01/07/2026
We are fixing our website currently, so with a new year and our 12th anniversary as a company I would like to introduce my core team one by one! I am not the best with technology, but here is to a year of learning!
My name is Anastasia and I am the owner of Breakthroughs LLC. While studying clinical psychology in Indiana, I worked with individuals with mental disorders and witnessed firsthand the aftereffects of deinstitutionalization—where individuals were released from institutions but left without real solutions or meaningful supports to live full lives. The system offered no real continuity of care, leaving people with mental health challenges lost between services and without the support they needed to thrive. Rather than creating lasting change, many individuals simply fell through the cracks. And still do. That experience fundamentally shaped my understanding of care, accountability, and advocacy.
While still in college in Indiana, I took a position in a supported living setting where the environment was dilapidated and the men I supported had little to no advocacy or voice. At the time, because of my limited understanding of what other possibilities might exist for adults with disabilities, I found myself thinking, “This must be it for them.” That realization was heartbreaking and pushed me to make my time with them as meaningful and supportive as possible. Yet the thought that stayed with me was simple and persistent: there had to be something better than this. Witnessing the conditions they lived in—and the lack of urgency to improve them—became a defining moment in my professional journey and played a significant role in my decision to pivot my career path when I later came to Florida.
After relocating to Florida, I was pursuing my career in clinical psychology at USF and took a job in a group home providing similar supports to help pay my bills. In that setting, I quickly realized the same systemic failures I had seen before still existed. Despite changes in location and policy, individuals with disabilities were too often treated as billing numbers rather than human beings—placed out of sight, stripped of their voices, and repeatedly denied true autonomy. Many decisions were made to benefit the care workers or the agencies serving them versus the actual individuals. Even well-intentioned caregivers can sometimes forget that the people we work with are also adults with their own desires, rights, and dignity. Although rights were frequently discussed, they were rarely honored in practice. Seeing this again, state after state, left me feeling deeply hopeless.
It was in these moments that a guiding question became central to my philosophy: If conditions like this are not acceptable for neurotypical humans, why are they considered acceptable for people with disabilities? Why do we lump them into one category as if they are not full human beings with dignity, desire, and potential? Why pretend they don’t exist or treat them as a problem rather than a gift? This belief has informed every decision I have made since, shaping the way I support the individuals I serve and lead the team that serves them.
I transitioned into working directly with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, spending many years in the field and holding nearly every role our caregivers hold today. That lived experience shapes how I lead—with empathy, accountability, and respect. I see our team and the individuals we serve as one large extended family.
From these experiences, my agency was born—founded on the belief that adults with disabilities deserve real opportunities to live, belong, and thrive within their communities. Along the way, I adopted a man with a disability whom I continue to care for more than 15 years later, an experience that has profoundly shaped both my life and my mission.
Over the years, I have personally witnessed outcomes many families once believed were impossible—individuals living independently, holding meaningful jobs, and finding love and connection in their lives. When expectations are set high, and individuals are supported with the same standards we hold for neurotypical adults, they rise to meet those expectations and often go beyond them. I believe deeply in setting the bar high, because belief, opportunity, and consistent support create real change.
I fight every day for adults with disabilities, their rights, their dignity, and their ability to live full, meaningful lives—supported by a team that is respected, heard, and truly cared for.
A Bit About Me Personally
Outside of my work with Breakthroughs LLC, I share my life with my husband, John, my son, Mateo, my stepkids, new grandbaby!!!, my brother Alex and my nieces and nephews Korbin and Kensley. I am also a dedicated foster mom for dogs and have rescued and rehomed over 70 dogs through Rugaz Rescue. Needless to say, we have a FULL HOUSE, full of love and gratitude. In my personal time, I enjoy staying active at the gym, practicing yoga, reading, and spending time in my garden. I love to travel and hike, particularly in the mountains out West, but truly wherever my backpack takes me. These passions keep me grounded, energized, and inspired as I continue my work advocating for adults with disabilities.
