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The Jewish Disabilities Network is on Facebook!
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Stay connected to the JDN throughout the year by "liking" us on Facebook!
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Inclusion Tip:
what do you say after you say "hello"?
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When you engage an individual who is disabled, in many ways, they are very much like us. They feel good when they are complimented, cry when they are sad, are happy when they are with friends, and feel lonely when they are by themselves.
When you approach an individual with a disability and start a conversation. You know that the first thing you say is "hello", but what comes next?
When meeting anyone for the first time whoever they are, you try to discover your common interests. You treat them kindly and respectfully. The same is true here.
1. How to begin? What would you normally do when you want to meet someone new?
You normally begin a conversation with a topic you think the person might be interested in. You can talk about something that you have heard happened to them lately, or a "safe" topic like the weather, sports, TV, movies etc.
Read the rest of these tips from Yachad, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities.
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Did You Know?
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Q: What is the difference between a disability and a handicap?
A: A disability is a condition caused by an accident, trauma, genetics, or disease which may limit a person's mobility, hearing, vision, speech, or mental function.
A handicap is a physical or attitudinal constraint that is imposed upon a person, regardless of whether that person has a disability. Webster's Dictionary defines handicap as "to put at a disadvantage."
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Greetings!
Welcome to the second issue of The Inclusion Express, brought to you by the Jewish Disabilities Network (JDN)! We are very excited to share stories with you about inclusion and tips on including people with disabilities in the community. We are sending this out on a quarterly basis and always value your feedback. Feel free to let me know what you think or if you have other ideas for articles we could include.
Sincerely,
Inna Ermakov
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Join Us for Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day February 12!
Join the Jewish Disabilities Network (JDN) for the fourth annual Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day on February 12 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center! The event, which is free and open to the public, promotes understanding and inclusion in community life for Jewish people with disabilities.
Learn more about the event and view the full schedule...
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From the Inclusion Committee of the Jewish Disabilities Network
Striving to include people of all abilities in Jewish communal life
Most of us saw President Obama's State of the Union address. Perhaps the most touching scenes were of the president greeting Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who is now disabled with significantly impaired mobility, speech, and language difficulties. There was a palpable feeling in the joint assembly of acceptance and support of her struggle to adapt to her new world. Her courage and tenacity have been a life-affirming lesson for us all. The positive, supportive response that has been experienced by Representative Giffords is one that the Inclusion Committee of the Jewish Disabilities Network would like to achieve as it works toward the active inclusion of all individuals regardless of their abilities in Denver's Jewish communal activities.
In the past six months, the committee has developed a Power Point presentation which will be delivered to our major Jewish organizations over the next three months. It highlights the need to address in an affirmative and positive manner the special needs of at least 20% (which is about 18,000 people) of our Jewish population who have a disability. The JDN Inclusion Committee is committed to support the lay leadership and professional staff of our community's institutions in their individual efforts to improve their organizations' inclusion of individuals who live with disabilities.
The committee is suggesting that an inclusion committee be established with board approval at each of our synagogues. The JDN Inclusion Committee would help each synagogue's inclusion committee's membership evaluate their synagogue's facilities and activities in order to develop individual goals and plans, which will signify to its membership the importance of inclusion in all of its events. Bernice Dinner, Inclusion Committee chair, delivered the first presentation to the National Council of Jewish Women board at their December meeting.
The membership of the JDN Inclusion Committee has been active in obtaining greater synagogue participation in the 2012 Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day events. They have been promoting the reading of the national Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month book selection, "The Story of Beautiful Girl" by Rachel Simon, as it generates important discussion regarding the history of exclusion and negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities. The focus on disability and exclusion rather than individual abilities and inclusion is considered the greatest barrier to inclusion.
A special thank you is due to Inna Ermakov who is the JFS staff liaison to the Inclusion Committee of the Jewish Disabilities Network. She models the process of inclusion and is an exceptional educational resource. The progress made by the committee could not have been achieved without her encouragement and inclusion of all committee members in an active and productive manner.
-by Bernice Dinner, JDN Inclusion Committee chair
The statistical data in this article is taken from:
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Child Health Survey, 2008
- Centers for Disease Control, Prevalence of Disability in Adults by Age Group Survey, 2009
- Metro Denver/Boulder Jewish Community Study, 2007
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Inclusion Story: JDN and VIP Bowling Event
On Sunday, December 11, Jewish Disabilities Network (JDN) members and the Voices for Inclusion Program (VIP), in collaboration with the Denver Jewish Day School Chesed Club, teamed up for an afternoon of fun. Teens from the Denver Jewish community gathered to meet the JDN members at Monaco Lanes for two hours of bowling. The event also commemorated the then-approaching holiday of Hanukkah, and all participants enjoyed sufganiyot (jelly donuts) to get into the holiday spirit. All participants had fun meeting new friends, high-fiving after strikes, and consoling each other after gutter-balls.
The event attracted a great turnout, and many of the teens raved about it for days afterward. One participant commented that "it was an awesome event" and that it was "very well put together." Another said that he enjoyed seeing "so many people there, of diverse backgrounds and abilities, gathered just to have fun and celebrate Hanukkah." From start to finish, the day was a resounding success, and continued to create bonds of friendship and interaction that we hope will continue for many years to come.
-by Asher Kaye, member of Voices for Inclusion Program
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