As a light-skinned woman of color, Jule Gomes Noack has seen how discrimination is applied to people with disabilities, similar to what she dealt with growing up.
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On July 1, Jule Gomes Noack will take over from Michael Moloney as CEO of Franklin disability services provider HMEA.
How did you end up in this field?
I started about 40 years ago. I’ve been at HMEA for the past 32 years, after I started as clinical coordinator. Seven years ago, I was named the president and chief operating officer.
My first job in this field was working at an institution, the Wrentham State School, when I was still a student. After graduation, I took a position there as a staff psychologist.
That place had a notorious reputation.
It was quite the shock when I first started there. I was appalled how people were being treated. They were essentially incarcerated: Everything was locked, patients didn’t have personal belongings, some had no clothing, the smells were terrible. It was devoid of any activity.
It was an incredible place for segregation and discrimination. It was a special hell. Back then, when parents had children with disabilities, nine times out of 10, doctors told them they had to be put into an institution.
It was a pivotal moment in my life.
How so?
Much of my personal background played a role. I am a light-skinned person of color, as a child of a family from Cape Verde, which is an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean. The rest of my family is not as light-skinned. We are an immigrant family, and our primary language was Cape Verde Creole.
Much of the same discrimination I experienced growing up, I saw in the way Wrentham State School treated its patients. I decided I needed to help bring about change.
As the movement grew in the 1980s toward deinstitutionalization of people with disabilities, I decided I had to get out of there myself.
I got hired by HMEA back when it was still Horace Mann Educational Associates.
How have disability services changed?
The field has improved quite a bit, particularly in the way we treat people with disabilities. People live in beautiful homes. Some are gainfully employed and doing quite well.
But clearly, we still see the hate crimes are on the rise across the country. That is why we say HMEA is a place for respect and civility and no place for hate.
How do you fulfill that credo?
We have had diversity initiative for a number of years, and 40% of employees are people of color or foreign-born. Many of them are marginalized for a number of reasons.
We are really cultivating a workplace where people feel supported. Not just for the people we support, but for people who work here.
Many of the families we support are from diverse communities and immigrant communities. They fear going to the emergency room with their children. Our role here is creating a safe and respectful environment where they feel welcome.
How can you address that individually as CEO?
Workforce is the big issue. We need to have the right number of people and have the right people. To work in this field, you need compassion.
Our diversity issue is a passion of mine. It is one of the most important things in our country, especially as the president seeks to push immigrants out. We want them to be here and be successful.
What are some of the challenges your employees face?
Pay is a big issue, and we can’t always provide exactly the salary they need.
But we look at other challenges they may have and try to address their needs that way. If they are struggling with transportation, we subsidize AAA cards for them. We give them cards to BJ’s Wholesale Club, so they can get discount groceries. We are working with DCU Digital Federal Credit Union in Marlborough to provide interest-free microloans for when they need access to money quickly. We offer a tuition reimbursement program.
In the meantime, we are trying to find the right balance on salaries and our revenues. We will work legislators around our government contracts and how that can impact salaries.
What are your revenues?
Our annual revenue is about $40 million. The Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services is a major funder, as is the Department of Public Health. We receive insurance payments, including from MassHealth.
This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ Editor Brad Kane.
