00:05 Somebody is wanting to do something so simple to you, but it's difficult for them and you, you work on it. You work on it. You work on it and you walk in one day and the spaghetti is already made. That's what keeps you going.
00:46 Hello, I'm Kim Harding, I'm the Retail Market Executive for the mid-Atlantic of Truist Bank, and I am so excited to be here with Kelly Sewell, the director of S.U.C.C.E.S.Services Inc.
00:56 Kelly is really just an honor to have you with us today and think about this incredible work that you're doing in the communities. Would you mind telling us a little bit about how you got started?
01:07 I was a junior in high school and my mom's best friend's daughter. She, you know, she had a developmental disability. And in order for the mother to work at night at the hospital, I would stay and give support to Michelle and I've done nothing but ever since that day. I went from agency and I've worked and I ventured out on my own eventually, but I had a review from the state and the reviewer actually suggested that I try to get my agency license. You know, that was in 2005.
01:48 And so that's been, gosh, 15 years. I currently have 23 clients and 27 staff, and the whole everybody works together. You know, that's the greatest part about it is that, you know, we're all one big family and that makes it so much easier that way.
02:12 So is S.U.C.C.E.S.Services a group home? Is it services where you go into people's homes? Is it a combination of both?
02:22 You know, its Serving You with Care, Compassion and Effective Supportive Services. So what what we do is we provide support to people with disabilities so they can live a, you know, a full and prosperous life. Some folks get five hours a week, maybe go to the grocery store, maybe a doctor's appointment. And some folks may have 24 hours, seven days a week. We go in and we provide day to day, you know, day to day activities. You know, the same things that you and I do daily. They may need some support or reminders.
03:01 We hear that from so many people who live their life like yours in service of other people that it it seems as if it's for the other people, but really selfishly, you get so much from it as well. Do you have a specific story you could share with us in terms of someone who's really touched your life?
03:18 One of my clients, he was the first. He was 24 years old. He worked and he worked hard and we saved enough money for a down payment. And he bought his. He bought his own home. He was the first to do that in Washington County, Ohio. And I've had two others since then.
03:40 That has been the the greatest pleasure that I have seen on their faces when they turn around. Each time you know how you have to sign and sign every paper. Go ahead, go ahead. You know, and then he turned around and he said, We did it, didn't we? We did it. And I said, Yes, we did. You know, we were a good team.
04:03 So things like that, you know, not everybody gets to feel that feeling. And you know, it's just it's just something that that I, I get to see often, and it's kept me going for over 30 years.
04:17 You know what you shared of your organization, you're all about living your purpose and you're all about helping people and bringing attention to an area that we really need support and advocacy. And I think it's pretty incredible the work that you're doing.
04:31 When people see that, you know, the difference in someone else. I think it changes them as well. So I think this kind of passed along. We all, you know, that's why we're all different. We all have different things that we're good at. And I'm just fortunate enough that I found my calling at such a young age.
04:49 You know, I didn't because there's not a day that I've worked that it's felt like work. You know, I just I go in and I do what comes natural. And you know, the thing is, you know, I couldn't have children. And so that's the other thing, you know, I have 23 people that need me, you know, I still have that nurturing, you know, so that's something that I think that I know that happened for a reason. You know, so it all works out.
05:26 And I know my big thing is if you, you know, if you go down the right road, you know, if you do the right thing, you'll never go wrong, you know? So that's how that's how I live every day.