Here is the link for a web site, Partners For Community Inclusion (The Ability Center of Greater Toledo's site, not their official website, a different initiative....).
http://sites.google.com/site/actpciprogram/calendar/home
On the Home page, their is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to assist ACT in securing a grant ( a parent letter). Here is the excerpt I wrote (from over a year ago):
A Parent’s Words…
“Our son has almost no friends. He has no kids his age or otherwise to “hang out” with on a regular basis, to talk to, or to do things with socially. He is almost 16 and he spends most of his time with us, his parents, his 9-year-old sister, and his extended family. We are a very close family and I know he loves us and likes to hang out with us, but he has shared his feelings with us and we totally understand. We are painfully aware, as our son has told us repeatedly over the years and recently, that he feels totally isolated. He feels like people look at him and just see his disability. They do not take the time to talk to him and get to know him. He wants friends, a girlfriend, to have things to do, to go to college and live on his own, and have a family of his own someday. He has cried to us, even recently, about how lonely he feels socially. He feels he has no life outside of his family. It is heartbreaking to us and to him.”
- An excerpt from a parent’s letter.
This site is important because it talks about the need for inclusive communities for individuals with disabilities and what this REALLY means. Below is an excerpt from the home page of the site. ( I did NOT write this!):
Everyone needs Community. Community needs everyone.
The Importance of Community
Just as everyone needs love and friendship and an opportunity to contribute, everyone needs community. We all need to know and believe that we belong to something bigger. Whether it is family, friends at work, church or the gym; the lady at the coffee shop that gives us our coffee and scone each day, it is comforting and healthy to be surrounded by people with whom we are familiar; whom we care about and who care about us.
Being “in” versus being “of” the Community
Anyone can be “in” the community. We can go to the store, live in an apartment, attend school or church and be “in” the community, but still not be “of” the community. Being “of” the community is much more complicated. Unfortunately, it requires a status of “member” be “bestowed” upon the person or group by a majority of the community. It requires membership be recognized, validated and supported by law makers, educators, employers, public and social service, housing, and medical providers, by the various religious communities and by the general population.
Anything short of this broad acceptance, this whole new way of thinking, and we remain marginalized, perhaps “in” but not “of” community. We remain without a sense of belonging or “real” connection, no sense of equity. Without equity, without voice, we (and our communities) have less chance of developing wholly and healthily. Opportunities to participate become less possible and those left out can only struggle against continued marginalization.
Isn't that well-said?
So, if you get a chance, check out the web site and pass it on to anyone you know who may be interested.
Blessings:)
Amy
