Category: Take Action

Why Disability Services Are Nonprofit Work at Its Purest

Posted on by Shannon Cherry

Every year on National Nonprofit Day, we celebrate the organizations that make our communities stronger, fairer, and more connected. For Las Trampas, this day is not just about recognition. It is about shining a light on why we exist and why nonprofits like ours are still essential in 2025.

Nonprofits step in where society falls short. They fill gaps that no one else is willing or able to fill. They make the invisible visible, often with fewer resources than most people realize.

In disability services, this mission is not abstract. It is lived every single day.

When “Option” Is Not Optional

For many adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), the programs we offer such as skills training, residential support, advocacy, and community inclusion are not extras. They are essential to living a life of dignity and independence.

Without them, opportunities can disappear overnight. The job interview never happens. The chance to live outside the family home evaporates. The ability to make friends or navigate public transit becomes an impossible leap.

Las Trampas was founded in 1958 by a group of parents who saw what others did not. Their children deserved an education, a future, and a place where they belonged. What began as a small school has grown into a thriving, participant-driven community where inclusion is not a promise. It is a daily practice.

More Than Services: A Force for Equity

We provide programs, yes. But our work is about more than classes or care schedules.
It is about removing barriers.

Sometimes that means helping a participant learn to cross the street safely so they can get to work.
Other times, it means standing at the State Capitol to tell legislators why Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) deserve wages that reflect the life-changing work they do.

Mission-driven is not just a label. In disability services, the mission is the difference between isolation and belonging, between surviving and thriving.

The Ripple Effect You Can See and Feel

Nonprofit impact does not stop with the individual. It spreads.

When one person gains a skill, their entire family feels the relief and pride.

When a participant gets a job, their workplace becomes more inclusive and co-workers become advocates without even realizing it.

When our self-advocates speak in Sacramento, they are not just influencing policy. They are shifting perceptions about what is possible for people with disabilities.

That is nonprofit work at its purest: change that begins with one person and grows into something much bigger.

Powered by People, Not Profit

None of this happens without the people who power our mission. Our Direct Support Professionals, program managers, residential staff, volunteers, and advocates make every step possible.

Unlike for-profit industries, nonprofits do not have profit margins to reinvest. Every dollar that comes in goes directly toward services, advocacy, and expanding opportunities. That is why community support through donations, volunteer time, and advocacy is not just nice to have. It is the fuel that keeps the work moving forward.

Where You Come In

On National Nonprofit Day, we invite you to not just celebrate us but to stand with us.

You can:

  • Take a tour of our Lafayette campus and see inclusion in action
  • Volunteer your time and experience the joy of real connection
  • Join our advocacy network to help push for the rights and resources people with disabilities deserve
  • Support financially knowing your gift directly fuels life-changing work

Nonprofits do not just exist to provide services. They exist to change what is possible. At Las Trampas, we have been doing exactly that for more than 65 years.

Learn more, get involved, and be part of our story at https://lastrampas.org

From the Executive Director–A Year in Advocacy

Posted on by Las Trampas

My name is Daniel Hogue, Executive Director of Las Trampas. I have worked in the Intellectual and Developmental Disability (I/DD) service industry since 1993, starting as a direct care worker. Now, in my role as a leader, I am constantly asked about the state and future of our field.  Now, more than ever, this is an important topic that should be addressed. It’s my hope to address concerns, successes, and opportunities for action that will help people with developmental disabilities and the I/DD community.

In the human services field, we as care takers, social workers, and people who work from the heart tend to speak lightly, politely, and focus on the work to be done. Leaders in the I/DD service industry understand that there are many competing interests within the state. We are not used to taking a hard stands. This has to change. While it sounds alarming, the viability of the I/DD service system is on the brink of collapse and it’s time for us to find our voice.

Yet another year has gone by without increases to I/DD funding. The state budget approved by the legislature and the governor at the end of June again neglects to fully fund programs and services for this vulnerable population. So, what are the impacts! Well, to put it frankly, if you have a child or family member with I/DD who receives services, they may be at risk.

Since 2003, state funding for I/DD services has essentially been a downhill spiral with minimal increases offsetting serious cuts during the 2008 financial crisis. So what does this mean.  It means that providers, and more importantly the people served, have to make do with extremely limited resources, and often times, to simply do without. Full-time professional positions like speech language pathologists, a full program staff with clinical training and experience, budgets for transportation and community integration, and more, all of these program components have been cut or seriously reduced over the past decade. Meanwhile, mandates continue to come down from the state level to do more do more, with less, all while the state holds record surpluses.

Each month, I will be discussing the ramifications of the current state including the impacts on providers and the people served as well as how the system is coping, advocacy efforts, progress and setbacks, stories of success in the midst of tough times, and things that you can do to support people with developmental disabilities. I hope you’ll join me!