08/20/2026
A Year of Work Behind the Scenes
Sometimes the biggest steps forward are the ones you don’t see right away. 💛
This year, we spent countless hours working behind the scenes — building partnerships, completing applications, meeting new requirements, and making our services accessible to the families who need them.
From the outside, it may not always look like much is happening. But behind every approval, every new family, and every service we can now provide are countless emails, phone calls, forms, meetings, revisions, and small steps forward.
Today, we want to pause and share some of what we’ve accomplished this year — and give you a glimpse of the work, heart, and dedication that went into building it. 🌱
📋 The Regional Center — more than a year in the making.
After more than a year of work, we received our official provider vendor number. More than ten letters were exchanged, and our program had to be rewritten three times as the application requirements kept changing along the way.
At one point, we were ready to show up at the director’s office during a conference and ask for answers in person. (Joking. Mostly.) 😄
🏥 Kaiser — eight months for one paid bill.
We set out to work with Kaiser — an insurance system that typically does not work with outside providers.
We knew we had something important to offer: access to services in Russian for families who often struggle to find providers who speak their language.
After eight months of applications, calls, emails, and waiting, we finally have our first paid bill in hand.
Just one.
But it’s real. And it means we’re in. ❤️
👩⚕️ Building a team, not a list of freelancers.
We have invested in our specialists by supporting additional education, licensing, supervision, and professional development. We provide ongoing weekly supervision and intentionally pay above-market rates.
We’re not trying to build a revolving door of providers. We want to build a stable, trusted team that families can know and rely on for years.
👨👩👧 Walking alongside families.
We are already supporting several families with active cases — from pediatrician referrals and initial evaluations to insurance authorization and school IEP meetings.
For us, this is what the work is really about: not just providing a service, but helping families understand the system and feel less alone while navigating it.
☕️ A community that grew along the way.
This year, we held at least six gatherings — with tea, syrniki, honest conversations, and no pretense.
Together with Olesya Popkorna, Zhanna Shibailo, Olga Shapovalova, and Albert Feigelson, we talked about ADHD, autism, and ABA therapy.
We also began inviting moms to explore the profession themselves — learning about supervised hours, RBT certification, and pathways into the field.
And something even more beautiful happened: parents began supporting one another.
That peer support wasn’t something we planned or designed. It simply grew naturally within the community, and we’re incredibly grateful for it. 💛
All of this was built without a big budget or a large staff dedicated to making it happen.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us. 🌱
