WEBVTT

00:00:01.796 --> 00:00:07.702
I'm Dr. Gillian Friedman, managing health
editor of Ability Magazine, a leading

00:00:07.702 --> 00:00:11.897
publication addressing health, disability
and human potential.

00:00:11.897 --> 00:00:17.211
And I'm Max Gail, a subscriber and
sometimes contributor to Ability Magazine.

00:00:17.211 --> 00:00:23.343
I also volunteer as a director for Ability
Awareness, a non-profit organisation that

00:00:23.343 --> 00:00:28.181
is partnered with Habitat for Humanity to
build accessible homes and to build

00:00:28.181 --> 00:00:32.362
awareness of the value of volunteering for
people with disabilities.

00:00:32.362 --> 00:00:36.824
And I've been a volunteer on the Ability
House project a number of times, going

00:00:36.824 --> 00:00:40.404
back to the first one in Birmingham,
Alabama back in 1999.

00:00:41.344 --> 00:00:46.264
Today there are 56 million people with
mental or physical disabilities in America.

00:00:46.264 --> 00:00:50.372
The Department of Housing and Urban
Development has identified people with

00:00:50.372 --> 00:00:54.896
disabilities as one of the principle
populations experiencing worst-case

00:00:54.896 --> 00:01:00.394
housing needs. Ability Awareness and
Habitat for Humanity address this need

00:01:00.394 --> 00:01:02.572
through the Ability House project.

00:01:02.572 --> 00:01:06.482
Now there are two features that make the
Ability House project really unique, the

00:01:06.482 --> 00:01:11.690
first is that the program endorses
universal design - that's the strategy for

00:01:11.690 --> 00:01:16.131
building environments that can be visited
by people of all ages and all abilities.

00:01:16.131 --> 00:01:22.159
And the second, it specifically seeks to involve
volunteers with disabilities in all phases

00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:28.031
of construction. You know, to see or work
with people with disabilities actually

00:01:28.031 --> 00:01:33.630
building a house, well that'll wipe out
all the stereotypes and myths you might

00:01:33.630 --> 00:01:38.482
have about people with disabilities.
And it helps those volunteers to explore

00:01:38.482 --> 00:01:41.226
and to demonstrate their abilities.

00:01:41.226 --> 00:01:46.741
The adage "it's better to give than to
receive" is born out in health studies

00:01:46.741 --> 00:01:52.211
showing that emotional wellbeing, physical
health and mental sharpness improve when

00:01:52.211 --> 00:01:57.111
people join activities where they can give
and receive encouragement and learn new

00:01:57.111 --> 00:01:58.192
skills.

00:01:58.192 --> 00:02:04.333
I'll attest to that. Anyway, the following
presentation was shot at an Ability house

00:02:04.333 --> 00:02:09.074
built in Baltimore, Maryland. This was
documented by the Good Life Television

00:02:09.074 --> 00:02:14.148
Network for an episode of their series
'Volunteers for the Sake of Others'.

00:02:14.148 --> 00:02:16.467
I think you'll enjoy it.

00:02:17.907 --> 00:02:22.784
So many people wonder how a blind person
can build a house or how a person who uses

00:02:22.784 --> 00:02:24.434
a wheelchair can come and build a house.

00:02:25.169 --> 00:02:30.188
Volunteers, many with disabilities and
little knowledge of construction have set

00:02:30.188 --> 00:02:33.686
out to try and build a house in just
eight days.

00:02:35.276 --> 00:02:38.997
Most of them have never done any kind of
construction work.

00:02:39.442 --> 00:02:41.464
NARRATOR: Will wet weather dampen their
spirits?

00:02:42.059 --> 00:02:46.489
We would rather have better weather but
we've got a schedule to keep.

00:02:46.842 --> 00:02:51.086
NARRATOR: It will take all of the
volunteers working together to complete

00:02:51.086 --> 00:02:52.542
this house on time.

00:02:52.542 --> 00:02:57.520
Everyone can come out and pick up a hammer
and we're all on equal ground.

00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:34.684
Welcome to Good Life TV Network's
'Volunteers for the Sake of Others'.

00:03:34.684 --> 00:03:38.300
I'm Doris McMillan.
People with disabilities are often

00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:43.988
marginalised by society. An impairment is
often seen as being a major obstacle to living a

00:03:43.988 --> 00:03:49.228
normal life. Ability Awareness, a
non-profit organisation combats this

00:03:49.228 --> 00:03:54.182
misconception by recruiting people who
have disabilities to help construct homes,

00:03:54.182 --> 00:03:57.952
often for people who themselves have a
disability.

00:03:57.952 --> 00:04:01.232
This time-honoured tradition of
volunteering allows those with

00:04:01.232 --> 00:04:04.249
disabilities to help someone in need.

00:04:05.499 --> 00:04:09.370
The Ability house project is a hallmark
program of Ability Awareness and was

00:04:09.370 --> 00:04:13.778
basically started to increase awareness
around the issues surrounding people with

00:04:13.778 --> 00:04:20.226
disabilities, to really bring people with 
disabilities out and show the community

00:04:20.226 --> 00:04:22.375
their true skills and their talents, and

00:04:22.375 --> 00:04:26.178
their potential as volunteers, as mentors
and as employees.

00:04:26.178 --> 00:04:31.336
Volunteering benefits the provider of
service, perhaps as much as it does the

00:04:31.336 --> 00:04:36.687
recipient of service, and so when you have
someone who is commonly thought of as in

00:04:36.687 --> 00:04:43.398
need, there is a therapeutic benefit to
be derived when those individuals can in

00:04:43.398 --> 00:04:45.445
fact be the providers of service.

00:04:47.265 --> 00:04:52.393
Here, Ability teams with the local chapter
of Habitat for Humanity to build a house

00:04:52.393 --> 00:04:55.257
with a few special features.

00:04:58.947 --> 00:05:04.233
The Ability House is an accessibly designed
home, built for someone with a disability

00:05:04.233 --> 00:05:08.888
by volunteers, many of whom also have
disabilities.

00:05:08.888 --> 00:05:13.016
VOLUNTEER: Ready? One, two, three!

00:05:17.036 --> 00:05:21.869
The concept of universal design which
means people who have physical impairments

00:05:21.869 --> 00:05:28.474
are able to get in or out of it with no
barriers, and so I think this is a

00:05:28.474 --> 00:05:30.051
worthwhile project.

00:05:30.051 --> 00:05:34.493
It's a big stigma that blind people have
to sit and they can't do things and we see

00:05:34.493 --> 00:05:37.471
a lot of people that come through our
program that have had people take care of

00:05:37.471 --> 00:05:39.815
them their whole lives and there's no
reason for that really.

00:05:40.825 --> 00:05:45.230
So often people with disabilities, they
aren't looked to as volunteers, and every

00:05:45.230 --> 00:05:51.067
single person has his or her individual
level of ability, and so it's just really

00:05:51.067 --> 00:05:55.601
a matter of finding out what that is and
utilising them to their fullest potential.

00:05:55.601 --> 00:05:58.158
MAN: Here now, feel that, see what we're
gonna do?

00:06:03.658 --> 00:06:09.471
Red hats, experienced volunteers, work on
securing the roof while a group of blind

00:06:09.471 --> 00:06:12.481
volunteers help with the house's exterior.

00:06:14.771 --> 00:06:19.551
I was given four individuals, and I took
them aside, gave them a quick lesson on

00:06:19.551 --> 00:06:24.770
how to operate a screw gun, all I had to
do was point to where the screw needed to

00:06:24.770 --> 00:06:28.302
go in, I'd say "follow my finger", they'd
find my fingertip, put the screw there and

00:06:28.302 --> 00:06:29.345
screw it in.

00:06:29.345 --> 00:06:34.312
Something really clicked with Fred. He was
there working with the volunteers

00:06:34.312 --> 00:06:40.414
patiently working with each one. And he was
giving of himself and he really sensed

00:06:40.414 --> 00:06:41.674
what this is all about.

00:06:41.674 --> 00:06:48.545
I was totally amazed and impressed.
To call them disabled is no longer

00:06:48.545 --> 00:06:53.986
adequate. They are definitely able-bodied
with a minor inconvenience.

00:06:58.502 --> 00:07:04.080
Tom Owens has been blind since the age of
11, but involved in carpentry all his life.

00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:12.021
Technically I've been doing this stuff
since I was about 3. I started working

00:07:12.021 --> 00:07:17.199
with my father when I was 3 years old,
everybody in my family has some kind of

00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:29.961
trade type skill. And Romney's a great
partner. (Laughs) She likes high places.

00:07:32.391 --> 00:07:34.360
I think these guys are doing a great job.

00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:37.547
It's great to come out here and see
people from all walks of life.

00:07:37.547 --> 00:07:39.830
And I'm real happy to be a part of it.

00:07:41.260 --> 00:07:43.917
Tom's an amazing role model
for the blindness community,

00:07:43.917 --> 00:07:46.785
just to show that you really can do
anything that you want to do.

00:07:46.785 --> 00:07:48.522
And there's no reason that you can't.

00:07:49.282 --> 00:07:51.710
You can do anything but drive 
a car is what we like to say.

00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:56.405
(Narrator) 60-year-old John Randall
had a stroke 11 years ago.

00:07:56.405 --> 00:08:01.559
He now has left-side hemiparesis, 
and lacks the use of his left arm and leg.

00:08:05.649 --> 00:08:07.808
I need accessibility everywhere I go.

00:08:07.808 --> 00:08:14.030
So anything I can help someone,
that's automatic with me.

00:08:16.610 --> 00:08:19.451
(Narrator) A self-declared advocate
for people with disabilities,

00:08:19.451 --> 00:08:23.203
John volunteers on a number 
of Baltimore area committees.

00:08:24.253 --> 00:08:28.294
We need people to care to help
people who can't help themselves.

00:08:29.904 --> 00:08:31.965
So many people worry about money,

00:08:32.345 --> 00:08:34.644
but to volunteer is great.

00:08:35.524 --> 00:08:37.913
You get a different reward
when you volunteer.

00:08:38.513 --> 00:08:42.349
So many people wonder how 
a blind person can build a house.

00:08:42.349 --> 00:08:45.341
Or how a person who uses a wheelchair
can come and build a house.

00:08:45.341 --> 00:08:50.097
The reality is is that the biggest 
limitations that people

00:08:50.097 --> 00:08:53.984
with disabilities have are preconceptions
that we've place on them.

00:08:55.664 --> 00:08:58.347
But today, I wanted to help out
to see what I can do.

00:08:58.347 --> 00:09:00.543
Just a little bit of drilling I could do.

00:09:00.543 --> 00:09:02.408
I wanted to help volunteer.

00:09:02.408 --> 00:09:05.069
This brings back memories of when
my house was being built.

00:09:06.999 --> 00:09:09.732
It really touches me to see people
here volunteering their time.

00:09:09.732 --> 00:09:11.604
It's good to know that there's good people

00:09:11.604 --> 00:09:13.914
out there that really want
to dedicate their lives,

00:09:13.914 --> 00:09:16.474
even if it's a few hours out of their day

00:09:16.474 --> 00:09:17.844
to help someone else.

00:09:19.066 --> 00:09:22.466
(Narrator) Volunteers, many with
disabilities and limited construction

00:09:22.466 --> 00:09:27.117
experience have completed
the exterior of Kathy Hall's home

00:09:27.117 --> 00:09:29.166
in just eight days.