Last month in my blog titled “Not Again” I mentioned a movement to repurpose state budget money designated for employment programs for use in day activity programs.
The troubling issue is a shift in policy that is counter to normalized services and integration for adults with disabilities. We have worked years to get away from large segregated group programs and I am concerned we will shift policy by shifting funds. The adage is true - follow the dollars and you’ll know the priorities.
The Working Age Adult Policy makes work a priority and isn’t that what our society values? Don’t we gain great intrinsic, not to mention monetary, value in working? I mentioned in the Not Again Blog that when we were contemplating closing the sheltered workshop we employed the services of an outside consultant to ask the clients what they wanted. 80% of our clients said they wanted to work in the community! They wanted to have the same opportunity as all citizens because that is what America is all about – working and being productive in our society.
Does pet therapy or music therapy sound good? Sure, but most of us need to work in order to survive. If, in fact, the policy in this state is to prioritize work then the money should follow. If, in fact, we want an ancillary program centered around singing or making a dog’s tail wag then fund that - but not by taking the funding from employment programs. I say fund the program that best represents what is happening in the community. I don’t see our friends and neighbors sitting around during the work day petting cats as a large group activity! If, in fact, this alternative program is funded then in my opinion it should be integrated with other programs. Volunteer at the local humane shelter or sing in a community or church choir. The problem once again is that people take a paternalistic stance leading to a situation where we decide what is best for individuals with intellectual disabilities without really considering what they want.
I have talked about when I worked in Ellensburg, Washington many years ago. We had a segregated recreation program – best in the state in my opinion in large part due to the fact that we had a great Director and students from CWU’s recreation program working for us. When clients came to me and asked to change the service because they wanted to have more normalized activities I had to convince the staff that it was a good idea to move away from large group activity to more individualized services. Funding always came up as a stumbling block. It is hard to fund individualized services on a large group funding model. But should Pet the Kitty be 5 days a week several hours a day? Even I get tired of singing in my church choir after an hour of practice.
So I propose that funding for employment remain the same, that the Working Age Adult Policy stand and that funding is established for “recreation” programs based on an integrated model. And finally if respite care is the real root issue then funding should be established for an appropriate very short term, short duration respite model not adult day care.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Annual Report Available
Our 2010 Annual Report is available both on line and in printed form.
Our report is informative and riveting. Everyone loves it even Aiden (seen below) thinks it’s cool.
Please let me know if you would like a hard copy.
Our report is informative and riveting. Everyone loves it even Aiden (seen below) thinks it’s cool.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Some Thoughts on Social Justice
I was about 12 years old when the first Freedom Riders traveled to the south to demand full civil rights for African Americans. I asked my dad what it was all about. While he was explaining it I remember being somewhat baffled by the whole notion of inequality. I was raised Christian and taught we have an obligation to take care of each other - all of us. My dad was disturbed by the fact that people who were demanding social justice were attacked by law enforcement. I was incensed we could treat other people differently because they didn’t look like us - that some in our country thought people of color were less somehow. It didn’t really hit me then that some prejudice looms in each of us.
About the same time my dad told me of an Asian couple that wanted to move into our neighborhood and the association voted against it. I couldn’t believe my ears as my father’s explanation for discrimination was based not on ethnic bias but on property values. I couldn’t reconcile it and hoped that deep down he couldn’t either. Later I experienced firsthand racial discrimination, right here in the Pacific Northwest. I had an African American roommate and we were denied entrance into a restaurant. I wanted to make an issue of it because the restaurant owner said there was no room but I saw plenty of open tables but my roommate said “Let’s just move on, it’s not worth the hassle”.
Following the signing of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, the civil rights law guaranteeing equal opportunity for people with disabilities, the federal bureaucracy failed to create the regulations to implement the Act. As a result there was a nationwide sit-in of government buildings operated by HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare) in 1977. I watched the demonstrators with chained wheelchairs refusing to leave the offices in San Francisco and thought they didn’t have a chance of forcing the government into action. It didn’t seem possible because the group was small and no Freedom Riders were coming over the horizon to their aid. I was wrong. The protesters prevailed. They got noticed and the regulations were issued. I think that was the first time I was impressed with the determination and issues surrounding individuals with disabilities. You can read more on the history of the disability rights movement at: http://www.museumofdisability.org/home.asp
By time the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) came before Congress I was personally involved with the issues relating to the civil rights of individuals with disabilities. With 16 years in the rehabilitation field and firsthand experience with the challenges of individuals with disability in the areas of accessibility, I worked to encourage Congress to pass this significant legislation. It is sometimes difficult for an able-bodied person to understand the importance of access. The able-bodied person has not experienced the challenges of a non-ambulatory person negotiating moving from point A to point B until you have actually helped someone in a wheelchair access the entryway of a museum or hotel room or other public area. I vividly remember my experience in 1978 or 1979 of traveling with a person in a wheelchair to a conference. This was long before laws were changed to require curb cuts and accessible hotel rooms and restaurants. What I thought were simple steps turned out to be monumental barriers for this person in a wheelchair.
I learned through many years working on behalf of individuals with disabilities the challenges and, by extension, the indifference to disability. The prejudice they experience – name calling, teasing, lack of access were all done in my presence as if an able-bodied person had the right to look down upon another human. It reminds me of Selma, Alabama in 1961. The blatant discrimination of not being allowed entry or being asked to leave a restaurant because the people I was with were “too grotesque”. It reminds me of the “Whites Only” signs at public facilities in some parts of this country until the mid-60’s. On July 26, 1990 the ADA was signed into law and what a glorious day it was! I had been at Morningside a year and was elated at the signing. With this law the self-determination movement began, centering on the right of people with disabilities to make choices about their own lives, have the same rights and responsibilities as everyone else, and speak and advocate for themselves. It made so much sense – their time had arrived. Or had it? Has it changed monumentally in the last 20 years?
This last week I was listening to board members of a sheltered workshop defend paying sub-minimum wage and sheltered employment. I was outraged at the thought and expression that people with disabilities were “less than”. I thought of how embarrassed I would be if my friends with disabilities were in the room listening to people talk about people with disabilities as not really being productive, that no business would pay the going wage for them. Finally, I couldn’t contain myself and spoke out (really on behalf of them) saying that as a matter of justice we should do everything in our power to make sure people with disabilities have the same rights, same access, same wage and same opportunity as all other citizens. I wish I could have been as powerful and eloquent as Justin Dart, the tireless supporter of access for people with disabilities. I can just hear his message “I call for solidarity among all who love justice, all who love life, to create a revolution that will empower every single human being to govern his or her life, to govern the society and to be fully productive of life quality for self and for all.” He concluded with a call for “Justice for All”.
Fighting for people’s rights is a challenge. It isn’t easy. It can be painful. But it sure feels good to know you are supporting what is right, what is true and what is just.
About the same time my dad told me of an Asian couple that wanted to move into our neighborhood and the association voted against it. I couldn’t believe my ears as my father’s explanation for discrimination was based not on ethnic bias but on property values. I couldn’t reconcile it and hoped that deep down he couldn’t either. Later I experienced firsthand racial discrimination, right here in the Pacific Northwest. I had an African American roommate and we were denied entrance into a restaurant. I wanted to make an issue of it because the restaurant owner said there was no room but I saw plenty of open tables but my roommate said “Let’s just move on, it’s not worth the hassle”.
Following the signing of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, the civil rights law guaranteeing equal opportunity for people with disabilities, the federal bureaucracy failed to create the regulations to implement the Act. As a result there was a nationwide sit-in of government buildings operated by HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare) in 1977. I watched the demonstrators with chained wheelchairs refusing to leave the offices in San Francisco and thought they didn’t have a chance of forcing the government into action. It didn’t seem possible because the group was small and no Freedom Riders were coming over the horizon to their aid. I was wrong. The protesters prevailed. They got noticed and the regulations were issued. I think that was the first time I was impressed with the determination and issues surrounding individuals with disabilities. You can read more on the history of the disability rights movement at: http://www.museumofdisability.org/home.asp
By time the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) came before Congress I was personally involved with the issues relating to the civil rights of individuals with disabilities. With 16 years in the rehabilitation field and firsthand experience with the challenges of individuals with disability in the areas of accessibility, I worked to encourage Congress to pass this significant legislation. It is sometimes difficult for an able-bodied person to understand the importance of access. The able-bodied person has not experienced the challenges of a non-ambulatory person negotiating moving from point A to point B until you have actually helped someone in a wheelchair access the entryway of a museum or hotel room or other public area. I vividly remember my experience in 1978 or 1979 of traveling with a person in a wheelchair to a conference. This was long before laws were changed to require curb cuts and accessible hotel rooms and restaurants. What I thought were simple steps turned out to be monumental barriers for this person in a wheelchair.
I learned through many years working on behalf of individuals with disabilities the challenges and, by extension, the indifference to disability. The prejudice they experience – name calling, teasing, lack of access were all done in my presence as if an able-bodied person had the right to look down upon another human. It reminds me of Selma, Alabama in 1961. The blatant discrimination of not being allowed entry or being asked to leave a restaurant because the people I was with were “too grotesque”. It reminds me of the “Whites Only” signs at public facilities in some parts of this country until the mid-60’s. On July 26, 1990 the ADA was signed into law and what a glorious day it was! I had been at Morningside a year and was elated at the signing. With this law the self-determination movement began, centering on the right of people with disabilities to make choices about their own lives, have the same rights and responsibilities as everyone else, and speak and advocate for themselves. It made so much sense – their time had arrived. Or had it? Has it changed monumentally in the last 20 years?
This last week I was listening to board members of a sheltered workshop defend paying sub-minimum wage and sheltered employment. I was outraged at the thought and expression that people with disabilities were “less than”. I thought of how embarrassed I would be if my friends with disabilities were in the room listening to people talk about people with disabilities as not really being productive, that no business would pay the going wage for them. Finally, I couldn’t contain myself and spoke out (really on behalf of them) saying that as a matter of justice we should do everything in our power to make sure people with disabilities have the same rights, same access, same wage and same opportunity as all other citizens. I wish I could have been as powerful and eloquent as Justin Dart, the tireless supporter of access for people with disabilities. I can just hear his message “I call for solidarity among all who love justice, all who love life, to create a revolution that will empower every single human being to govern his or her life, to govern the society and to be fully productive of life quality for self and for all.” He concluded with a call for “Justice for All”.
Fighting for people’s rights is a challenge. It isn’t easy. It can be painful. But it sure feels good to know you are supporting what is right, what is true and what is just.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Not Again
I think by now you know I am old. I don’t feel old but when I tell people I started in this business in 1973, well it’s been a long time – over 38 years. I remember my uncle telling me that in this business over time the pendulum swings back and forth around programs, required documentation or philosophies. Never would I believe that we would swing from individualized, integrated services back to congregate segregates services but that is what the legislature wants to do in the House version of the operating state budget for 2011-2013. Luckily the Senate changed their position to maintain integrated community based employment as the primary service. Now we need to get it passed and enacted.
I am not clear on the impetus behind the House budget but I surmise that it is parents who want something “nice” for their son or daughter to do. I’ve talked with many parents of children with disabilities in the K-12 Special Education system and often times find they often don’t even consider work when discussing their son or daughter’s future. They apparently can’t conceptualize their son or daughter working. When I mention we have worked with individuals with multiple or profound disabilities or challenges they either don’t think it applies with their child or are totally shocked and want to probe the issue in greater detail. I am thrilled when a parent says “Wow, that’s fantastic, I want my child to experience the same thing!”
The problem is that people take a paternalistic stance leading to a position of we decide what is best for individuals with intellectual disabilities without really asking them what they would like to with their time and life, even into adulthood.
When I worked in Ellensburg, Washington many years ago we were having a staffing for Danny, one of the persons coming out of a children’s group home. I was representing adult employment services. There sat this large group determining what was best for Danny who was soon to graduate from the special education program. Danny didn’t fit everyone’s paradigm. He didn’t need the services of an adult group home yet no tenant support services existed at the time. The discussion was quite intense. I was lucky enough to be seated next to Danny. As I was taking it all in and, trying to get to know this person, I noticed a look of bewilderment on his face. I suggested it was time we heard from Danny. To that point in the conversation Danny was in the circle but he wasn’t even being noticed. The debate raged around him. I asked Danny a series of questions and in the end it was clear what he wanted. He wanted to live in an apartment and work at a job he had held while in work study. It was our job to make it happen. So we put together a program. It required many people filling in the holes or pieces where needed but it ended by making Danny’s dream a reality - not our dream for him but his dream. I tell this story because everyone at that meeting knew exactly what Danny needed even though no one had ever asked him.
When we were contemplating closing the sheltered workshop we employed the services of an outside consultant to ask the clients what they wanted. 80% said they wanted to work in the community. I am glad we asked rather than assume the segregated, sheltered employment was the best option. As a result of their leadership look where we are today. We support over 200 people working in jobs in the community! We need the legislature to continue to support people leading inclusive, self-determined lives
I am not clear on the impetus behind the House budget but I surmise that it is parents who want something “nice” for their son or daughter to do. I’ve talked with many parents of children with disabilities in the K-12 Special Education system and often times find they often don’t even consider work when discussing their son or daughter’s future. They apparently can’t conceptualize their son or daughter working. When I mention we have worked with individuals with multiple or profound disabilities or challenges they either don’t think it applies with their child or are totally shocked and want to probe the issue in greater detail. I am thrilled when a parent says “Wow, that’s fantastic, I want my child to experience the same thing!”
The problem is that people take a paternalistic stance leading to a position of we decide what is best for individuals with intellectual disabilities without really asking them what they would like to with their time and life, even into adulthood.
When I worked in Ellensburg, Washington many years ago we were having a staffing for Danny, one of the persons coming out of a children’s group home. I was representing adult employment services. There sat this large group determining what was best for Danny who was soon to graduate from the special education program. Danny didn’t fit everyone’s paradigm. He didn’t need the services of an adult group home yet no tenant support services existed at the time. The discussion was quite intense. I was lucky enough to be seated next to Danny. As I was taking it all in and, trying to get to know this person, I noticed a look of bewilderment on his face. I suggested it was time we heard from Danny. To that point in the conversation Danny was in the circle but he wasn’t even being noticed. The debate raged around him. I asked Danny a series of questions and in the end it was clear what he wanted. He wanted to live in an apartment and work at a job he had held while in work study. It was our job to make it happen. So we put together a program. It required many people filling in the holes or pieces where needed but it ended by making Danny’s dream a reality - not our dream for him but his dream. I tell this story because everyone at that meeting knew exactly what Danny needed even though no one had ever asked him.
When we were contemplating closing the sheltered workshop we employed the services of an outside consultant to ask the clients what they wanted. 80% said they wanted to work in the community. I am glad we asked rather than assume the segregated, sheltered employment was the best option. As a result of their leadership look where we are today. We support over 200 people working in jobs in the community! We need the legislature to continue to support people leading inclusive, self-determined lives
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Believe in Your Dreams
The Olympian ran an article on the front page of Sunday’s Living Section entitled “It’s all about Perspective. This article written by Molly Gilmore tells a story about Kathleen Avery, a client of Morningside and the partnership with Steve Vento a local professional photographer who has taken Kathleen under his wing. Steve has helped her in many ways, from developing a stand mounted on her wheelchair to hold her camera to advice on photography art. He also has put together with her a show of her work that will be in Arts Walk. (see below)
I happened to be with the troop taking pictures at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge because I wanted to take my own photograph to be used in our Annual Report that will be published soon and was very impressed with the community coming together to assist a person who has a dream of becoming a commercial photographer. It was a rather drizzling spring day and I was competing with Steve Bloom, The Olympian’s venerable photographer to get a good angle to visually depict this relationship but kept witnessing a very unique and beautiful sight of someone sharing their knowledge to help another person learn.
Exhibit 'A View from a Wheelchair'
What: Kathleen Avery’s first photography exhibit, which will be part of Arts Walk XLII.
When: 5-10 p.m. this Friday and noon-8 p.m. Saturday (she will be onsite at 6:00 p.m. Friday)
Where: Canvas Works, 525 Columbia St. S.W., Olympia
Link to article: http://www.theolympian.com/2011/04/17/1619553/its-all-about-perspective.html#ixzz1K0KUiSTR
Steve and Kathleen looking at a recent shot.
I happened to be with the troop taking pictures at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge because I wanted to take my own photograph to be used in our Annual Report that will be published soon and was very impressed with the community coming together to assist a person who has a dream of becoming a commercial photographer. It was a rather drizzling spring day and I was competing with Steve Bloom, The Olympian’s venerable photographer to get a good angle to visually depict this relationship but kept witnessing a very unique and beautiful sight of someone sharing their knowledge to help another person learn.
Exhibit 'A View from a Wheelchair'
What: Kathleen Avery’s first photography exhibit, which will be part of Arts Walk XLII.
When: 5-10 p.m. this Friday and noon-8 p.m. Saturday (she will be onsite at 6:00 p.m. Friday)
Where: Canvas Works, 525 Columbia St. S.W., Olympia
Link to article: http://www.theolympian.com/2011/04/17/1619553/its-all-about-perspective.html#ixzz1K0KUiSTR
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Kismet
Kismet (ˈkɪzmɛt)
-n
2. fate or destiny
Have you ever walked into a store and instantly felt a kinship, drawn into its presence like a magnet observing the ambiance and catching the eye of enthusiastic sales people? I had such an experience in Aberdeen recently when photographing a client for our upcoming 2010 Annual Report and had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Popcorn Café. If you are in Aberdeen or driving through on your way to the ocean you need to drop in to this charming popcorn and coffee house in the heart of Aberdeen. You can choose from one of their many popcorn flavored delicacies and maybe try a cappuccino or latte. Look for it on the corner of Wishkah and Broadway heading into town on 101.
I was drawn to the friendly wait staff including the client we support who does “outside” (literally) sales by taking his popcorn cart and going to other businesses in town peddling his wares on foot. The owner, Celia Barry, is one of the most pleasant, positive people I have met. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her while I was taking pictures and disrupting business a bit. She is the quintessential small business entrepreneur. She is outgoing, and seems to have boundless energy along with a very positive attitude. Presented with the opportunity to hire a client, she saw the positive and how to use his strengths of sales and out-going personality to her advantage to start another revenue stream. Innovative, you bet! It’s also a family business as her mother helps make the gluten free brownies, cookies and other tasty morsels beckoning from the display case. Innovation, energy, and a wonderful product a recipe for success at the Popcorn Café!
So stop in the next time you are in Aberdeen….it will be worth your while.
-n
2. fate or destiny
Have you ever walked into a store and instantly felt a kinship, drawn into its presence like a magnet observing the ambiance and catching the eye of enthusiastic sales people? I had such an experience in Aberdeen recently when photographing a client for our upcoming 2010 Annual Report and had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Popcorn Café. If you are in Aberdeen or driving through on your way to the ocean you need to drop in to this charming popcorn and coffee house in the heart of Aberdeen. You can choose from one of their many popcorn flavored delicacies and maybe try a cappuccino or latte. Look for it on the corner of Wishkah and Broadway heading into town on 101.
I was drawn to the friendly wait staff including the client we support who does “outside” (literally) sales by taking his popcorn cart and going to other businesses in town peddling his wares on foot. The owner, Celia Barry, is one of the most pleasant, positive people I have met. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her while I was taking pictures and disrupting business a bit. She is the quintessential small business entrepreneur. She is outgoing, and seems to have boundless energy along with a very positive attitude. Presented with the opportunity to hire a client, she saw the positive and how to use his strengths of sales and out-going personality to her advantage to start another revenue stream. Innovative, you bet! It’s also a family business as her mother helps make the gluten free brownies, cookies and other tasty morsels beckoning from the display case. Innovation, energy, and a wonderful product a recipe for success at the Popcorn Café!
So stop in the next time you are in Aberdeen….it will be worth your while.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Outstanding Employers
Yesterday at the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce forum Morningside was pleased to introduce and honor the four Thurston County Outstanding Employers for 2010. The event was so packed that Saint Martin’s University catering company Bon Appétit had to bring in extra tables to handle the overflow crown. I suspect the draw was the presenter. Dr. Arun Raha, Executive Director, Economic and Revenue Forecasting Council gave the audience a very complete economic prediction. He was well received by the forum participants, who’d a thunk that an economist could be so funny. He gave a plug for Morningside. After our presentation he was introduced and said that he was taking his Morningside pen back to work because of the state cutbacks, pens are hard to come by in his state office.
This year we videotaped three Outstanding Employers giving testimony employing individuals supported by Morningside. You can view these three employers clicking on this link: http://www.mside.org/videos.asp
I would like to congratulate the 2010 winners: Southgate Ace Hardware, Walgreens on Martin Way, Trader Joe’s and the State of Washington, DSHS, Division of Child Support. It was fun to have the employers in attendance and experience the overwhelming support the chamber members gave to them.
Don’t forget that the next CEO breakfast is scheduled for March 22nd at 7:30 at the Business Center. Come and hear from an employer who has worked with Morningside. They will be candid and available to meet with you and answer your concerns. It is your opportunity to ask any question you may have about the process. The meeting will end promptly at 8:30 – guaranteed. See you then.
This year we videotaped three Outstanding Employers giving testimony employing individuals supported by Morningside. You can view these three employers clicking on this link: http://www.mside.org/videos.asp
I would like to congratulate the 2010 winners: Southgate Ace Hardware, Walgreens on Martin Way, Trader Joe’s and the State of Washington, DSHS, Division of Child Support. It was fun to have the employers in attendance and experience the overwhelming support the chamber members gave to them.
Don’t forget that the next CEO breakfast is scheduled for March 22nd at 7:30 at the Business Center. Come and hear from an employer who has worked with Morningside. They will be candid and available to meet with you and answer your concerns. It is your opportunity to ask any question you may have about the process. The meeting will end promptly at 8:30 – guaranteed. See you then.
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