Community Inclusion

One of the challenges we face in the developmental disability field today is how to get people with disabilities more involved in the communities they live in. In a survey conducted by Harris poll, there continues to be a community participation gap between people with disabilities and people without disabilities. For instance:

• 81% of people with disabilities, compared to 67% of people without disabilities say they never go to community service organizations, either to participate in the organization's activities or to avail themselves in the organization's services.
• A similar gap appears when contrasting attendance at outdoor community places such as the beach or park. While 58% of people people without disabilities go to these places at least once a month, only 44% of people with disabilities do the same.

Just as we have relationships with people in the community, it is time for us to push very hard to make sure people with disabilities are given the same opportunities. We have come a long way in the 20+ years I have been working in the field. However, we still have a long way to go. When I entered the field in the 1980's, community inclusion meant recreation trips. Yes, we would go bowling or to the movies, but how many people were really interested in those activities? We stayed together as a group and never really gave people with disabilities the opportunity to interact with other people.

Today, community inclusion must mean going to the mall. Regardless of the suburban mall I go to, I can always pick out the group. Usually 5-8 people with disabilities walking with 2-4 counselors. Although going to the mall is a nice community trip, I believe the concept is missing. Is it normal for us to go to the mall in a herd? the answer is no.

What would make community inclusion work in this setting would be breaking up the group into smaller groups. There are enough stores where people can go to different locations and then meet up later for lunch. There should also be an opportunity for people to meet individuals who work in the store, thereby forming their own relationships with people in the community.

Other suggestions include:

• attending church or synagogue where they would have the opportunity to not only attend service, but join organizations within such as the choir.

It is time to make community inclusion really mean community inclusion!

Resources

http://www.communityinclusion.org

http://www.cc-inclusion.org