Tying Sustainability to Disability: Our Latest Project

New Moscow Garden Offers Hope

Dec. 10, 2008

Written by Cheryl Dudley

MOSCOW, Idaho – A new garden designed specifically to accommodate wheelchairs, individuals with disabilities and other community members who need an accessible plot for gardening will add a new dimension to the Moscow Community Garden.

The University of Idaho's Center on Disabilities and Human Development, in partnership with the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute, received a $1,500 Sustainable Idaho Initiative grant to expand the capacity of the Moscow garden.

Named Hope Community Garden, the project will include nine raised beds with attached seats for ease in bending, resting and planting, and compact gravel pathways and two planting tables to accommodate wheelchairs. One of the nine raised beds will be set aside as a community plot to allow gardeners to grow and donate produce to Backyard Harvest, an organization that facilitates the delivery of excess garden produce to local food banks.

“There are many day to day activities that persons without disabilities take for granted... one of those is gardening,” said College of Education faculty Matt Wappett, principle investigator for the project. “In Moscow there is an especially active and vital part of the community that revolves around agriculture and gardening, and yet gardening in all its simplicity can be an activity that is wholly inaccessible to a person with disabilities or even elderly individuals.”

“Having accessible plots in the community garden will provide us with more than fruits and vegetables,” said Jennifer Magelky-Seiler, Hope Garden supporter. “It provides us with the opportunity to be a part of our community in a way that we currently do not have. Living in an apartment, we, like many people, do not have outdoor space in which we can plant a garden.”

Volunteers from the community and university are needed to complete the project. PCEI will oversee the legwork and construction elements of the project, while University of Idaho students will provide the majority of the work this coming spring.

Local outreach experiences allow students opportunities to be active participants in learning and to give back to their community. The Hope Garden project will educate students in the environment, sustainable efforts, individuals with disabilities and community advocacy. In addition, the project will improve the quality of life for gardeners by providing opportunities for social interaction, encouragement of self-reliance, provision of healthy green space, and opportunities for therapy, exercise and recreation.

Hope Community Garden will be a model for future University of Idaho collaborations with community partners. Although the focus of the grant will be on sustainability, the process of working together highlights the importance of building relationships, determining mutually beneficial outcomes and establishing common goals.

“Thankfully, we live in a community with a strong support infrastructure for this type of project and we look forward to working with PCEI, the Cooperative Extension and other community partners to see this through to completion,” said Wappett.

The College of Education will match 25 percent of the grant award, and CDHD is looking for additional funding through local sources. The project is scheduled to be completed June 2009.

“The new accessible garden will provide us with the opportunity to mix with members of our community, to share gardening insights and show the community that people with disabilities enjoy doing many of the same activities that they do, ” said Magelky-Seiler.

“Just because somebody has a disability, doesn't mean that they can't play a part in sustainability; that is a key element to this project,” said Wappett. “We not only want people to feel valued and included, but we also want to make sure that people with disabilities who are concerned about sustainability and the origin of their food have an opportunity to make a difference, just like anyone else would.”

The Center on Disabilities and Human Development within the College of Education is one of a 67-member university network of centers serving individuals with disabilities and their families. CDHD functions as a bridge between the university and the community, bringing together the resources of both to achieve change. In addition, CDHD trains and educates the next generation of leaders in disability-related issues, creating meaningful change that advances policy and practices, and disseminates research based information that will benefit our communities.

Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute is a respected organization that provides community service opportunities for individuals who have a developmental disability and youth at risk, working with private landowners to restore streams, rivers and wetlands, while expanding students’ minds to scientific concepts and the importance of maintaining a sustainable world. In addition, PCEI has a strong interest in promoting the inclusion of all community members in the experience of growing and harvesting their own food.

Getting outside helps improve attention in children with ADHD

The news article linked in the title of this post may be a big revelation to some, but not to those of us with kids.  Kids need to be outside.  This is actually a huge issue for me and the topic of another manuscript I'm working on at the moment...but I thought I'd post this here for your information and to get your thoughts. 

Okay, I'm back to academic writing...the Inclusion Study is coming to a close and my writing spirit is wearing thin...

Obama, Palin, and Children with Special Needs

I would highly recommend that anyone concerned about disability issues in the upcoming election read this editorial by the inimitable Paul Longmore. Longmore's piece discusses the differences in the McCain and Obama plans for disability related issues and highlights the issues that should be addressed to woo the disability vote. As Longmore points out there are many who are placing their hope in Palin putting a high priority on disability issues because she has a child with Down's Syndrome, but the fact of the matter is that Palin isn't even a year into her experience with Trig and hasn't even begun to encounter the tremendously frustrating disability service system. Only a person that has attended twice-a-year IEP meetings, just to see the IEP go unimplemented can understand the deeply dysfunctional special education system. Only a person that has tried to qualify for Medicaid waiver services or SSDI by wading through months of paperwork, tests, and evaluations, can understand what it might take to move the disability service system in a more progressive direction.

Palin says she supports special needs children but, as Ann and Rud Turnbull point out in a guest editorial on Patricia Bauer's blog:

"When a young governor line-item vetoes six appropriations for community disability services or for accessibility modifications to public accommodations, that governor gives us reason to be skeptical about promises and prospective performance. When the appropriations totaled $749,000 in a state that has a huge budget surplus, and when the governor apparently knew at the time that her nephew has autism, that governor gives us special reason to doubt her commitment to people with special needs."

As Longmore explains in his editorial, only the Obama campaign website provides concrete disability policy proposals, whereas the McCain campaign website doesn't even address disability issues. If you don't believe me go check for yourself. Similarly, Obama has co-sponsored many disability related policies in his short time as a U.S. Senator, one of the most important being the Paul Wellstone Meant Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 and the SCHIP expansion. Whereas the McCain/Palin campaign really can't point to anything solid with regards to proposals or history of supporting disability rights.

Thus I think the disability community needs to approach with upcoming election with "Caveat Emptor" first and foremost in their minds...make sure you're not being sold a fraudulent bill of goods by a campaign that sees no importance in protecting the rights of the largest minority in this coutry. As many from the trenches can attest: just because you have a child or family member with a disability, it doesn't mean you are an advocate or even a friend of the disability rights community.

Hate Crimes Bill Still Stalled in Congress

I was just updating myself on the news of the day when this article came across my screen.  With the economy, the war, and everything else going on now it seems that the issue of strengthening laws regarding hate crimes has taken a back seat.  Of course, this isn't terribly surprising since the individuals who are the targets of hate crimes are already marginalized and deprived of their voices.  Whether it's disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, or religion the people who are targets of hate crimes are usually members of oppressed minority groups.  Without a strong voice and political presence how can they reasonable expect legislation like that discussed in this article to overcome the hegemonic discourse of the ruling class(es).  It's these issues of discourse and voice and how they are used and abused within our society that really worry me.  We use these discourses of power to move people with silenced voices to the margins of society where they are more vulnerable to predators.  It's essentially the use of hegemonic discourse to perpetuate a largely invisible system of social Darwinism.

Okay, I'll stop my ranting.  Read this article and let me know your thoughts...

A Week of Frustration and Depression...

For some reason this week has been very difficult for me. I feel like I’m battling ignorance and prejudice at every turn. I think that the biggest issue has arisen from several accusations that my views are “Marxist”, “socialist”, or “commie”. Although I do admit to having the occasional Marxist tendency, I generally try to keep those tendencies in check when talking with friends and students. Now, it’s not that I’m upset at being called a “Marxist”…I don’t think that’s necessarily anything to be ashamed of, but I am rather distraught by the prevailing notion among the people I’ve talked with this week that any argument for equality, equal rights, inclusion, universal health care, or other issues of social justice is tantamount to fomenting radical socialist revolution. When did issues of equality become so warped in the minds of Americans? (Don’t answer that, because I’m about to…)

Actually, we have a long history of not understanding equality beginning with the Founding Fathers. Most rights enumerated out the founding of our country were specifically written for the benefit of the wealthy, white, landowners who wrote them, and their friends. Although the Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, they were really only talking about rich, white, men. Women, African American slaves, Native Americans, immigrants and other groups were not covered by this inspiring vision of liberty and equality. It has been an extremely slow and excruciating process to try and expand this vision to all classes, creeds, and colors of people in the United States and we still haven’t quite achieved it. Individuals with disabilities, including mental illness, are still the most frequent targets of discrimination and abuse in the world today (see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jul/21/mentalhealth.socialexclusion and http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-7933918_ITM )

Individuals with disabilities and mental illness are still frequently deprived of their fundamental rights without their consent. When people with disabilities want to vote, they are still turned away because of ignorant poll workers. When an individual with mental illness needs a sick day they are laid off and called “lazy”. When an individual with mental illness talks to him/herself they lock them away and medicate them into a stupor...and these examples are only the tip of the iceberg. So why do we do this and why do we continue to allow it to happen? Don’t all people deserve to be treated as human? Shouldn’t we all have the same fundamental rights? I think we should, but a lot of the people I’ve talked with this week feel that we shouldn’t be coddling or helping people who can’t take care of themselves.

This notion that we shouldn’t take care of those who can’t take care of themselves seems to be the idea that’s been depressing me this week. Am I the only person in the U.S. who believes that we should at least be trying to do a better job of protecting oppressed populations in our country? Am I the only person who thinks that in this day and age of remarkable medical technology that we should be extending the benefits of this technology to everyone who needs it? Am I the only person who feels like the profit motive should be removed from the health care equation? Am I the only person out there who believes that everyone should be treated equally regardless of health status, age, color, creed, size, shape, sex, race, or culture?

Are you out there? Are you listening?

A Foruitous Song...

I was lecturing on the history of disability today in my "What is Normal" class and we got up through the Middle Ages and to the beginning of institutionalization. After I got home from my daughter's soccer game tonight I was doing the dishes and listening to an old Townes Van Zandt CD. All of a sudden Townes' classic song "The Sanitarium Blues" came on and I was immediately struck by how well he captured the modern predicament of individuals institutionalized for mental illness. Townes' ragged voice and experienced tone only made the song more poignant as I thought back to a lot of the images I'd been showing in class from Christmas in Purgatory (click the link to see some of the images). It was a moment that required me to shut off the water, put down the dish towel and just listen to Townes' poetry.

Townes was in and out of rehab and institutions for much of his life as a result of his addictions, so he definitely knew what he was talking about. It still amazes me that we do this to people in the U.S. and that families choose to do this to their family members. It seems to me that with all the money we're spending on wars and financial bailouts that we could find a little cash to support rehabilitation programs and community based mental health supports for individuals and families. Sometimes I have to wonder what is wrong with this country....then I get depressed thinking about all the people we're failing in the U.S. But, this isn't the place for a post on the things that depress me. I just wanted to share Townes' great song; a song that is borne on Townes' own painful experience. Perhaps that's why the song is so powerful. So, in the interest of sharing, I thought I'd post the lyrics here for your consideration:

The Sanitarium Blues by Townes Van Zandt
(follow this link to hear the song)

The folks, they just can't take no more
Throw you in the back seat, slam the door
No stoppin' as down the road you go
Got no time to lose

Gigantic one way gate ahead
You're thinkin' man I'd as soon be dead
They decided to give you life instead
The sanitarium blues

Big ole nurse all dressed in white
Slaps you on a table in the middle of the night
Then he straps you down real tight
You're wonderin', what'd I do?

They hose you down, make sure you're clean
Wrap you up in hospital green
Shoot you full of Thorazine
The sanitarium blues

Could be TB or maybe a tumor
Eavesdropping on the doctors, listening to the rumors
Can't see your friends, hear the hum of the wheels
Hey my man, you know how it feels
Like the sanitarium blues

Then upon some sunlit day
They figure there's no need for you to stay
They're pretty sure you can't be cured
So they send you on your merry way

You hit the pavement, hang around
Nobody's on the outside to be found
You're just tryin' to stay above the ground
You start to thinkin', what's the use?
The sanitarium blues

Watch this Movie!: WarDance

Okay, I don't usually go out of my way to promote films, but last night my wife and I watched Wardance and I was literally blown away. I pride myself in being pretty tough and standing strong in the face of some pretty disturbing things...I have to in the field I work in...but this film brought tears to my eyes and left me speechless. The cinematography is beautiful and brings to life the beautiful countryside of northern Uganda, but even more compelling are the stories told by the children documented in this movie.

The movie primarily focuses on three children from the Acholi tribe of northern Uganda, a region of Africa that has been subject to terror and violence at the hands of the Lord's Resistance Army, under the guidance of Joseph Kony, for almost 20 years. Over that time the LRA has targeted the children of the Acholi as recruits and sex slaves. The stories told by the children in this movie are devastating and leave you speechless. You see these young kids, some as young as 8 or 9, who have killed people, served as sex slaves, and have seen their parents killed in front of them and yet still they manage to get on with their lives. I was particularly touched by the story of Rose. Maybe it was her beautiful face, or her soft voice, or the calm resolve that she displayed every day, but she left the deepest impression on me. I could listen to her voice for hours...the lilting, melodic phrasing of the Acholi language off her tongue is hypnotizing....

Okay, okay, I know I'm gushing and I know that this doesn't seem to have anything to do with disability...but it does! I watched these kids and about halfway through the movie I said to Lianne: "Why don't these kids seem to display any of the outward signs of PTSD?" Surely, there are the occasional breakdowns and struggles, but in general the kids documented in this film seem to get along just fine as they work through the stresses of the music competition that forms the focus of the film. As I have thought about this issue today, I have come to realize that maybe the PTSD was 1) not shown by the film makers, or 2) not present to the extent it would be in a Western child because what these kids had gone through was the "norm" in their region of the world. Now that's a terribly disturbing thing to say, but because everyone in the school and refugee camp had gone through similar experiences there was a built in support group, but also a tacit expectation that you get on with your life. This got me to thinking further: "Could PTSD also be socially constructed depending upon the societal "norm" where you live?" What do you think?

So, here's my challenge to you: watch the movie and then let me know what you think. Even if you don't want to let me know what you think, WATCH THIS MOVIE! DO IT! TONIGHT!

As an added bonus, much of the music on the soundtrack comes from one of my favorite artists of all time: Geoffrey Oryema (here's his MySpace page). Geoffrey is also an exiled member of the Acholi tribe documented in this film and his music is absolutely transcendent. Just another reason to watch this film...

Here's the trailer: