEO.
20:14
Speaker 6: I wouldn't necessarily say that, but I do know, like
20:22
Speaker 6: how to run a show, you know how to.
20:24
Speaker 1: Run this show, all right? So let me ask you
20:27
Speaker 1: a couple of questions. What do you do as as
20:31
Speaker 1: when a Marikian ambassador? What exactly do you do.
20:34
Speaker 6: So basically as Amerricane ambassador. Sometimes I'll give speeches and
20:40
Speaker 6: I'll talk maybe about how Marquis has helped me live
20:46
Speaker 6: my life to the fullest and continuing to and other
20:50
Speaker 6: other individuals like friends of mine. And I also talk
20:56
Speaker 6: about I give thank you because of the many different
21:00
Speaker 6: facets that do donate to our school, and I talk
21:04
Speaker 6: about how much those donations do help and have helped
21:09
Speaker 6: my group home personally, and continuing to help all these
21:16
Speaker 6: group homes.
21:17
Speaker 1: Well, tell me what it's What is it like living
21:19
Speaker 1: with Marrikith?
21:23
Speaker 6: So living with mary qu is pretty cool. I was
21:27
Speaker 6: skeptical about moving into a group home in the Bacon.
21:31
Speaker 1: Now, how long have you been living in your group home?
21:33
Speaker 6: Well, this group home I've been living in because I
21:36
Speaker 6: switched group homes at some point twenty twenty three February
21:43
Speaker 6: is when I moved into my new group home. I
21:45
Speaker 6: lived in a group home and Hope Well equipa area
21:51
Speaker 6: and now I live in our group home in moon Township,
21:54
Speaker 6: Koyopolis and I live with two other ladies and I
22:00
Speaker 6: love it. We get to go out and have fun,
22:05
Speaker 6: go bowling, go to see movies, go to the library,
22:12
Speaker 6: go to some of these We've been going to a
22:15
Speaker 6: lot of these, like outdoor events that have been happening
22:18
Speaker 6: in Pittsburgh this summer, and we basically just enjoy and
22:27
Speaker 6: have a great time. And we also get the opportunity
22:32
Speaker 6: to get invited to all these places. And I also work.
22:38
Speaker 6: I have a job two days a week. I also
22:40
Speaker 6: have a new job.
22:41
Speaker 1: What do you do?
22:43
Speaker 6: So my current job is at one of the program
22:47
Speaker 6: centers called Kennedy Program Center, And basically what that is
22:52
Speaker 6: is a day program for the individuals in the care
22:58
Speaker 6: and they go and they do their program classes and stuff,
23:03
Speaker 6: and then I go and one day I help with
23:06
Speaker 6: social service. Social service is the case workers within ABS
23:13
Speaker 6: that we have, so and so I do office work
23:18
Speaker 6: for them because I'm a clerical aid. And then on
23:22
Speaker 6: Thursdays I work in social service. That's nuts sorry.
23:29
Speaker 1: And I was told that development And I was told
23:32
Speaker 1: you have a poem? And I said, oh, do you
23:34
Speaker 1: want me to print it out? And you said no,
23:36
Speaker 1: I haven't memorized. Yes, so you you you present this
23:40
Speaker 1: poem quite often. Then oh yeah, all right, let's hear
23:44
Speaker 1: your poem.
23:45
Speaker 6: Okay. So the title of my poem is I can't
23:49
Speaker 6: be put down. It's not about your disability. It's about
23:53
Speaker 6: your ability. It's not about what you can't do. It's
23:57
Speaker 6: about what you can do. You might think something it
24:00
Speaker 6: is hard when it is actually very easy. Some people
24:04
Speaker 6: might say you can't do that, that's too hard for you.
24:08
Speaker 6: Don't want them tell you that. They're just bringing you down.
24:11
Speaker 6: But you can bring yourself up by showing them you can.
24:15
Speaker 6: You can do anything you put your mind to. But
24:18
Speaker 6: you have to believe in yourself. And when someone says
24:20
Speaker 6: you can't, say yes, I can't thank you.
24:25
Speaker 1: So what prompted you to write that poem?
24:28
Speaker 6: So a couple of years ago, I believe it was
24:35
Speaker 6: mayr ky Or it was another it was called something
24:40
Speaker 6: else at the time.
24:41
Speaker 2: By Northwestern Human Services.
24:43
Speaker 6: But Mayor yeah, but Marrick. Anyway, they had a poetry
24:47
Speaker 6: contest and they were asking individuals from all of the
24:52
Speaker 6: different areas to enter, and so from me, I didn't
25:01
Speaker 6: even think about it, like when they immediately told me,
25:05
Speaker 6: I just went ahead and wrote it. And I never
25:09
Speaker 6: realized that it was going to be this big thing.
25:13
Speaker 1: Did you win? I did not win?
25:16
Speaker 6: Why that is okay with me because my poem, at
25:21
Speaker 6: least within our walls of avs and mary Kee seem
25:26
Speaker 6: it seems to resonate pretty well with everybody, and it's
25:31
Speaker 6: just this like big thing and I love it.
25:34
Speaker 1: Well, You're an amazing ambassador.
25:35
Speaker 6: Thank you.
25:36
Speaker 2: So I just wanted to add to Johnny that we
25:38
Speaker 2: have very large consumer advocacy groups within Merriky Alleganny Valley School,
25:43
Speaker 2: actually within all of Marriki across the company, and that's
25:47
Speaker 2: an opportunity where the individuals are meeting actually every month
25:51
Speaker 2: with kind of people who helped facilitate the meetings. But
25:54
Speaker 2: it's talking about how can we improve our services, what
25:57
Speaker 2: are things that we want to improve upon, things that
26:01
Speaker 2: we need corrected, and and these are these are formalized meetings.
26:07
Speaker 2: There's notes, there's feedback, there's an expectation that we as
26:10
Speaker 2: the executives, get back to this group and and and
26:14
Speaker 2: you know, with a response and how we would like
26:17
Speaker 2: to address what their concerns are or do more of
26:20
Speaker 2: what we're doing well. And that's a big emphasis for
26:24
Speaker 2: Merriki and Marky Allegheny Valley School. So Liz actually is
26:28
Speaker 2: is someone who really is a very strong advocate for
26:32
Speaker 2: her peers and the folks living with us. And and remember,
26:37
Speaker 2: you know we're we have large campuses, but we also
26:40
Speaker 2: are throughout all of these communities in these smaller group homes.
26:44
Speaker 2: So really it's a lot of voices to be listened
26:47
Speaker 2: to and a lot of different dynamics.
26:49
Speaker 1: And Liz, you have something else you want to add?
26:52
Speaker 6: Yes, I also wanted to mention that I do a
26:57
Speaker 6: training in the orientation for the new hires, Okay, and
27:03
Speaker 6: it's an orientation to let them know, Hey, i might
27:07
Speaker 6: be an individual living in a group home, but I'm
27:10
Speaker 6: more than just an individual, and I want to be
27:13
Speaker 6: treated as an adult, just like everyone else wants to
27:17
Speaker 6: be treated as an adult. You know, we want to
27:20
Speaker 6: do some things that everyone else wants to do, you know,
27:24
Speaker 6: like instance, maybe go to the bar and have a drink,
27:29
Speaker 6: a little normal adult things. You know, we want to
27:32
Speaker 6: be treated. We're not children, and we want to be
27:35
Speaker 6: treated like the human beings we are.
27:38
Speaker 1: You're amazing. We only have a couple of minutes left, Ronnie,
27:42
Speaker 1: is there anything that we left out that you want
27:44
Speaker 1: to address?
27:46
Speaker 2: I just wanted to just make sure that people are aware.
27:49
Speaker 2: Your listeners are aware that we provide PTOT communication therapies,
27:54
Speaker 2: vocational training services, memory care, sensory and environmental program All
28:01
Speaker 2: of these are items that help to enhance the lives
28:04
Speaker 2: of the individuals. And we have the opportunity for career
28:09
Speaker 2: growth here within Merriky Alleghany Valley School. No matter where
28:12
Speaker 2: you start, there's opportunities for advancements. So we would just
28:16
Speaker 2: really encourage people to go to our website at Merriky
28:20
Speaker 2: Alleghany Valley School and look at our careers page see
28:24
Speaker 2: how you can join us.
28:25
Speaker 1: It's amazing. Ronnie, Carol, Amy, Liz, thank you so much. Everybody.
28:28
Speaker 6: Thank you.
28:31
Speaker 1: We're gonna leave you with this. If you would like
28:33
Speaker 1: to donate to support Merrikee AVS mission, please go to
28:37
Speaker 1: AVS dot Marrikey dot org slash donate. That's AVS dot
28:43
Speaker 1: Merrikey dot org slash donate. Once again, everybody, thank you
28:46
Speaker 1: for joining us. This morning.
28:48
Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
28:50
Speaker 1: As always, if you have any comments, concerns, or an
28:53
Speaker 1: idea for our future program, please email us from this
28:56
Speaker 1: radio station's website. I'm Johnny Heartwell, thank you so much
28:59
Speaker 1: for listening.
29:18
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