Liberty ARC Stories

Crystal Soto’s favorite aspect of working at Liberty ARC is having the opportunity to make a difference in peoples’ lives.“

I started working at Liberty because it was important to me that I was somewhere that I could make a difference,” Crystal said. “I didn’t want to feel like I was leaving my small child at home for nothing – I wanted to know that I was leaving him for a job that was important and fulfilling.”

Crystal has been working at Liberty ARC for nearly 11 years. She’s worked in many different capacities at the agency including Residential and Day Hab Direct Support Professional (DSP) positions. She served as a Residential Assistant Manager, then worked her way up to her current managerial position as a Senior Hab Coordinator at the Mohawk Day Program.

During this challenging time – in the midst of COVID-19 – it’s important to remind everyone why we work here at Liberty ARC.

We work at Liberty ARC  to fulfill and accomplish our mission:

“Together we support people with disabilities to achieve a quality of life each person values.”

Senior Hab Coordinator Kara Reed is an excellent example of someone who lives every day by the agency’s mission.

Kara has worked at Liberty ARC for the last 23 years. She started her career as a bus monitor and a residential Direct Support Professional (DSP). She worked in the residential setting for 19 years, moving from DSP to Charge then Assistant Manager. She made the transition to Senior Hab Coordinator for Liberty ARC’s Community Connections day program a few years ago.

“I was in my early twenties and was looking for something different to do in my career,” she said. “A friend of mine, who worked in the Business Office, thought I would enjoy this line of work. She was right; I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

“I never imagined myself being in a manager position because I had never supervised anyone before,” Jamie Siwik said, “but it feels so natural to me, and the nature of business here at Liberty ARC is so different  from anywhere else I’ve worked; staff are compassionate and they really follow the mission and values of this agency.”

Jamie Siwik has worked at Liberty ARC for the last seven years. She started as a relief Direct Support Professional (DSP) in the Family Support Services (FSS) program, and quickly worked her way up to a manager position.

“I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to be a manager, and this was it,” Rebekah Schuyler said.

Rebekah has been working at Liberty ARC for the last 20 years. She started as a Direct Support Professional (DSP) and worked her way up to assistant manager. Over the years, she’s been encouraged to apply for manager positions, but she was very particular about what home she would oversee. That is until the agency announced it would be building a new, innovative residence on Trailer Street in the Village of Palatine Bridge.