At Nevins and Associates, we are proud to be working with a variety of clients that are making a positive impact in the face of challenging circumstances. Earlier this week, President & CEO David Nevins spoke with Terry Blackwell, President & CEO of Chimes, a nonprofit organization that serves more than 26,000 people with developmental disabilities throughout the mid-Atlantic. Below is a condensed version of their conversation.

David Nevins: The work Chimes does is challenging under normal circumstances, how has COVID-19 impacted your organization?

Terry Blackwell: While the world changed significantly in the last 60 days, the needs of the vulnerable segments of the population we serve have not. Our team remains nimble in providing services to the people living in our 119 residential homes across the region. We are keeping our residents safe by sheltering in place, encouraging lots of handwashing and the use of masks and PPE.

Unfortunately, Chimes School in Baltimore and our many day programs, including job training and placement, are closed in response to state and federal orders, but we are making every effort to have those programs ready to reopen in a safe manner. We are also taking innovative approaches using telehealth to provide mental health and substance abuse counseling to our clients.

DN: What are some specific challenges your team is facing?

TB: When you care for a person with disabilities, particularly a person with mobility issues, there is no such thing as social distancing. Lifting someone into and out of a bed, helping them with personal hygiene or feeding them, all require you to be up close and personal. In addition, many people we serve do not handle changes in routine well. They are used to going to a job, or day program or even an outing to a park or mall. When that is taken away from them, there is disappointment and it can even lead to behavioral outbursts or cause them to withdraw.

Our direct service professionals (DSPs) are frontline workers and are serving heroically in the face of difficult circumstances. Beyond caring for people on the job at Chimes, they have their own challenges at home, including schools being closed. Many of our DSPs’ support systems have been taken away and they need help.

DN: Those are things most people might not consider when thinking about the impact of COVID-19. How can people support Chimes?

TB: There was no way to plan or budget for this, so we set up theChimes Frontline Fundto provide help to our DSPs, who are typically low wage earners. Chimes Foundation will match all donations up to $100,000 and will use those dollars to increase pay to working DSPs, help other DSPs who work for programs that are closed, and buy additional medical supplies for our homes and comfort items such as special foods and games for our residents. The response has been great so far, but we need more support.

DN: While some Chimes programs are closed, many remain open, including the contract work Chimes does to provide cleaning services while providing job opportunities for people with disabilities.

TB: We have 250+ workers at BWI Airport that are working around the clock to keep the 1 million square foot terminal clean, safe, and operational. We also have teams working at the Pentagon and Fallon Federal Complex among others. We were excited to have our team featured on Fox 45 for the work they are doing.

DN: Thanks for the insights Terry and best wishes to you and Chimes.

TB: Thank you for the opportunity to share information about Chimes, the people we serve, and our amazing team.