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one out of five people in the United
States has a disability most
disabilities are hidden what we find is
that people that have not experienced
disabilities in their own life
feel that they need to
um stay away as much as they can
because of the uncomfortable unfamiliar
what we're looking to do is make people
more familiar with with the concept of
disabilities there's been a a big push
nationally um to create some resources
to to help organizations that use
volunteers understand um and and be able
to have some tools to um to be inclusive
to let everybody be able to come and
volunteer and use whatever talents here
she
has what people in
need should understand is that if
there's
assistance it's about helping not about
the person it's about the process it's
about the hope that things will get
better or easier for those in need
despite whatever they are that are the
people who are helping out uh just as
you have disabled individuals building
houses for disabled individuals how much
better can that be it's important about
giving and taking both ways not about
the person the disability whatever it is
I'm doing H to assist in terms of the
time that I that I give I know that I
get back uh the Gratitude the thanks
from those who are in need and those who
are helped and that's enough for me so
each experience is important one of the
things we know about volunteering is
that the the coming together with the
community that it provides that sense of
social connection and the opportunity to
give back is so beneficial for everyone
not just psychologically and spiritually
but physically as well people live
longer when they join with their
communities in activities like
volunteering they are healthier they
have less pain they have less disability
we're here we made it alive beautiful
sunny Hawaii I'm ready to pound I'm
ready to hammer and I'm ready to work I
that uh a lot of times people are
apprehensive uh approaching me and
talking to me because of my
disability uh I think people don't mean
to be sometimes people um will talk to
if I'm out with my wife they'll talk to
my wife instead of me and something just
uh happened to me uh when I was at the
airport uh getting getting ticketed the
guy would never hand me back my tickets
he always handed them to my wife and
would always ask my wife questions about
me and I'm like I'm right here I'm right
here I can hear you I know what you're
saying you know I think we all get kind
of caught up in doing our own thing and
kind of step outside
and volunteer our time and you know give
back to the community you know people
think maybe if you have a disability you
can't really contribute to the to the
volunteer movement or whatever it is you
know and I think it's important I just
think it's really important to to
society that you know people with
disabilities are out there making a
difference in the world I got pulled
over and the policeman instead of coming
up to my door like they usually do and
saying oh how do you drive and do you
have a license and wow Isn't that cool
instead he got on his speaker and said I
need to see your hands out the window
right now and when I
shouted I don't have any arms he pulled
his gun out and I could see him in my
rearview mirror behind his door he was
ready to shoot the one thing in the
world he was asking of me was the very
one thing that I could not comply
with as much as I wanted to I think
anytime a person with a disability goes
out and lives their life unashamed and
unafraid then they are in a sense giving
a message I find that as people get
older in terms of social stigmas
they're less uh willing
to understand diversity and differences
in people historically um there have
been misconceptions as any Civil Rights
Movement people with
disabilities
have in large been one of the last
Frontiers that still exist I think
because of the fear that people have the
that they're unfamiliar with certain
situations the more familiar we are with
every as ECT of life that seems to be
uncomfortable then we become more
understanding and more
compassionate when I was first asked to
help with Nancy I kind of I was thinking
of what a blind person could really do
if you ask them what they need to do a
job once you describe what that job is
they will tell you what they need to do
it or if that's not a good match uh so
it's not it's not rocket science you
need to deal directly with the person
you're trying to engage in a particular
task and they will tell you uh if they
need an accommodation I was very nervous
I didn't know what to expect uh I never
hammered
Nails especially building a house and I
found that with with the guidance from
people who knew what was going on they
could help line me up everybody was so
wonderful being able to work with
somebody with that disability has opened
my mind on what people with disabilities
can really do since I do a lot of work
in Corporate America if they have some
one in their Workforce that has a
disability how should they treat them my
response is no differently than you
treat anybody else people are are are
much more um alike than they are
different when you look at somebody who
has a visible disability you may have
preconceived ideas of what they will be
able to accomplish what I would say is
try to take those preconceived notions
away and look at the possibilities they
may bring we can take disability and
turn it into possibility differences in
life doesn't mean
deficit it just means different if I
volunteer to help or to do something
it's because I want to be a part of the
solution or a part of the team or and
and I actually want to
help when
somebody who doesn't know you very well
hasn't lived in your skin for your
entire life sort of assumes that they
have a better idea of what you're
capable of than you do is a very common
misconception some people have made
assumptions when I do try to do do some
type of of work and they assume that
that maybe I'm not capable of doing that
because of my disability the
straightforward questions are always the
best way then you can kind of take away
as much awkwardness as possible
accommodating volunteers with
disabilities um you usually means just
thinking a little bit more creatively
about the tasks that need to be done
approach the volunteers the way you
would approach any volunteer saying this
is what we need to be done um how do you
think you could do that if we can be
open to um suggestions for other ways
something can be done then people can
come up with um amazingly creative and
effective Solutions we hope um people
will realize when they're outreaching to
to people to volunteer in their programs
is
to remember maybe not even the word
remember but to think about outreaching
to volunteers with disabilities in any
of their programs it is disappointing if
somebody says I don't think you should
do that I don't think you can do this or
that for
example to assume that a person who uses
a wheelchair could only do
a job on a computer is just false and
and to assume that I would be a
professional soccer player instead of
guitar player
is is just it's just a false assumption
we we can't judge a book by its cover we
shouldn't pick our dreams based on what
a perceived limitation is we should
decide what we want to do and then find
a way to do it and that goes I think
across the board for all of us we need
to
open up our perceptions a little bit
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more but you don't know who I am who are
you where do you come from and where do
you go and if I send an
invitation to my world would you come
and stare and if I had a chance to sing
my
song this is what I'd say we all the
same then you may think yeah you and me
we are the same does anybody really have
to take the
blame we are the same we more the same
than you may think said you and me we
are the same and it's a shame to be
ashamed you had your head don't hide
your heart you turn it off so you don't
fall apart when you see that man walk by
got his whole life in the shopping C so
you side you don't
cry then you wonder why you're so alone
we are more the same than you may think
yeah you me we are the same it doesn't
anybody have to take the blame no we are
the same we more the same you may think
said you me we are the same it's a shame
to be
ashame I don't want you to look the
other way fumble around thinking what to
say wouldn't want to be anybody else and
I'm okay with
myself cuz we all the same
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you