Nishna Productions opens new office, other expansions planned in 2024

The Red Oak office of Nishna Productions, Inc. recently celebrated an expansion.
The Red Oak Chamber and Industry Association held a ribbon cutting at the new office location at 204 S. Broadway on July 27. The building, which formerly housed United Group Insurance, was acquired earlier this year by Nishna Productions.
Nishna Productions executive director Sherri Clark said when approached by United Group manager Andy Rea about purchasing the building, they initially passed on the offer before changing their minds.
“At the time, I felt we were good where we were at. Now that we’re in an expansion mode and bringing in several people from the Glenwood Resource Center, we decided we needed more office space. So we agreed and purchased the building around March of this year,” Clark said.
The new office space has allowed the staff plenty of room to spread out as opposed to the location at the former Jefferson School at 207 S. 3rd St.
“We were all located at the old Jefferson School. Some of us were sharing offices there, like Emily Martin, our development specialist. Buying this building allowed us more privacy and more space,” stated Clark.
Since taking ownership, Clark said they have done some renovations to make it more suitable.
“We’ve painted the walls, put in all new lighting, and redone both of the bathrooms. We have an intention of redoing the parking lot in the back. We currently have 10 staff here. We had to do some upgrade work to the wiring for technology as well. It’s visible from the road, and the upgrades have worked really well for us. Having more privacy and having a space that’s less noisy has been very important,” commented Clark. “It will also give us an opportunity to expand in the number of staff we have in the future. And now, at the other building, no one is having to share an office any more.”
Clark added that they saved on renovation costs by moving into a building that didn’t require a lot of upgrades.
“The building was all open space. They had taken out everything, so it was easy for us to come in and do the personal things to the building that we wanted to do.”
The excitement at being able to have their own workspaces, Clark said, has been palpable.
“I think that the staff that are here would tell you they enjoy being here. I’m currently in the largest office I’ve ever had. While I haven’t necessarily been at Nishna Productions for 45 years, I’ve been in this business for 45 years, so it’s really wonderful,” Clark said.
In addition to the new office, Clark said they are working on other projects for persons with disabilities with funding from the Iowa Finance Authority.
“We are in the process of constructing three new houses. They are ranch-style, built on a concrete slab, and are completely accessible. They will have four bedrooms and two bathrooms and include garages. The first house will be built in Malvern, at 303 and 305 2nd Ave. It’s taken some time to get to the construction phase, but we’re hoping this month for work to start on the infrastructure,” Clark explained. “We also own a lot in Shenandoah at 300 Pine St. that has some trees to take down, but it’s otherwise ready to go. Finally, we’re working on finalizing the purchase of a lot in Red Oak for the third home. The paperwork on the Red Oak lot was delayed because people have been on vacation. We’re hoping to finalize that paperwork by the middle of August.”
Once the Malvern home has been constructed, work will be done on the Shenandoah location, and finally in Red Oak. Clark said the houses will be quickly occupied.
“We have 12 people from the Glenwood Resource Center identified to move into those houses. As most know, the Glenwood Resource Center closes on June 30, 2024, and we’re hoping to have construction on all three houses complete by March 31, 2024,” advised Clark.
Clark added she’s been aware that the Glenwood Resource Center was closing soon, and has been working with the center, but finding affordable, accessible housing was extremely difficult.
“The lease payments and monthly rent payments were well beyond what these people could afford. Most are coming out with the maximum supplemental security income amount, which is $914 a month. In the services that we provide, they have to pay for their own rent and utilities, so affording that type of payment was nearly impossible. In the situations some of these people are in, without an exemption, the maximum amount of people that can live together is four. That’s why we decided to do this. We needed to provide something that was affordable and accessible.”
Another factor was being able to provide housing that was completely accessible.
“A lot of the people coming to us from Glenwood are people with mobility impairments, so we need the accessibility part. We’ve already accepted six people that are living in an apartment complex that came to us from Glenwood. They are mobility impaired. We have to be able to provide for it, and it’s just not easy,” said Clark.
Thankfully, Clark said the projects don’t appear to have been affected by the supply chain issues, but there has been one hurdle to overcome.
“When it comes to getting materials, I think we’re ahead of it. If there’s any challenge, it’s the human resource aspect, as we’re still facing the human resource shortages that everyone else is. We’ve worked really hard to increase our starting wages and the wages we pay to direct care staff, but even then, it’s hard to recruit and retain people,” Clark explained.
One of the ways they’ve been able to boost those salaries was through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act through Iowa Health and Human Services.
“We have gotten recruitment and retention funds from them. When we hire new staff, we’re still able to use those funds. Right now, it’s about $4,000 that we spread over a year. We’ve also been able to get assistance with housing as well, but matching funds are required for those. Finally, we’ve gotten ARPA funds to do some major technology work here, purchasing computers, laptops and hot spots to make the work of our staff easier,” Clark stated. “We’ve received a great benefit from the ARPA funds that the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services had available. Most of the providers who applied have gotten a great benefit from those funds. That’s why we’ve been able to do a lot of the things we’re doing right now.”
Clark added without the financial support, none of the housing projects would have come to fruition.
“Without the Iowa Finance Authority and Iowa HHS it would have been impossible. The estimated cost to construct these houses is $428,000 each. If I were to go to a bank and have to borrow that money, the interest rates would be prohibitive. The interest rates through Iowa Finance Authority are 0%, and it has a forgivable clause. We have a loan of roughly $1 million. We have to pay $128,000 towards the loan for a 15-year period of time. However, if we’re in good standing with the Iowa Finance Authority, the remainder of the loan is forgivable. That’s how we make the housing affordable for people with disabilities. It’s affordable rent, and the homes are build to their needs,” explained Clark.
Currently, Clark said they are looking at ways to increase remote technology work to help handle their workforce shortages.
“We’re working with an agency out of Kansas so we can fill some of our slots through remote technology. Everything would be monitored with cameras and sensors, which would mean we would no longer need to have overnight staff. That will help us a lot,” commented Clark.
Finally, CARF International announced that Nishna Productions, Inc. has once again been accredited for a period of three years for its Community Employment Services (Employment Supports and Job Development), Community Housing, Community Integration, Employment Planning Services, Organizational Employment Services, Respite Service, and Supported Living programs.
The latest accreditation is the 12th consecutive Three-Year Accreditation given to Nishna Productions, Inc.