2019 Annual Report
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Fellow Members and Friends of the Bittersweet Community,
Hello and Happy Spring!
The past year was another busy and successful one at Bittersweet Farms, propelling us into 2020 and the decade ahead with purpose, confidence, and excitement. As we move forward, we continue in our determination to learn and grow through our experiences together, and as individuals, better preparing us for whatever we may encounter on the road ahead.
Our persistent focus is squarely aimed on providing quality, person-centered supports to the participants in our programs. This directly corresponds to our ongoing efforts to recruit, retain, and develop talented and dedicated staff, to monitor and refine our organizational health and practices, and to engage creatively with community partners and collaborators. Our success with these initiatives, and our efforts at large, relies upon critical financial support from the community, which we are so very fortunate and thankful to receive.
Bittersweet Farms continues to achieve its goals year after year. Highlights of our achievements as an organization in 2019 include:
After working constructively with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) for the past 5 years in response to “heightened scrutiny” from the Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS) based upon our rural setting and physical layout, we received final approval that our waiver settings meet the full requirements of “community-based” services, effectively ending this period of intensive oversight.
Because of increased program funding from the state, as well as the generous financial support of our donors, we were able to make further investments in our workforce through expanded initiatives of engagement, recognition, training, and compensation, and we were able to increase our starting wages for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) across all programs.
We received three new accessible vans, awarded by the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) and the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Government (TMACOG) through a state funded grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
We completed the final phase of the Market at Bittersweet Gardens project and continued organizational planning in anticipation of our official grand opening in May of 2020. This project also includes dedicated office spaces for our day program leadership team, bringing them closer to day-to-day operations.
We had the fortunate opportunity to collaborate with a number of community partners throughout the year, including two local Target stores to hold our second “Sensory Friendly Shopping Day” in November, which was open to the autism community at large.
As we progress as an organization in 2020, we are inspired and driven by the learning and growth we see with our participants each day. We celebrate all of their successes, and are mindful that this is a process that relies upon trusting relationships, individualized support, and positively channeling any difficulties we encounter to better inform our efforts as we try again. With this, we understand that our journey of learning and growing is everlasting, and we look with eager anticipation to what the future has in store for Bittersweet, and the participants we are lucky enough to work with and for.
As always, I thank you for your tireless dedication, teamwork, and all of your dynamic support in helping us accomplish our mission to positively impact individuals with autism, and those whose lives they touch.
Sincerely,
Dustin Wakins
Executive Director
