Community Partnership Initiative - Get Involved

So, what is the Community Partnership Initiative all about? I mean what is my part in all this, what am I supposed to do? Get Involved!

You, your family and your friends can make the difference. Many people who have a mental or physical disability become isolated. They live with people who have a disability, they work with people who have a disability and the main non-disabled people they have contact with each day are employees of an agency that are paid to be sure that they are doing what they are supposed to do to be safe and healthy. As a result people with a disability are often very lonely and long to have the types of relationships you and I take for granted.

We awake to a day full of choices and variety. Our home was chosen by us according to our means. The job we go to was, for the most part, one of our choosing. We can choose to leave early for work and stop and pick up a Cappuccino or Dew. We can set up a lunch date with a friend. In the evening we can run to the video store and pick a new release and have a friend over. We can choose to take risks with our health or our bank account if we so choose. Yet life for many disabled people is not as free as ours.

Quite often their choices of where they can live are severely limited due to financial constraints as well as needs for extra help in their home. This often constrains the disabled person to live in group settings with other disabled people. Often their job opportunities are even more limited, often times leading to day hours spent in a ‘workshop’ for disabled people. Many disabled people do not have a car or drivers license and do not have the freedom to re-arrange their schedule when they want. They can’t stop off somewhere or run down to the video store whenever they want with the limited public transportation available. Often times, due to their disability, they are not allowed to take risks we are allowed as many disabled folks live under a cloud of liability issues that force their care givers to be overly cautious.

You can change all that by becoming a friend, a mentor, by just being there. You can offer them opportunities that no one else can. By getting involved in the life of a disabled person you can end their loneliness and isolation. Through your involvement a difference can be made in someone’s life. When you fill someone’s life with hope, you wind up adding a little more to your own. Help Wright County’s disabled. Are you ready to answer the call?

What kind of disabilities are we talking about? Many have mental retardation with most being able to get around and communicate with you. Some are wheelchair bound and unable to talk. Others have mental illness and are able to get around and communicate but struggle with social skills.

How much of a time commitment should I expect? That is totally up to you and the person you are partnered with. The two of you may agree to only a few hours a week, while others will arrange to spend 50 to 100 hours a month with each other.

What about expenses? If you choose to get involved you may be eligible to be reimbursed for expenses you incur while partnering with a disabled person in the community. You may even be eligible to earn hourly reimbursement.

What types of things would I be doing? Often times you would do the same things you would do with any friend, go shopping, take in a movie, go for a walk and etc. Other times you may help with daily activities such as laundry, cooking, budgeting or other things.