Q&A with Zvia McCormick

RCIL ‘s chief executive officer: ‘We adhere to the philosophy that people with disabilities do not have to be changed; they do not have to be “fixed”

By David L. Podos

 

Q: How long have you been the CEO of RCIL — Resource Center for Independent Living?

A: I have been the CEO for the past 11 years.

Q: What is your professional and educational background? Are you from this area?

A: I am not from the area. The majority of my professional life was in Florida where I worked for a large institution for intellectually disabled individuals. From there I went to Iowa where I was a superintendent for another large institution before moving up to Central New York and becoming the CEO for RCIL.

Q: What is your educational background?

A: I am a social worker by profession and have a master’s degree in social work.

Q: What is the main service RCIL provides to clients?

A: We support individuals who have various disabilities to live in the community in their own homes, apartments, etc. We also help each person to live the life that they choose to live. What we say here at RCIL, “you have the right to be you.” We adhere to the philosophy that people with disabilities do not have to be changed; they do not have to be “fixed.”

Q: That is a very interesting statement. Oftentimes — and with all good intent — many people working in the profession of social work see a client as someone who needs to be fixed, that they are a broken person, but RCIL looks at the client through a different lens. Can you elaborate a bit more on this philosophy?

A: We are all different even though we all share a commonality of being human. Each of us is unique and therefore each one of us has different wants and needs and we all deserve the life we want to live. So, when we think we have to fix somebody, we want them to live a standard that we set for them. We believe that people set a standard for themselves.

Q: What are the main services that you offer?

A: First off we are a civil rights organization. So, what we say is that a person who has a disability should have the same civil rights as anybody else. So, to that end, people may need assistance to live in the community and we provide that assistance. For example, we provide assistance in gaining employment, we provide peer counseling. We also are a fiscal intermediary. So, let’s say a person needs someone to assist them in the home. We help them with the process of hiring who they want. We do all the paperwork, which oftentimes can be complex and hard to understand. We can assist them in paying bills etc. Most of our programs are empowering people to decide who comes into their home, when they come into your home and how they assist you.

Q: Do you offer services to veterans?

A: Yes, we do. It is called Veterans Directed Care and they receive the same services that we offer to our non-veteran clientele. And another big program that we have is our social adult day program called Many Hearts. People come to our facility for the day. They have breakfast, hang out, talk amongst one another, read the paper and so forth.

Q: That sounds really nice, especially for people who might be isolated, perhaps a bit depressed, lonely etc. Do you offer this service every day or just certain days during the work week?

A: We offer this service Monday through Friday and if someone does not have the transportation to come here, we will pick them up.

Q: How many employees does RCIL have?

A: Just under 2,000.

Q: Does RCIL just offer services here locally in Oneida County?

A: No, we actually provide services to a large part of New York state, as well as the NYC area and out to Long Island.

Q: Where does your funding come from to operate your programs?

A: Our funding comes from fee for service and grants, through state and federal funding. We also receive funding from foundations.

Q: I am sure that to run this organization it takes a dedicated staff. It seems that you have that and your employees are well taken care of. Am I correct?

A: Absolutely. We pay our employees well and our benefits are second to none.

For more information on RCIL and what they offer in the way of services as well as upcoming events visit www.rcil.com.

To reach RCIL by phone call, 315-797-4642.