Above / In late February, folks at Little Friends, Inc., were preparing for the 48th Annual Gala Auction, commemorating the first 60 years of the nonprofit organization founded in Naperville and now located in an expansive facility at 27555 Diehl Road in Warrenville, Illinois. (PN Photo)
I am pleased to share that assuming all goes well with the processing of paperwork at the State of Illinois, by the end of March the Illinois Independent Living Center (IILC) located on Iroquois Avenue in Naperville will be merging with Little Friends, Inc. headquartered in Warrenville.
The plans to combine the IILC into Little Friends has been in discussion for nearly the past year and recently the formal merger was approved by both Boards of Directors.
With this change, the IILC will become the 7th program under the corporate umbrella of Little Friends.
For those unfamiliar with the work of the IILC, this is an organization that has 32 apartments that have been focused on providing housing and living support for individuals with physical challenges and disabilities. All the work that has been performed by the IILC team will continue, as all the employees of the IILC will be joining the Little Friends team once the merger is finalized by the State. Transition work is underway, and we are excited about what lies ahead working together to help support a wonderful organization.
Normally in my monthly column I try to share interesting information about positive things that are happening in the sector that we serve. Often, I try to write about things that we’re doing or paying attention to as a business. As I write this column at the end of February, I can’t help but spend a moment acknowledging things that are happening with our federal budget and what could play out in the time ahead with Medicaid funding. For those unaware, 50% of the Medicaid funding in the State of Illinois comes from a federal match program. This is why paying attention to what is happening in Washington has some priority.
By no means am I intending to be political related to whom is doing what. What has my attention is the potential to see a reduction in Medicaid funding that could translate into a partial loss of resources for many of the children and adults we serve challenged with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities and Autism.
I don’t believe that many of us would be upset if those who are “defrauding the system” and truly not due access to benefits were to lose that access. However, there is a great deal of “angst” in our service community because of the fear that monies that go to support individuals we care for could lose access to their benefits. It is interesting to watch this unfolding as information is shared.
I honestly hope the current fears are unfounded and common sense prevails related to providing services to those who truly need it. Yet, the prospect of reduced Medicaid funding has the attention of all social service providers. My take as we move forward is that we will deal with this just like we dealt with COVID. We listened and we figured it out. It may become a new hurdle for us and others to overcome.
There is an old saying that says “Things always pass. Sometimes it can be as painful as a kidney stone, but it too shall pass!”
Let’s hope what lies ahead is better than this!
