Our Mission

Gerry Beagles • March 1, 2023

Advancing lives of connection, contribution, and meaning for persons with developmental disabilities and the individuals that support them.

– Garden Center Services Mission Statement

It’s been thirty-six years since President  Reagan recognized March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month to increase “public awareness of the needs and the potential of Americans with developmental disabilities” and to provide the “encouragement and opportunities they need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential.” Though there have been strides made over the last three and a half decades, individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities continue their struggle to live their lives with the same access to those experiences and prospects that we all expect. 

I am very pleased with our agency’s mission statement because I believe it identifies those desires that we all share in hoping that our time on this planet will make a difference; we all want to have connections, we want to believe that we have made contributions, and we need our lives to have meaning! This is the life we want for each of our participants and for every one of our employees as well. I guess the dream would be that at some point in the future we won’t need a special month dedicated to disability awareness.

To make this happen however, takes a certain amount of resources, and until just the last few years the state of Illinois lagged far behind in authorizing the revenue necessary to implement creative, flexible, quality supports for the persons we serve. Even with the increases of the past few years we are still playing catch up. In today’s economy with its workforce crisis that many health service providers are experiencing, it’s imperative that we are able to offer our staff a decent living wage! Why is it that our state still has too many developmental centers that they operate where the annual cost of serving an individual approaches $400,000! To serve that same individual in one of our settings we would be paid approximately 80 to 90,000 dollars. So when you receive notice from us asking that you contact your legislators, please do so. It’s really true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

I would like to share some incredibly good news with you. Just this last Friday the Illinois Housing Development Authority awarded Garden Center Services the funding necessary to move forward with our plans to develop a much needed 16 unit Permanent Supportive Housing apartment building that will provide adults with disabilities the opportunity to lease their own home. “Garden Apartments” will not be like our other group living alternatives as it is targeted for those individuals that can live independently with just minimal assistance. I am very proud that our agency’s application was approved for funding as this is a statement about Garden Center’s financial stability and the constancy of our adherence to all the state’s rules and regulations. I am very grateful to our Board of Directors for their support of this initiative and to all the staff that assisted with the application process. Doing everything we can to assist all persons with disabilities is the true spirit of Garden Center Services!

In closing, I want to wish each of you a joyful Easter and sun-kissed Spring!

Other Articles

I Still Have Passion for This Work

By Gerry Beagles • May 14, 2025
Little did I know, on May 2nd, 2003, that I would be undertaking the role as Director of Garden Center Services that I am blessed enough to still be fulfilling today! Some of you probably remember that at the time I came on board, the name of our agency was Garden Center for the Handicapped. Changing the wording was easy; changing the approach to how the individuals we support are emboldened to make their own choices and create their own lives has been exhilarating and extremely hard work. There are many reasons that my passion for this work hasn’t waned but let me just share a few with you. First and foremost, it is the people we serve. I have spoken frequently, especially when spending time with new employees, about the tangible benefit that comes with working in this field; interacting with caring, curious, resilient adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, who are the most unpretentious people you could ever spend time with. Next, if you are lucky, you end up working side-by-side with so many compassionate, committed employees that are like-minded and spirited in their desire to raise up the individuals we support and help them to have the lives they deserve. At Garden Center Services I have often felt the line between fellow staff members and chosen family gets quite blurry. Lastly, it is an incredible opportunity to be working in the disability services area during a time of change, when individuals are being empowered to learn and use their own voices, to advocate for themselves, and to make choices such as where do they want to live, who do they want to live with, how do they want to spend their days, …etc. I want to express a deep appreciation for the families, parents & guardians, friends, and the local business community that have been exceptionally supportive of the direction that we have taken the agency. Change can be difficult, and that’s why I am so thankful for the open-mindedness, trust, and respect that I have experienced as the Executive Director. We have a very committed, involved group of individuals that serve on the agency’s Board of Directors. They give up their time, energy, and often their resources to ensure that Garden Center is following through on our commitment to the people we serve. I want to express my gratitude to three members of the board that stepped down after serving 2 three-year terms. Ms. Donna Blair, Mr. Tony DiMiele, and Ms. Ava Rhodes-Smith. Their guidance has been invaluable over the last six years! Let me also introduce the four new people that have just joined the board. Ms. Kate Akin, Mr. John Considine, Ms. Kari Riordan, and Ms. Jenny Wojcik. You will learn more about them in the coming newsletters. A Happy Spring to All, Gerry

Response to US Health Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s, April 16th Briefing on Autism

By Gerry Beagles • April 17, 2025
Any of you that listened to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s remarks yesterday about the “autism epidemic” would have spent your time more intelligently if you had watched an episode of the Three Stooges. Kennedy referred to autism as a ‘disease’, versus a developmental disability, and stressed how it destroys families and greatly limits the contributions that persons with this neurological condition can make to society. What a bunch of hogwash! There are many individuals dealing with autism that are living contented, productive lives filled with connection, contribution, and meaning. There are people in the arts, playing sports, employed, paying taxes, enjoying loving relationships, and certainly sitting on the damn toilet! The Secretary’s message is just more misinformation and simply reinforces the stigmatization that holds individuals with an autism diagnosis down and keeps so many in our country from experiencing the gifts and positive impacts that they share.  Please join us and the many advocates supporting persons with neurological differences in seeking a future for these incredible, courageous individuals, where they are suitably championed to create and enjoy the lives they deserve!

Elation to Anxiety

By Gerry Beagles • March 3, 2025
The joy and happiness of inclusiveness and acceptance were all around us, fanned by the heavy beat of 70’s rock music being played by the volunteer DJ. It was our agency’s Valentine’s dance, hosted by the varsity baseball team over at St. Laurence High School, and both the individuals we support, and the student-athletes were having a blast. One of the major changes I have personally experienced over the last 50 plus years around services to persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities has been the movement to see all of us as people first, realizing that it is all the marvelous differences that brings life its’ juiciness! I was very impressed with the welcoming spirit of the baseball team and their strong determination to ensure that our folks would have a terrific time. The entire coaching staff, led by head coach Pete Lotus, demonstrated true leadership as they jumped in and enjoyed the party as well. Whatever the baseball teams’ record is at the end of the season, the Valentine party was a huge W! Sadly, it only took a few days for the elation we had experienced from the dance to change into stress and anxiety due to statements and actions taken by President Trump and those that seem to be blindly following his agenda. Initially, it was the attempt to stop Federal funding that was a threat to the continuation of our services which caused intense fear and worry with many of our parents, guardians, and families. There was a short reprieve as that executive order was rescinded, only to be followed by the next gut punch in the form of a bill that would cut $880 billion in Medicaid funding, which is the main source of financial backing for disability services in Illinois and throughout the country. It has become the highest priority for all of us to communicate to state and U.S. legislators the unfathomable negative ramifications of this bill becoming law! Some of my colleagues and I are traveling to Washington D.C. next week to share our collective stories with as many congresspeople as possible. Inside the March/April special issue of The Leaflet are some heartfelt reflections by persons whose lives are uplifted daily by the services we provide. I hope you will take a few minutes to reflect on the stories they share. May you be safe, and LOUD!
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