A collection of newsletters, press releases, and media coverage.
Families of people with disabilities are pleading with Gov. Tom Wolf and the legislature to help. They are asking them to work together to raise the wages of the DSPs.
Nancy Murray, Senior Vice President of Achieva, says Pennsylvania is facing a dire shortage of direct support professionals to help those families in need. "You know, it's just awful. That's really the best word I can use to describe it. These families are becoming more, and more desperate.
Repeated underfunding has resulted in community disability programs being unable to recruit a workforce of direct support professionals (DSPs) to support people with disabilities in their homes, at their jobs, and in their communities.
Now we have families who finally got the funding for the services they need, and we can't provide them with those services because we can't recruit and retain staff," said Nancy Murray, senior vice president of Achieva, a disability services provider in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is facing a dire shortage of direct support professionals who help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities bathe, get dressed, eat, exercise, socialize, and perform many other fundamental tasks.
A staffing shortage has left people with intellectual disabilities without essential services and their families without desperately needed help.
The Pennsylvania Capital-Star published an op-ed prepared and signed by 17 statewide CEOs and leaders (including Achieva's President and CEO, Stephen Suroviec) in the disability community calling on Governor Wolf and the PA General Assembly to take action.
As we continue with our preparations for celebrating the holiday season, I want to take a look back at 2021 before we close the door on it and welcome in 2022.
On December 13th at 6 p.m., Achieva will host its annual Awards of Excellence during a livestream event, available for all to enjoy at www.achieva.info/aoe2021.
The state's plan for the money focuses on increasing access to home and community-based services and staffing for those services. Addressing staff recruitment and retention is key, said Nancy Murray, president of the Arc of Greater Pittsburgh and senior vice president at Achieva.
Ms. Kambic, who has Down syndrome, also developed an original pictographic written language. She uses it to title and explain her art, which spans the mediums of fiber, mixed media painting and sculpture — a "pretty rare" mixture of abilities for any artist.
Every year, Achieva holds its "Awards of Excellence" event to recognize citizens and organizations that are extraordinary, or have done or achieved extraordinary things, when it comes to helping people with disabilities lead lives of personal significance.
Achieva is pleased to welcome two new executives, LaToya Warren, MPA, MSW and Kurt R. Emmerling, M.Ed, NCC, LPC
People with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income and other Social Security benefits are set to see the biggest rise in their monthly payments since 1982. The change is the result of an automatic cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, which is tied to inflation.
Achieva, along with other members of the Provider Alliance (TPA), is fervently advocating for the funding needed to ensure people with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism (ID/A) can receive necessary services. TPA urges Governor Wolf and the General Assembly to use the funding available from...
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Achieva is known to many as a "go-to" organization when it comes to disability employment. If you're a person with a disability, you can get assistance by either contacting Achieva directly or working with someone from one of several...
Latrobe Bulletin (Editorial by Nancy Murray, President, The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh)
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys has designated October as "National Special Needs Law Month." In honor of National Special Needs Law Month, Achieva Family Trust would like to take this opportunity to remind readers of the importance of future planning for individuals with disabilities.
As the economy continues to reemerge from the pandemic, many employers say they are having a hard time hiring enough workers for all their open positions. But one sector was already facing major staffing shortages prior to the coronavirus - providers for home and community-based services for...
WESA FM (Nancy Murray, president of The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh and senior vice president at Achieva is quoted)
Staffing Crisis Impacting CareDisability advocates are sounding the alarm over the funding and staffing crisis impacting care. They say the problem is so severe that the system risks an eventual collapse unless the state government takes immediate action.
Thank You Achieva DSPsEvery day, Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) impact the lives of the people they support. During Direct Support Professional Recognition Week (September 12-18, 2021), Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) providers across the nation are given the opportunity to...
Public Source (Lu Randall, executive director, Autism Connection of PA is quoted)
The end of August is a time when young people are heading back to college, moving into their dorms or off-campus apartments, and getting ready to participate in all that a college experience has to offer. In recent years, a movement to create college-based programs for adults with intellectual...
