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Showing posts from December, 2019

The Inclusion Story

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It started as a question. During a work session, we were discussing potential action steps around building inclusive communities. We were moving towards a call to action; a way to get others involved in our mission. The question was asked, “How can we ask people to do something they do not yet believe in?” It was realized we needed to work on awareness first in order change what people believe about those with “disabilities.” Then allow them time in order to experience and include those with disabilities before we asked them to do something. So on a warm, early summer day, a small group of staff sat around a kitchen table, brainstorming core values, essential questions, and action steps that encompassed a formula for a campaign aimed to change peoples’ perceptions. We looked at disability advocates like Stella Young and Erik Weihenmayer who questioned the social model of disability and who pushed for society to see people with disabilities as anything but insp