Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague Visits Grande Cafe and Roastery in Medina
Aug 06, 2022
MEDINA — Grande Cafe and Roastery staff members welcomed Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague on Friday morning as he came to learn more about the cafe’s mission, Medina Creative Housing as a whole and to share more about STABLE accounts.
Grande Cafe and Roastery is a work program through Medina Creative Housing for people with disabilities to focus on their abilities and work to instill work ethic, build skills and produce success.
Before sitting down to talk with a small group of people, Sprague was given a tour of the space by Grande Cafe employee Kelly Foote and Medina Creative Housing CEO Dianne DePasquale-Hagerty.
Foote showed Sprague around the front of the cafe, telling him about the drinks they offer and showing him where they make the food options.
The tour then headed to the back to see where the rest of the food is made and the roastery, where a staff member showed him how they make their individual pods of coffee.
“It’s just an incredible way to build skills for individuals with disabilities,” Sprague said.
With more than 80 units of individual residences for people with disabilities, Medina Creative Housing provides multiple job opportunities like Grande Cafe and Roastery and the gardens where they grow produce to be used in the cafe or sold at the farmers market in the square.
Heading back to the seating area, Sprague met with Foote and a few others who work at Grande Cafe and Roastery to talk more about what a STABLE account is.
A STABLE account is available to people with disabilities to allow them to save and invest money without losing eligibility for certain benefits programs.
Similar to a normal bank account, a STABLE account is considered an investment account that puts someone’s money into options they choose.
“It allows people to have independence throughout the state of Ohio,” Sprague said.
Sprague said when he took office in 2019, there were approximately 8,000 people who signed up for the STABLE account program. Now, there are almost 30,000 people signed up throughout the United States.
DePasquale-Hagerty said that in January, Medina Creative Housing held a Zoom presentation to talk with family members about STABLE accounts and felt that many people signed up as a result of that program.
Of the people present during Friday’s meeting, half of them have their own STABLE account, which they use for many reasons ranging from saving for the future, paying living expenses and more.
After hearing each person talk, Sprague emphasized that the account allows individuals to do what they want to do with their money and have their freedom.
“When you're doing the technical piece (and) the administration, it's dollars and cents but, it's actually helping real people living day-to-day,” DePasquale-Hagerty said.
Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.