"Lets all come together"

Imagine a world where everybody was accepted for their differences and included in the community. Unfortunately, this is not the world we live in today but I hope one day it will be. I hope one day we can live in a world where there won't have to be "special" proms, "special" education and "special" camps for people with disabilities because people with disabilities will be included in the mainstream community.

My coworkers and I recently had a training/conversation led by professors at Temple University about the importance and fundamentals of community inclusion. We also invited partners from the community to come and learn about the fundamentals of community inclusion and discuss ways we can make the Raleigh community more inclusive. This was such an interesting conversation and I have never felt more passionate about helping those with disabilities accomplish community inclusion.

I know first hand how being included in the community through employment can make you feel happier and accepted. Since I started working, I wake up each morning with a purpose and it feels so good.

I believe that community inclusion should start from the first day of Kindergarten with school inclusion. If students don't see students with disabilities as "different" by being in separate classrooms or riding different school buses, it could translate later in life by those same students creating "welcoming and inclusive communities."

One of my goals for promoting community inclusion is making sure that I am planning events that are community inclusive for our youth group. Meaning that I am planning events where the youth group has a chance to be out in the community interacting with people with and without disabilities.

Community inclusion may be a hard task to accomplish but it has benefits for the entire community that will far outweigh any hardships.

How do you promote community inclusion in your everyday life?

Written by Sydney Breslow




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