Cape Abilities has helped provide services, jobs, and homes to individuals with disabilities for 54 years.
The nonprofit is part of the Cape Cod Disability Network, whose staff is paid about $16 per hour.
Advocates say they’re losing workers because that rate is too low. As a result, Cape Abilities will close its Eastham center and consolidate services at its Mid-Cape headquarters.
Kim McElholm became president and CEO in November. She spoke with CAI's Patrick Flanary about her push at the state level for a pay raise for workers.
Patrick Flanary: You've been president and CEO for five months. I understand Cape Abilities will close its Eastham center due to lack of staffing. What's the immediate impact, and how does this affect your vision for the organization?
Kim McElholm, president and CEO, Cape Abilities: Even before COVID we were struggling with staffing. It's very expensive to live here. So now that we're ready to open the doors and bring back people, we can't find the staff in that area to do that. So unfortunately we're closing the site but we are able to move those services to our Hyannis Day Program site, so really just consolidating our services.
PF: What does that consolidation immediately mean for families on the Outer Cape getting to work in Hyannis?
KM: Their loved one will be in a van for a longer distance. But what is good is that, in Hyannis, there are a lot of great opportunities and options for community involvement, so we do see a lot of benefit.
PF: You're advocating for the state to provide better pay for staff. What's at risk if that pay is not increased?
KM: The state rate of $16.79 [hourly] is not high enough. So our advocacy effort [with State Sen. Julian Cyr] has been to increase the rate for direct-support professionals to $20. But then this rate needs to increase every year. This needs to be a line item in the budget so that people can have a livable rate doing what they love.
PF: Tell us more about the people you are supporting.
KM: What's so amazing about our agency is that you can live independently — we have 15 residential homes across Cape Cod — and then you have choice. It's all about person-centered services: what are you interested in doing, what are your goals, what can we do for you to make Cape Cod a place that we love to live in?
PF: And we've seen the workforce culture shift dramatically over the last two years during Covid.
KM: There's a bit of demand now, and this is when we have an opportunity to say, "We can work with you, and we can fulfill your needs."
PF: What can our listeners do to help today?
KM: We have over 100 volunteers right now, and they are so essential to our programs. We also have a program called Adopt a Home. We just want to be a part of our community and would love for you to be a part of ours.
