People Over Programs—Always

We are proud to share that Values Into Action was featured in the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Spotlight on Success: Rethinking Person-Centered HCBS—a national research initiative that highlights organizations leading the way in person-centered home and community-based services. Out of nearly 30 nominated organizations, Values Into Action was one of just four selected for our strong commitment to putting people—not programs—at the center of everything we do. 

There’s one thing I really enjoy doing—proving people wrong when they say something can’t or shouldn’t be done. Starting Values Into Action was one of those things. A few of us believed we could build an organization focused on the people we support. We wanted to create a system that would guide and inform how public money is used, making sure it followed the rules and helped people in the right way. Many people said it wouldn’t work and expected us to fail.

Over the years, we made mistakes, but we always learned from them and promised to do better. For example, we realized we needed to pay more attention to people’s mental health and help them get the right support. We also looked at what was working well and tried to do more of it—like including everyone in decisions that affect them, such as choosing employee health insurance. That way, everyone has a voice and can help shape the outcome.

Even though the system says it puts people first, it often focuses more on following rules. Values Into Action keeps showing that when people are truly at the center, the rules can actually help them reach their goals instead of holding them back.

In tough times, we look for what gives us hope. Knowing that our work shows what’s right in the HCBS system keeps us going. That’s why we’re so thankful to our community and system partners who nominated us for this recognition.

We’re also thankful for everyone at Values—more than 1,000 of us in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We hope each of you feels proud of this honor. Every single person plays a part: the people we support, their families, Housing Resource Specialists, Support Brokers, Coordinators, Partners, Mentors, Admin staff, Learning and Development team, Accountants, Directors, and our COO.

And finally, we want to thank the Boards of both organizations for their support.