- Welcome to "Inland Edition", where this season we're having conversations with people who represent nonprofit organizations working to make the Inland Empire a better place.

My name's Joe Richardson.

I'm a local attorney, Inland Empire resident, and your host.

And today, we're going to chat with Shawn Prokopec, the CEO of Anthesis.

In 1966, a group of parents came together and created a workshop where their disabled children becoming adults could share comradery, educational achievement, and the dignity of participation in the workforce.

This became the organization and thesis and they support independent and inclusive lives for individuals with disabilities through employment and community integration.

Born and raised in a small town in Minnesota, Shawn Prokopec graduated from UCLA with a master's in clinical psychology.

She went on to work with the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services for nearly 20 years, investigating child abuse.

In her current role as CEO of Anthesis, she oversees 105 employees serving over 350 adults with intellectual and developmental disorders working to help them achieve their dreams.

Let's meet her now and learn more about how Anthesis is affecting our community.

[soft piano music] ♪ [gentle upbeat music] ♪ ♪ ♪ - [Joe] So, I'm happy to welcome from Anthesis, the CEO!

We got the head honcho, here.

Shawn Prokopec, thank you for being here.

- Thank you for having me, Joe!

- Okay, so my wife already loves you because you're from Minnesota, (she laughs) so we do that.

And so, we had take that.

Took care of that, honey!

Okay.

Let's start off with building a house a little bit in terms of kind of your background and how you would wind up connected with this great organization.

- Sure.

Well, I grew up in Minnesota.

I've known since my teenage years I wanted to be in a profession where I helped people.

It was help children.

So, I spent 20 years with Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

- Wow.

- Doing social work.

Left there after 20 years and decided to go into nonprofit.

Still continued to work with foster youth.

And then, ended up venturing into a little bit depth-- more depth of services, working with children in nonpublic schools all the way to adults with disabilities.

- Wow.

- And, really fell in love with that community of adults.

- Wow.

So, tell us about what Anthesis does.

- So, Anthesis works with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Common would be autism, Down syndrome, adults with limited intellectual functioning.

We work with adults from 18 to... 92 is our oldest person.

- [Joe] Wow!

- [Shawn] Ensuring that we provide opportunities to support them for independent and inclusive lives through community integration and through employment.

- So, where do your clients come from?

- Our clients primarily come from the Inland Regional Center.

Or, San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center.

And, also from Department of Rehabilitation.

So, they are adults who have finished high school, many of them on the special education track.

And, when they transition out at 22, they're looking for something to do.

Some are just wanting to be in the community, going to museums, experiencing life as you and I do.

And, some have the aspirations of working and holding down a full-time job.

And then, we have-- our senior citizens have been in a program like this for many years.

We have people who have been in our program 30 years.

- Wow.

- So, as they age, their parents are gone, obviously.

And so, they're living in group homes.

And so, there is a push to make sure that they're in the community and they're not sitting on a couch watching TV.

And, we know with Alzheimer and dementia, all those studies say being active and out in the community and keeping your mind working helps, you know, not alleviate, but prevent some of those diseases that we see in our community.

So, that's our goal; to keep them active.

- Wow, that's incredible.

I have something here that's mission related, and I want you to talk about this.

- Okay.

- Softball?

Easy!

Something that you look like you're living, (she laughs) but it was just so profound.

I just, "Wait!

Let me grab this."

(reads) "Our philosophy is simple, yet profound.

"Every individual possesses untapped potential and the right to an independent, fulfilling life."

- Mm hm.

- "To bring this vision to life, "we collaborate with local businesses, "creating job opportunities "that are more than just employment.

"They're stepping stones towards independence and self-development."

- Right.

- Wow.

Where do these-?

How do you find the employers, the right employers?

And, is it certain kinds of professions and those types of things?

- So, it's a lot of community outreach and speaking to employers.

We have people that are maintenance and the cleaning at Western University, getting the campus beautified before students come.

- Sure.

- And, we have people working aerospace, doing packaging.

And then, you'll see us all over retail: Marshalls, Home Depot, Albertsons, Smart & Final.

So, there's a gamut of what they do.

We work City of Chino Hills, Montclair PD.

So, we work in a variety of businesses and it's really our work of our two job developers and my director of employment to be out meeting with employers.

And, talking about the benefit of hiring someone with a disability.

- Even though you've just been at Anthesis for a couple of years, you've been in this space for a long time.

Tell me what COVID did (she chuckles) and how those challenges intensified the already existent and significant challenges for adults with disabilities.

- Really for this population, adults with disabilities, COVID was a blessing.

- Really?

- Because when neurotypical people didn't want to work, were afraid of work, their kids were home doing online schooling- so going to work every day was difficult- our employers had to look to another option for filling their positions.

- Wow!

Okay.

- So, they opened their mind to the possibility of hiring someone with a disability.

And, in our program, these adults come with a job coach.

So, they have a job coach who's learning the job as they do so that they can supervise them and train them without pulling from the support of the-- Or, the-?

You know, the employee base of the agency.

So, they have that one-on-one person to really help teach them the job until they become comfortable to interact with their colleagues and their supervisor and get that assistance.

- Wow.

- And so, a lot of businesses that had no idea about this population and the benefit of hiring them?

There are tax breaks to hiring people with disabilities.

And, there are cultural changes.

If you speak to any of our employers, they will tell you their culture within their workforce changed because our people wanna work.

They come to work with a smile on their face every day.

It's hard to get them to take vacation because their job is their lifeline.

They wanna be there.

They wanna be part of the community.

They wanna be just like you and I.

And so, when the other employees come to work, it changes.

They become happy to come to work 'cause they see how happy they are to be at work.

- You've been there two years now, so you got-- - Almost!

Almost two years.

- You know just enough to be dangerous, right?

(she laughs) Tell us about the biggest surprises that you've come across and the things that have been according to expectation, if there is some such a thing.

What's been a surprise, and what hasn't been?

- I think a surprise for me is just the level of, for one, the level of people working and wanting to work, and how excited everyone is to see the growth and the opportunities within our program at Anthesis.

Seeing people starting one program and realize, "Oh, I'm capable to go volunteer.

I'm capable to work."

And so, seeing that growth and seeing people move through the program has been really exciting.

And, to see our local community in the Inland Empire really embrace that has really been exciting.

Because, to see them achieve their goal of obtaining a paycheck and making above minimum wage and having opportunities to travel and do things- - Right.

- is just-- It's a beautiful moment and it makes you know, everything that we do so worth it to see those smiles and that happiness.

And, the other was-?

What was the other question?

- Maybe things that weren't so surprising; "Oh, I knew that this would be a problem, but maybe it's even more of a problem than we thought."

Or-?

- [Shawn] Oh, OK. - "This is about what we would expect."

- Yeah.

I think, not so really the agency, but I spent my whole career in Los Angeles County.

- Right, sure.

- So, coming to Inland Empire and San Bernardino County is a big change.

- OK, yeah.

- And, getting to know the community, the businesses, how things run here, that was more difficult- - Right.

- than I anticipated.

- Right, OK. - So, and then I think just getting people back to pre-COVID.

- Give me a sense; my dad used to always tell me something.

I would ask him I wanted to go do something.

Maybe I wanted to go sleep over during a school night or something.

(she chuckles) And, I would hem and haw and I'd say, "Why not?"

And, this and that.

- Right.

- And, at some point he would say, "Joe, Jr?

You're lookin' to the corner and I'm lookin' around it."

(laughter) And, I didn't get that figured out till many years later.

May he rest in peace.

Tell us how we can look around the corner.

'Cause my sense is that maybe there's some people out there that don't know how vital, not just that there's utility and that they can do things, but how vital the adult disabled community actually is to us getting where we need to go as a society.

- Right.

- Because among other things, they are another segment of people that need to be connected, involved, and have a unique contribution to make.

- Right.

- So, help us look around the corner to help folks really understand that this is not just a, quote, "charity thing" you're doing for them.

They're doing something indispensable for all of us.

- Right, right.

- Help us with that.

Well?

I mean, I think if you think back to the '60s, the '70s, when I was a child, people with disabilities were usually locked up in a state institution, right?

We deemed them as, they can't even be in public.

They can't be helped.

They're incapable of doing anything.

And so, Civil Rights Movement really changed that.

Right?

They were included in that group of people that deserve the right to be treated equally and have all the same rights and liberties that the rest of us have.

And now, I think-- So, we are progressing; full integration in school and, you know, things are progressing.

But, yes, there is this segment of the population who doesn't understand the importance of them in our community.

Because, yes, they have a disability; they had nothing to do with it.

They had absolutely nothing to do with their disability, but they have those same dreams and desires as we do.

Right?

And so, they need a little bit more support.

And, no, they can't do every job that you and I can do, but there is a whole level of jobs that they can do to support someone.

So...will they be a head chef in a restaurant?

No, but the head chef relies on numerous people in the kitchen.

- Sure.

- To help him get the food prepared so that he can make his meals.

These are things that our adults want to do and can do and we're training them to do.

There is a whole population of adults with disabilities who want to work.

And, there are jobs in our current economy where the unemployment rate is low and it's hard to find people to do jobs.

Our community is fulfilling those jobs.

- Mm.

- And, doing it happily and eagerly.

- Right.

- And so, just continuing to support them so that we can continue to see them fulfill their dreams.

- So, you named some people on the staff and you talked about your participants and everything.

So, let's go and talk to a partner, a participant, and an administrator to just that much more open up and give us a view on what this great organization does.

[light upbeat music] ♪ - My name is Claire Jefferson-Glipa, proud executive director of Family Promise of Riverside.

So, at Family Promise of Riverside, our goal is to care for unhoused children and their families through a community response.

So, engaging the participants of Anthesis is a part of our core engagement strategy to ensure that every part of our community finds empathy for our unhoused neighbors.

You know what?

I love working with Anthesis because their participants are part of our community.

They're capable of making a difference in our community and making our community a better place.

And so, finding where their skill supports our needs is a really powerful opportunity to make sure everyone in our community is engaged in caring for the most vulnerable.

So, we largely have three programs.

We have homeless preventative programs.

So, sometimes families just have one incident that if we can step in and support them, it doesn't allow that cascade toward eviction to happen.

We have our emergency shelter program to take people off the streets from living in their cars and make sure that they're sheltered.

And then, our graduate program.

So, all of our families, whether they're from our preventative program or our shelter program, we hold their hands for two more years to ensure that they stay housed.

So, if you'd like to learn more about Family Promise of Riverside, you can head to your social media @Family Promise of Riverside on Instagram or Facebook or to our website at FPriverside.org - Hi, I'm David Mix.

I work at Anthesis Services.

I'm the director of development.

At Anthesis Services, we support independent and inclusive lives for people with disabilities.

Today, we're at Family Promise of Riverside.

We're really excited to be working with a shelter for the unhoused community in Riverside County.

Some really powerful work that they're doing for local families here.

And, it's great to see our program participants out in the field making a difference in the community.

I started doing this work because I have a child that has a developmental disability and navigating the system was extremely difficult as a parent to hold down a job and just have our family's basic needs met.

So, I started advocating.

I started looking for opportunities to support others and this community, the developmental disability community at-large, really lifts one another up.

And so, that support was critical for my family's survival.

And, I'd like to think that I've made a difference in some lives of other folks, as well.

- [David] It's really powerful to create opportunities for our program participants to get out in the community in integrated settings.

By and large, people with developmental disabilities are segregated from the general population early in life in the public school system.

So, there's a process of reintegration that happens as people grow up and they transition out of the institutionalized settings back into the community.

We really rely on our community partners like Family Promise to help us bridge that gap back out into the general population.

For Anthesis, partnering with other organizations is really essential.

I like to think of community-based organizations like ours and like Family Promise as being like an immune system for society.

We pick each other up.

The people that are most affected by the commodification of everything in our world really rely on one another for basic resources and for workforce in order to get our projects done and our people served.

- My name is Bianca Fulani and I am part of Anthesis.

My favorite thing about working with Anthesis has to be just talking to people.

I enjoy talking to, like, the staff members.

The community helps people like us because we are learning life skills, like how to get a job.

There's people that go to school.

I am one of them.

I am in college.

I think the ones who are struggling in any kind of way, I think Anthesis would be a good fit for you guys because they can help you a lot.

I mean, you tell them what you want and they will try their best to help you.

That's my experience.

[light upbeat music] ♪ - [Joe] Describe, if there is some such a thing, describe a typical day for the CEO at Anthesis.

- Oh, goodness!

(both laughing) - [Shawn] There isn't a typical day!

There isn't a typical day, but obviously working on finances and where are in all of our programs, and what money's coming in.

- Yeah.

- To meeting with the participants when they come to our corporate office and talking to them.

There's a lot of collaborative meetings so that the nonprofits that are supporting the work of the regional centers are in communication.

And, we're collaborating and working in partnership and identifying areas where more services are needed.

Right now, we're working-- There's about five agencies in the Inland Empire that are working to create some new programs for those on the autism spectrum.

- Mm.

- Because, there really is a lack once they graduate from high school at 22, there's a lack of services.

- Do you have a success story for me?

I mean, they sound like continuing stories.

Right?

Because, some people you serve for decades.

- Correct, correct.

- Literally, but is there anything that's happened recently that sticks out that reminds you 'this is why I do what I do?'

- Yes, I do!

(both laughing) Tyler B. is one of our young men who is working and has been working.

So, he had a job coach and he was working and then his position didn't work out.

So, he was looking for another position.

And, we have a collaborative relationship with one of-?

The Empire Strykers.

- Right.

- We go to their games.

- Oh!

- And, we have staff outings and we have participant outings 'cause everyone loves soccer.

- Right.

- And, they were looking for someone in their ticket sales.

And so, they gave Tyler a part-time job to see how he could do.

- Yeah?

- And, one day my phone rang.

This is about two weeks ago and it was Tyler doing a cold sale, - Right.

Wow.

- To see if I would buy tickets to one of the last two games!

(laughing) And so, I told him the price was a little high!

(laughter) And so, he went back to his boss, and lowered the price.

And, we bought 125 tickets for the game on St. Patrick's Day.

And, made it a staff outing.

- Right!

- And then, Tyler was there to do all the photo shoots and everything with all of our staff and the team.

And, I said, "How can I not buy from him?"

- Right.

Yeah.

- He just went from someone-- Yes, he has disabilities, but he just did probably the biggest sale of the wholesale team for that game.

- What do you think-?

Your mission is so clear what you're trying to do and I always say that even if I'm-?

If I've gotta climb Mount Kilimanjaro, it can be difficult as long as the goal is clear.

- Right.

- Given what your goal is and your mission being clear, I know it's still hard.

What's the hardest part about it?

- The hardest part is I think, I mean, there are issues with-- This is a very underfunded program.

Adults with disabilities is still very underfunded.

- Sure.

- So, the rate that we receive from the government for our services does not pay the wages.

- Really?

OK. - And so, we were supposed to have a major increase July 1st.

And, because of the budget shortfall, it has been suggested that it's gonna be delayed to July 1st of 2025.

- [Joe] Hmm.

- And so, that puts a really-- us, in a difficult position.

It means a lot of fundraising, but adults with disabilities only receives about 2.5% of all the philanthropic efforts in this country.

- Really, really small.

- So, it's really still a community that needs exposure.

- Right.

- That people need to learn about and need to understand the importance of supporting this community, giving grants and donating money and really understanding that if we can get this community working and being self-sufficient, it's less stress on our public social welfare system.

If they're making their own money and their own living, there are, you know, changes to other systems within our community of services.

- Looking into the looking glass, if you had your druthers-?

- Mm hm?

- Wish list, five years from now, what will be the next level that your organization Anthesis will be achieving?

Because, the growth has been there.

Because there's been this, this... great revelation.

- [Shawn] Mm hm?

- That, yes, this funding is really important, too.

And so, it becomes more on par and you get those things.

What would that end up looking like for you?

- A couple of things.

One, a goal of mine is to create our own self-sustaining business.

- Okay, sure.

- So, that we are not relying on government funding for paying our staff.

- Sure.

- Creating our own self-sustaining business where our participants work.

- Wow.

- And, maintain that business.

That is a goal; I hope it doesn't take five years!

But, that is a very big high priority for us because we don't wanna rely on the government to pay for our staffing and to pay for the services.

We'd like to create our own way of making the money, the income, to pay our staff and to pay our participants.

And then, another is this program for those on the autism spectrum.

- Mm hm, mm hm!

- I worked in LA.

We had a school for-- from 5 to 22 on the spectrum.

And then, once they graduated, there wasn't anything for them to do.

- Wow.

- So, that is another-?

That's a dream I've had for a couple years.

- Right.

- But, that was in LA and now I'm in Inland, so I've gotta start over.

But, that really is the other really big, big dream.

- Right.

- That I have is for Anthesis to create a program that those with autism who aren't capable of working do have a place to go to every day.

- Yeah.

- And, to continue learning and being part of the community and functioning just as you and I do, but with support from people who are trained and know how to deal with the behaviors that come along with autism.

- Right.

- Yeah.

- Well?

I'm sure that your job is hard.

It sounds hard, (she chuckles) but it's absolutely worthy of all the attention and everything that it comes with.

You know?

The ups and the downs, and the stress.

Give us some encouragement.

I think there are a lot of reasons for us to really be happy about what you're doing and the progress that you've made.

But, what encourages you in the tough moments?

- The participants.

I mean, those moments when I get to speak with them and they tell me about what they did for the day.

Or telling me, Bianca, who was part of the filming last week, she wants to work in childcare.

- Right.

- And so, being able to just get her about one day a week at a local school to volunteer and the excitement on that.

I mean, those moments are what encourage all of us because we see the work that we are doing and what we've dedicated to lives, it's paying off.

We see the excitement in their face over the very smallest things that they're accomplishing, but how exciting that is.

- So, how do people find out more about the organization?

- Well, we have a website: www.Anthesis A-N-T-H-E-S-I-S.us and there's a spot that you can click on just to contact us and the message will come straight to me if you're interested in a tour or learning more about our organization, or volunteering.

And, our phone number is 909-624-3555.

And, we're located in Ontario.

- Alright, fantastic.

Well, Shawn Prokopec from Anthesis, thank you so much for being here.

- Thank you, Joe.

- I want to thank each and every one of you for checking us out again on "Inland Edition".

Thanks for going with us on this journey.

You can check out this episode and tell a friend, or many friends, to check us out on YouTube.

You can get them on-demand or you can keep watching us every week.

So, keep goin' with us while we showcase these wonderful organizations that are changing the lives of people in the Inland Empire.

And, we'll keep doin' it one conversation at a time.

Until that next time, I'm Joe Richardson; see you then.

[uplifting music and vocals] ♪ ♪ [softer music/vocals] ♪ ♪ [music fades]