<![CDATA[The Support Files ]]> https://rss.com/podcasts/the-support-files Direct support work is essential—but it is rarely discussed honestly. When DSP services are represented, the conversation often centers on institutions, intellectual disabilities, or situations in which guardians, providers, and other third parties speak on someone’s behalf. Those experiences matter, but they are not the whole story. The Support Files brings another perspective to the conversation. Anna is a self-directed disability advocate with cerebral palsy who does not have an intellectual disability and manages her own support services. Drawing on her experience advocating at the state level, Anna and her DSP, Ari, offer an honest look inside the disability and direct-support worlds—from both sides of the relationship. Together, they break down the laws, policies, funding decisions, staffing shortages, and systemic barriers affecting people with disabilities and the professionals who support them. They also explore what self-direction, independence, community living, employment, and meaningful support actually look like in everyday life. These conversations do more than identify problems. Anna and Ari explain complicated issues in accessible language, share real-life experiences, and offer practical ideas for creating change. The Support Files is an advocacy platform dedicated to educating the public, informing lawmakers, challenging harmful assumptions, and amplifying communities that have been systematically neglected, underestimated, and excluded from decisions that directly affect their lives.Anna is a self-directed disability advocate, writer, content creator, and power-wheelchair user with cerebral palsy. She has experience advocating at the state level and has spent years working to improve disability services, community inclusion, and the way people with disabilities are represented. As someone who hires, trains, schedules, and manages her own DSP staff, Anna brings firsthand knowledge of the staffing crisis and the barriers people with physical disabilities encounter while trying to live independently. Her perspective challenges the assumption that receiving support means surrendering independence, autonomy, or the right to speak for yourself. Ari is a Direct Support Professional with a lifelong connection to the disability community. They have supported people with complex medical needs, intellectual disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, and people without intellectual disabilities. Ari’s life and work have been directly affected by regulations and policy decisions imposed on the disability community—often without meaningful input from the people most affected. Witnessing how these systems intensify the challenges already faced by disabled people and their support staff has strengthened Ari’s commitment to advocacy. Ari has worked in nursing facilities, Individualized Supported Living homes, and private in-home care. These experiences have allowed them to see how disability services operate across very different settings, as well as how staffing shortages, limited resources, inadequate education, and restrictive policies affect both disabled people and DSPs. Currently studying criminal justice and forensic psychology, Ari strives to become a voice for people who are too often overlooked, neglected, or ignored. They bring a valuable frontline perspective to conversations about staffing, advocacy, accountability, dignity, and meaningful systemic change. By combining Anna’s experience as a self-directed disabled person and advocate with Ari’s experience as a DSP across multiple care environments, The Support Files creates space for honest conversations that are too often missing from disability policy and public discussion. These are the stories behind the staffing crisis. These are the perspectives policymakers need to hear. These are the voices too often shut out, neglected, and forgotten. These are The Support Files.

]]> RSS.com 2026.907.134739 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:35:00 GMT en 6f175132-27e0-5018-883a-643918ff8805 https://media.rss.com/the-support-files/podcast_cover_20260916_151546_26e3e1922377712015ca329e4e746095.jpg The Support Files https://rss.com/podcasts/the-support-files no Anna and Ari Anna and Ari false episodic podcast St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, 63101, USA false <![CDATA[The Support Files: Do I Live Alone? Let’s Talk DSP’s, Services, & Independence]]> Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Do I live alone? Do I actually get to choose my own DSPs? And how did I get disability services in the first place?

In this episode of The Support Files, I’m answering some of the questions I get most often about what my support system actually looks like. We’re talking about independent living, self-directed services, hiring and managing my own DSPs, how I got connected to services, and what having control over my support means for my everyday life.

Because independence doesn’t mean doing everything alone. For me, it means having the right support, choice, and control to build the life I want. Whether you’re disabled, a family member, a DSP, or just curious about how self-directed support works, this episode gives you a look inside my real life with services.

]]> https://rss.com/podcasts/the-support-files/3196736 686466da-8363-493f-84bc-7c62ddd8b6ae 2140 full 1 1 3 3 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:34:58 GMT false false Missouri, USA <![CDATA[The Support Files: Hiring Your First DSP & What Self-Directed Support Really Looks Like]]> Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

What does it take to hire your first direct support professional? In this episode of The Support Files, Anna shares what she looks for in a DSP, how she explains the responsibilities of the job, and why finding the right fit matters when someone is supporting your everyday life.

Anna and Ari also talk about what makes self-directed support different: the person receiving support helps choose, train, and guide their staff. Ari shares the college student perspective on working as a DSP, what they’ve learned on the job, and why this work can have a lasting impact on both people.

]]> https://rss.com/podcasts/the-support-files/3180100 9790e90d-a46c-4696-9f74-a8ba5f5a46d7 1867 full 1 1 1 1 Thu, 24 Sep 2026 21:40:21 GMT false false <![CDATA[Opening The Support Files—Meet Anna and Ari]]> Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Welcome to The Support Files: Independence from Both Sides! In this introductory episode, meet Anna, a self-directed disability advocate with cerebral palsy, and Ari, her Direct Support Professional with experience across multiple disability-support settings.

Anna and Ari share the experiences that led them to create the podcast, explain why perspectives from both sides of the support relationship matter, and discuss what listeners can expect from future episodes. Together, they will examine the DSP staffing crisis, self-directed services, disability policy, community living, and the systemic barriers affecting disabled people and the professionals who support them.

These are the stories behind the staffing crisis. These are the perspectives policymakers need to hear. These are The Support Files.

]]> https://rss.com/podcasts/the-support-files/3158851 cefc5ca7-79b8-44f1-841c-f760c09a62e9 389 trailer 1 1 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:25:58 GMT false false