Picnic for people with disabilities increased friendships, relationships

Published Wednesday, August 1, 2007

I would like to thank Bob Williams and The Fergus Falls Journal for covering our “Celebration of Friends, Family, and Community” event held at Pebble Lake Shelter on July 24. Like the article stated we had more than 120 people attend the event.

I would like to clarify a couple of statements made in the article (“Picnic gives disabled chance to interact with the community”).

First, I would just like to clarify the intention of the gathering, since the intention was somewhat different than what ended up being communicated in the article. The intention was not to give people who have disabilities a chance to interact with the community, but rather to celebrate the whole community and to recognize that our community includes everyone, including those who have disabilities.

There are many citizens in Fergus Falls and surrounding towns who have befriended citizens with disabilities. The gathering was meant to share the new friendships that have been made amongst these people and to welcome other members of the community to join us.

These new friendships were the outcome of a five-year grant which Minnesota State Operated Community Services has embarked on with the University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration, A project directed by Dr. Angela Amado.

The event was open to all community members who were interested and committed to sharing friendship with more people in their life. The organizers believe that effort in itself enhances the fabric of a community. It was not to give any particular person (i.e., those described in the article as “mentally challenged”) a unique opportunity to interact with other community members, but rather to celebrate those friendships which have been made and to provide opportunities for more long-lasting connections.

The event was a celebration of community which included family, friends and other community members who wanted to recognize all people as citizens with gifts to share with each other, as the article stated.

Secondly, I want to make a comment on the title of the article. I do recognize that there are space limitations for articles and for titles.

However, there is an increasingly growing international movement to recognize people as people first, similar to all human beings (including the need for friendship), rather than to label them or see them only as their disability. People who have disabilities who are learning to advocate for themselves belong to an international group called People First. Rather than saying “the disabled,” there is a big difference in saying “people with disabilities.”

The event was hosted by the University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration and MSOCS staff in the area that are committed, as part of their work, to increase friendships and relationships for all people.

Barbara Handahl - MSOCS staff member