“ACTIVE PRESENCE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES”

“When you focus on someone’s disability you’ll overlook their abilities, beauty and uniqueness. Once you learn to accept and love them for who they are, you subconsciously learn to love yourself unconditionally.” ― Yvonne Pierre

Being?in?the community is not the same as being?part of?the community.?Early formulations of community living for people with developmental disabilities were generated out of our concern with deinstitutionalization. We wanted people out of institutions and were not clear enough in distinguishing between “being in the community” and “being part of the community.” Being in the community points only to physical presence; being part of the community means having the opportunity to interact and form relationships with other community members. Today this is referred to as inclusion.

People can live in the community and experience segregation, isolation, and loneliness. Community placement is merely a first step.

What does it mean to be part of the community?

BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY MEANS HAVING MEANINGFUL RELATIONS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.?To be part of the community is to be a family member, neighbor, schoolmate, friend, casual acquaintance, church member, shopper, co-worker, and significant other. It means being a fellow member of clubs, organizations and associations, and sometimes being a consumer of services as well. Being part of the community means much more than being treated nicely by staff or even having a citizen advocate or volunteer. It means being known as an individual, a unique person, and not as a label, a ward of the state, a client of an agency, a consumer of services, or the recipient of another’s charity.

BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY MEANS CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMUNITY.?It means being a good citizen. While this usually means holding a job, it does not just mean that. It means contributing in other ways, by volunteering, by celebrating when the community celebrates and grieving when it experiences tragedy, and by engaging in neighborly acts. Ties to the community are fragile when they are not based on reciprocity. Having people with developmental disabilities in a neighborhood should mean a better community.

BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY REQUIRES BEING SUPPORTED BY SERVICES AND AGENCIES IN SUCH A WAY AS TO BECOME LESS DEPENDENT ON THOSE SERVICES AND AGENCIES.?When people with developmental disabilities have to rely exclusively on the services of agencies, they are destined not be become part of the community. The more agencies provide, the less others will be involved in a person’s life. Only when support is spread throughout the community can people become part of their communities.

BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY SHOULD NEVER BE CONFUSED WITH NEGLECT, INDIFFERENCE, OR DENIAL OF SUPPORT.?While the goal is for people with developmental disabilities to become part of their communities, this cannot be used to excuse the denial of supports and services to people. To be part of the community does not mean that people with developmental disabilities or their families must do without support from publicly funded agencies.

This is a particularly salient issue with people with mild developmental disabilities today. With the current anti-welfare mentality they are most vulnerable to being abandoned by governmental agencies that search for less inclusive definitions of what constitutes need.

BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY IS AN END IN ITSELF.?People with developmental disabilities who are part of their communities act in more normal and socially appropriate ways. They may indeed become more independent and productive economically. But the strongest argument in favor of enabling people to become part of their communities is that they lead better, more fulfilling lives.