February 7th, 2022
In case you're wondering what day it is--
according to nationaldaycalendar.com it might be:
Apparently Matt lost a bet with Monica and that explains the hat?
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Past newsletters with pictures are on our website at: www.CLIsupports.com
John's usual--

That was some weather! Full-disclosure, I took so much guilty pleasure in being stuck inside my house, feeding logs into a fire for two days last week, even though I'm trying to move houses & CLI only earns money when we provide a service. Snow days are terrible for our bottom line. For those of you who have to listen to me very often, you know that I'm always talking about money in regards to CLI operations. Pre-COVID, CLI mostly broke even with super-skinny margins. 2020 we threw money out of every window as fast as we could. If it weren't for an emergency DODD 2 week advance payment in March of 2020, 2 Medicaid Provider CARES Act distributions, and 2 rounds of PPP loans-- CLI would have gone out of business already.

Thanks to the fore-mentioned public assistance, CLI was able continue services during the pandemic up until now. However, we're in 2022 and CLI isn't quite yet breaking even on an annual basis. This becomes really, really clear right about now, when I work on the January books. Because of the thanksgiving, christmas & new year breaks, CLI has significant gaps of income from November & December. January & February are so-so, depending on the weather. CLI is a non-profit of course, but we need to be able to keep up with rising costs-- and we have a pretty long list of things we'd like to do with any extra money we can lay our hands on.

A number of CLI clients have requested more days of service per week-- and HCBDD has been upfront with their concerns regarding individual budget caps-- so starting in February, CLI will be offering a little bit more of a blend of small-group and large group services. We still intend to locate all services in the community. Going back to the workshop is just no longer possible. Ohio re-wrote it's laws more than 8 years ago. Segregated services are not a legal option anymore. But-- we're going to try a few new tricks to help people stretch their budgets to get as much CLI service as possible. We're also going to work on some new opportunities for people to meet up with friends that they haven't seen much over the last 2 years. Honestly, what people tell us they miss most about not being able to attend the workshop is just the opportunity to hang out with groups of friends. We have to figure out how to rebuild that niche somehow.

Bear with us as we shift a little (yet again) toward progress. Your ISP process is more important than ever. I know that people tend to look nostalgically back at the way things were-- and it was easier to just trust that the large-group workshop program would be fun enough, productive enough, good enough. The hardest part about now is that there isn't a ready default. We want to help each of our clients sort out what they want, and then we/CLI needs to help build that. Nobody else is going to do it. That's true whether we're talking about my concerns that CLI has a sustainable business model-- and it's true for each CLI client in terms of building their ISP so that it accomplishes the outcomes, the supports that you want. Like it or not, the ready-made default is kaput.

Hang in there (and wash your hands-- I mean, it can't hurt, right?).
John
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

-- Theodore Roosevelt
FAQ of the week:

Q: Why don't you use the name "Christie Lane Industries" anymore?


A: The short answer is that people get confused.

But-- here's the long story. CLI does stand for "christie lane industries". However, this name came from "Christie Lane School," which was started by the Huron County Board of Developmental Disabilities (HCBDD) sometime around 1972. Back in those days, most people with DD didn't have the opportunity to work in the community, but they still had to graduate from school no later than age 22. HCBDD started the workshop to give people a place to go everyday and help them earn a little money. CLI Incorporated was formed initially so that HCBDD had a way for people with DD to get paid without having to figure out how to get them on the County's payroll. But for the next 40+ years, CLI did business as "Christie Lane Industries". People attended Christie Lane School, graduated and started working at Christie Lane Industries.

Fast-forward today and HCBDD isn't allowed to provide direct service anymore, but the name "Christie Lane" is more well-known than "the Huron County Board of DD" AND HCBDD still operates "Christie Lane School" for some kids with a DD that choose that option. Meanwhile, CLI is no longer a part of the county-run programs, but people still call HCBDD when they want CLI & we still get HCBDD's mail sometimes. Also, as a small non-profit business with fairly big ambitions-- CLI needs to grab and/or save every penny we can. This means that CLI has held many fundraisers that HCBDD didn't officially approve-- and we've bought 3 Nissan vans because they were $5k cheaper at the time than the Fords. But, when people are upset at something that CLI is doing, they often call the superintendent of HCBDD. This isn't fair. Also, it's worrisome because CLI bills the state of Ohio for all of our provider services and 40% of what Ohio pays us they collect from HCBDD, which gets its money from local tax levies. HCBDD is very cautious about public opinion.

So, to wrap it all up, CLI agreed to stop marketing itself as "christie lane industries" except when explaining the history. This really is better for both agencies. It is better for CLI because we need the opportunity to grow beyond where we came from. If we're going to survive as a viable business that helps people for another 40 years, then we have to find new ways of making more money AND the people we help need to be seen as themselves first, and our clients way later if at all. Most people in Huron County think they know all about "christie lane". CLI, not so much. From a CLI client perspective, that's ok. We are all more than simply where we come from.
Firelands Local LLC
James Johnson james@firelandslocal.com 419-921-6400
Good Works Cafe
CLI's Good Works Cafe offers a free community lunch every Friday afternoon at the Norwalk Reservoir Clubhouse. Thanks to the generous donations (money & food), CLI is able to take care of our neighbors and also get some real life restaurant and customer service job training.

If you'd like to learn more or donate--

please contact Rhonda White by phone at
419-706-5136

-- or by email at Rhonda@CLIsupports.com
Videos of the week-- got one you'd like to share? Send it in!