Every Disability Nonprofit Said No. He Built It Anyway. (w/ Steve Gonyea) - Ep. 88

Most leaders already know they should be listening more. This episode is about what actually happens when someone does. Steve Gonyea is a parent, foster parent to 178 kids, and one of the most relentlessly solution-oriented advocates in the IDD space. In Part 2 of this conversation, he shares how he went from barely getting five minutes with politicians to one assemblyman clearing his entire afternoon — because Steve was the only person who walked in with solutions instead of complaints. He also shares how he built a fully operational complex care center in Utica, New York — six days a week, free to the community, built without a single waiver dollar — after every disability nonprofit in the region turned him down. And how he convinced New York State's OPWDD Commissioner to drive across the state at night and sit in a library, listening to eight families she'd never met, until she cried. The through-line in every story is the same: get out of your office, bring solutions, and listen to the people nobody else is asking. It sounds simple. Steve is proof that it works. 📬 Connect with Steve: [email protected] 🔗 Finding Common Ground Podcast & Projects: fcgadvocacy.org 🔗 Special Needs Resource Directory: specialneeds.help 📥 Free resource — 7 Warning Signs Your Supervisors Are Burning Out Their Staff: iddleader.com/burnout TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – "You came in with solutions. I want to hear them." 02:20 – How Steve changed his approach to advocacy 05:33 – One-on-one meetings vs. bus trips to Albany 07:40 – Inside the 4-hour meeting with an assemblyman 08:20 – Building the complex care center (when everyone said no) 11:26 – The veterans said yes the next day 14:32 – If you have 70% turnover, the problem isn't the DSPs 18:40 – What Steve would say to a CEO with 5 minutes 22:43 – The OPWDD listening tour — and the commissioner who showed up 29:39 – Get out of your office. Here's what you'll find. 35:09 – Introducing specialneeds.help — a free national directory