ANOTHER Conference?

by: Steve Eidelman

The Third ADVANCE: The Ruderman Jewish Disabilities Funding Conference is nine days away, on May 8^th in New York.  You might ask, “Do we really need another conference?”  I answer with a loud Yes!

Inclusion of people with disabilities, my life’s work, is a challenging and important aspect of life in the Jewish Community.  Families increasingly demand it, people with disabilities are vehement about it and professionals of all stripes study, promote and implement it.  Yet, all too often, Jews with disabilities remain segregated and isolated from the day to day life of their communities.  Inclusion is part values, part skill, part law and part human rights.  The ADVANCE conference is focused on providing information and inspiration to funders and funding organizations in the Jewish community that can make a difference in the lives of Jews with disabilities.  The focus is on inclusion across the lifespan, and across the institutions in our communities that support families and all people, not solely people with disabilities.

There is momentum in our communities towards inclusion of Jews with disabilities.  People who have worked with and in the Jewish community for a long time on this issue say they can “feel it.”  Malcolm Gladwell, in his 2000 book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” talks about those times where, after years of struggle and work, something goes from a small activity to mainstream and popular.  We are at that point, I think, with inclusion in the Jewish Community.   Movement from programs that either segregate or completely exclude people with disabilities to those that include them and, especially when they are children, their families.  The Jewish community in North America, and worldwide has taken up the mantle of inclusion, to help a significant part of our society, people with disabilities, become part of the Jewish community everywhere.

The Greatest Lesson
The ADVANCE Conference brings together funding organizations with program experts-those who are operating inclusive programs, those who advocate for them and those who study them.   The Ruderman Family Foundation is focused, as they say, like a laser beam on this issue.  The ADVANCE conference is part of that focus.  Inclusion in all aspects of Jewish life is a long term process.  Changes and advances are taking place daily.  By coming together to learn, to be inspired, to question the how and why of inclusion, we will, working together, strengthen the Jewish community.  Not just for people with disabilities but for the entire community.  When we support people with disabilities and their families we make our communities stronger.  We show our sons and daughters without disabilities that all people have value.  What better lesson could there be?

Steven M. Eidelman is the H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Human Services Policy and Leadership, and the Faculty Director of the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities at the University of Delaware.

Disabled Individuals Bring Innovation To The Workforce

Below is an op-ed I wrote for Huffington Post about the positive aspects of full inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce.

- Jay

As the U.S. disabled population grows amidst increasing challenges to American economic competitiveness on the world stage, the time is ripe to change our perceptions of disability and integrally incorporate the creative and often resilient disabled population into our workforce.

The American Association of People With Disabilities recently reported that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is twice the national average. During the recession, people with disabilities lost jobs five times faster than people without disabilities. In addition, only 25 percent of people with disabilities are meaningfully employed, while 75 percent are unemployed or underemployed. Contrary to popular belief, this in large part is not due to a lack of desire or capability to work.

Disabled individuals overwhelmingly want to work — and they bring innovative perspectives to the table. Employees with disabilities have skills and experience that can’t be found in other population sectors.

After all, many of the greatest innovators and leaders in history had disabilities-and the challenges they faced played a critical role in their ability to achieve greatness. President Roosevelt, though unable to walk, led the mightiest country in history through the Great Depression and World War II. The father of relativity, Mr. Einstein himself, experienced learning disabilities in his youth. And Beethoven, arguably the greatest composer of all time, couldn’t hear!

Since confronted with life difficulties that require creative adaptation and ingenuity on a daily basis, disabled individuals know resilience, and they know how to think out-of-the-box and on their feet, or wheels. In fact, recent studies show employers who hire people with disabilities report a higher level of dedication and increased retention.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, workers with disabilities are rated consistently as average or above average in performance, quality and quantity of work, flexibility, and attendance.

The growth rate of the American disabled population is growing tremendously and is outpacing any other subgroup of the U.S. population, according to the Disability Funders Network. Between 1990 and 2000, for example, the number of Americans with disabilities increased 25 percent, making people with disabilities represent the single largest minority group seeking employment in today’s marketplace.

At the same time, the disabled are nearly twice as likely as people without disabilities to have an annual household income of $15,000 or less.

For the sake of U.S. competitiveness — and above all, equality — it is time to prove wrong the common misperception that individuals with disabilities are non-active members of society. It is time to reframe the negative perception of disability as instead an opportunity-filled and growth-inducing challenge. It is time for employers to hire people with disabilities. It is time to pursue a policy of inclusion and smart economics, quiet simply because disabled individuals bring uniqueness and innovation to the workplace — something our economy vitally requires.

Disability As Lifelong Marathon

The op-ed below appeared yesterday in The Times of Israel. Our foundation’s location- headquarters in both Israel and Boston- and our expertise in the area of disabilities gave us we believe a unique perspective on last week’s Boston Marathon bombings.

- Jay

Jeff Bauman is on my mind.

One week ago, two brothers carried out a despicable attack in Boston. Their targets were innocent civilians, marathon runners, fans, by-standers and local law enforcement officials. Their goal was to kill, hurt and maim. And unfortunately, they succeeded.

The foundation I represent is unique in the philanthropic world as we have headquarters both in Israel and in Boston. Living in Israel, terrorist attacks have unfortunately become part and parcel of life here. As soon as news breaks, we text everyone we know, constantly refresh news sites, wait for the latest updates.

But frantic phone calls to staff in Boston, ensuring people are OK, waiting for family members to check in overseas, was a surreal experience. Upside down, in fact. This hit close to home, 6,000 miles away.

Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the attack, and the other 170 injured people weren’t expecting to have their lives turned upside down. But those who sustained permanent disabilities have just joined a large swath of the population whose needs are not adequately met.

The US government estimates that 20 percent of the population has some form of disability. In Israel, approximately one million Israelis of working age have a disability. Some are born with a disability while other disabilities occur with age. So many people are affected – those with disabilities, their families, friends, co-workers, neighbors and communities.

But sometimes, a disability happens in an instant. A car accident, sports injury, a stroke and yes, terrorist attack. Jeff Bauman…. Healthy one minute, a person with a disability the next.

Continue reading the post on Times of Israel

Photo courtesy of instagram.com/p/YVclHcpREx

But Words CAN Hurt Me!

Read our last post: An Inclusive Shabbat Experience

by: Jo Ann Simons

The Associated Press just released new guidance to reporters on how to write about mental illness and other conditions, including autism.  The much used Associated Press Stylebook tries to stay current but apparently has not kept up with their own news. For example, autism is not a mental illness and “people first” language is actually the law in much of the land.

While one of my favorite posters of all time read “Label Jars. Not People”, we still are trying to stick people, especially those with disabilities, with meaningless labels.

I understand why labeling a person in the rarest of occasions might be important and relevant. For example, when an Amber Alert is issued in the United States for a kidnapped child, it is essential that specific identifying characteristics be shared. It would be essential to know if the child was black, had an unsteady walk or had Down syndrome. This information would help identify the child and ensure a happy ending.

However, most of the time, they are irrelevant and only serve to prevent the full inclusion of people in our society. They also help perpetuate stereotypes.

For example, the only reason to identify the race or ethnicity of someone accused of welfare fraud, is to create bias.  We all know that fraud is committed across all race and socio-economic lines.

This kind of prejudicial thinking is one of the major reasons people with disabilities are still relegated to the margins of society. Since people with disabilities are the poorest group of people in the world and the recipients of much public assistance, they are at the greatest risk to the negative effects of labels associated with disability and poverty.

This hit close to home for me last month in St. Louis. I am often asked to speak to audiences on the transition from school to adult life for students with disabilities. As part of the discussion on economics and funding streams, I explain the importance and value of the Section 8 program, a housing subsidy program for the poor in the United States (my son uses a Section 8 Housing voucher). It can be argued that it is among the most important benefits for a person with a disability for it ensures safe, flexible and quality housing.

Stereotypes and Reality

This almost always comes as a surprise to my audiences since they often associate this housing program with the negative stereotypes that the press has perpetuated- that largely minority households take advantage of this program and that slum landlords manage undesirable housing.  I spend much time dispelling these myths and my usually white audiences have to be convinced.

I was unprepared and grateful for the small group of black families who came up to me after my presentation to thank me for my comments about the Section 8 program.  They told me that they often feel that others “put their noses” around this subject and that I had done much to “get it right”.

It brought me back to an earlier time when teachers and others always began a description of my son by saying he had Down syndrome. It told you nothing about how he learned, his strengths or the areas where improvement was needed. It only told you how he looked. It was early in my journey so I didn’t question it until I received his progress report from his first grade teacher at Temple Emanuel (Marblehead, MA). She said, ”Jonathan has made much progress since last year. He knows the three meanings of Shalom and he can recite the Shema (morning prayer). He loves music class with Mr. Sokolov. He is a joy to have in class.”

So while the Associated Press gives reporters new guidance on labels for people with disabilities, I can continue to hope for a day when they are not required.

Jo Ann Simons is a Disability Advisor to the Ruderman Family Foundation and President and CEO of the Cardinal Cushing Centers

Where are the curb cuts in the Jewish Community?

Friends,

I’m particularly happy to bring you a thoughtful post from the 2012-2014 Joshua Venture Group Ruderman Fellow, Elana Naftalin-Kelman.  Elena has been thinking deeply about inclusion as she ramps up her Fellowship project: Rosh Pina, an inclusion-certification program for Jewish institutions.  We’ll bring you more news about Rosh Pina in the future, but today we at the foundation are thinking about Jewish curb cuts with Elana.

How can the Jewish community expand accessibility and inclusion in ways that will benefit us all? What do you think?

–Jay Ruderman

Where are the curb cuts in the Jewish Community?

By Elana Naftalin-Kelman, Director of the Tikvah program at Camp Ramah in California and founder of Rosh Pina

Walk outside toward the corner closest to you.  As you approach it, notice the slight decline in the pavement.  You might feel some raised bumps beneath your feet and without thinking your whole body recognizes that you are about to enter the street and you stop.   You have experienced the curb cut, the depression in the curb that allows us to enter the street safely.

First designed in the 1940’s in Kalamazoo Michigan to support wounded veterans to find meaningful work in the downtown area, curb cuts have now become a not-very-often-thought-about part of every city.  In the 1940’s curb cuts were not thought of as a cutting edge design that needed to be worked and re-worked in order to implement.  They were considered a necessity in order to allow universal access to the community for people of varied abilities.

Curb cuts now have become something that is expected in all neighborhoods and used by everyone: from young to old, from someone walking to someone in a wheelchair, from the delivery guy to the kid on a tricycle, from the person pulling a suitcase to the parent pushing a stroller.  Curb cuts were initially created for a relatively small number of people in our community, but they have ended up benefiting everyone and have changed how we all access our own cities.

They were created to benefit one type of person, but have benefited us all.

So, where are the curb cuts in our Jewish community?  What modifications can we make that will, in the end, benefit all members of our communities?  By addressing the needs of those in the margins, how can we make our communities better?

How would the Shabbat experience change if the synagogue service tolerated more noise from its congregants?  How can we make sign language interpretation an expected part of our classes and services?  How would adding a ramp to the bimah in a synagogue change the feel of the room?  How could modifications to the Day School Curriculum support all students?  How would a more inclusive youth group augment the very nature of the youth group for all of its participants?  How would increased housing opportunities for adults with disabilities enhance our understanding of what makes a community?

And this is just a beginning.  Possibilities for Jewish communal curb cuts are endless.  Let us re-think what we do to assure inclusion: what modifications can we make that increase accessibility and access for everyone?  Like curb cuts, let us make the changes that help shape the very fabric of our community into one that is inclusive of all.

What Do You Value in Jewish Life?

Friends,

Today I’m pleased to bring you a post by one of the founders of Jewish Disability Awareness Month, Shelly Christensen.  Shelly has been in the forefront of the Jewish inclusion movement for many years.  Here she offers ideas for examining our own feelings and assumptions about Judaism and disability—an important exercise for each of us, this month and all year.

–Jay Ruderman

What Do You Value in Jewish Life?

By Shelly Christensen, Founder of Inclusion Innovations, and co-founder of Jewish Disability Awareness Month with the Jewish Special Education International Consortium

We recognize Jewish Disability Awareness Month (JDAM) for only the fifth consecutive year. In that short span, Jewish communities across North America have adopted JDAM as a call to action.

Yasher koach, we say to each other as we hold a Shabbat of Inclusion, invite participants from a group home to services, or invite a speaker to give the sermon on disability issues. Each activity tagged with the JDAM logo means that someone is paying attention and observing that there are many people with disabilities and mental health disorders still living on the margins of Jewish life.

We must sincerely and with integrity work towards the day when any Jewish person who has a disability can be a valued member of the Jewish community, not by platitudes, but by recognizing that individual’s gifts, strengths and desires to live a Jewish life.

Think for a moment of all that you have come to value by being a member of your Jewish community–whatever form that takes.

Do you have a picture of that in your mind? Imagine if none of that existed for you; that you could see others doing what you want to do through a clouded window. Imagine if all you love about belonging to your Jewish community was not destined to be yours. How would your life be different? You would be denied access to all you value and never have the opportunity to choose what your own participation would be.

So it is for many Jews with disabilities and their families. We have a responsibility to take action beyond Jewish Disability Awareness Month.

Inclusion does not happen just because we know it is the right (and Jewish) thing to do. It happens because people who believe that each human was created in the Divine Image know that when one person is left out from belonging, we are not finished with our work of inclusion.

There is much to do, and the clock is ticking. As an advocate for and practitioner of Jewish community inclusion across the lifespan in all facets of Jewish life, I have been privileged to be a partner of many Jews, of all ages, who sought inclusion, membership and to simply “belong” to the community. Inclusion is possible. We can do this when we set our course, determined to adapt our attitudes and beliefs so that all may belong.

Each of us is responsible for each other. What can and will you do?

His Brother Aaron

Friends,

Today Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the U.S.  At Zeh Lezeh we want to use it as an opportunity to share with you Noah Hartman’s deeply loving tribute to his brother Aaron— a man so devoted to family, faith, and community that he is a role model for us all. (Now if only he could get a few more hours at work…)

Whose life, and love of life, do you celebrate today?

–Jay Ruderman

My brother Aaron

By Noah Hartman

Developmental disabilities often translate into a person being treated differently, perhaps with kid gloves.  While this is the case to a small degree with my 42-year-old brother Aaron, it’s not because he wants it that way, and it’s not because people feel sorry for him.  It’s because Aaron is special—not because his needs are.

Aaron has the absolute purest soul. I imagine it somehow containing every living being on the planet because Aaron always has room for another friend and compassion for another animal, and he somehow finds the light in even the darkest people and places. He doesn’t have time to waste on being upset, and he believes in a world in which differences enrich people instead of dividing them.

For someone with a number of very real limitations, Aaron—who has Williams Syndrome—continues to accomplish a tremendous amount…enough to make those of us with fewer limitations feel lazy! He has two jobs; he finds his way around Atlanta independently; he remembers names, faces, and phone numbers after one meeting; he cares deeply for family and regularly checks in on his nieces and nephews; he participates in community; he contributes to Jewish life in Atlanta (where he’s the self-proclaimed and widely adored “mayor”); he votes every election cycle; he reads enthusiastically; he asks about sick friends and relatives; and he takes care of his own home.

Last year, Aaron won an award from the Tommy Nobis Foundation for “outstanding workplace accomplishments of individuals with disabilities.” He is a greeter at his local Publix grocery store, and while more work hours would be great for him (and Publix), he makes the most of his few days per week on the job. He takes his responsibilities seriously, and he’s proud to be a tax-paying citizen like the rest of us (who are often much less proud).

When we were kids in Atlanta, there were disappointingly few options and resources in the Jewish education community. None of the local day schools could accommodate Aaron’s learning needs, and only one or two rabbis in the community ever reached out to help. It wasn’t ideal, but sometimes only one or two can be enough. Today, Aaron is incredibly Jewishly involved: he often walks to three different synagogues on Shabbat mornings. He waits anxiously to hear if he might be called to the Torah for an aliyah. He never misses an opportunity to recite yizkor in memory of our mother. And he proudly proclaims that he’s a kohen, descending from Biblical Aaron.

I’m pretty sure that one day, someone will be similarly proud to proclaim the same thing about Brother Aaron.

Noah Hartman is Head of School at Cohen Hillel Academy in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Announcing the 2013 Ruderman Prize in Disability

Friends,

In this special edition of Zeh Lezeh today I want to share the worldwide announcement of the 2013 Ruderman Prize in Disability.  The following press release was sent all over the globe, and we are already seeing interest from Jewish communities in Rwanda, Fiji, and the Netherlands—among many others.

We excited about the buzz the Prize is generating, and look forward to receiving applications from excellent and innovative programs that will inspire our community to an ever greater dedication to inclusion.

–Jay Ruderman

RUDERMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $250,000 GLOBAL COMPETITION FOR INNOVATION IN INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Second Annual Ruderman Prize Will Celebrate International Work on Inclusion

Newton, MA (February 10, 2013) Ruderman Family Foundation President Jay Ruderman today announced the launch of the 2013 Ruderman Prize in Disability, its second year, which will provide $250,000 in funding to recognize  innovative programs and services that foster full inclusion of people with disabilities in the Jewish community worldwide.  The $50,000 awards will be given to five organizations that work in the disability arena, serve those in the Jewish community, and actively champion inclusion in their work.

“This year’s Ruderman Prize in Disability will again celebrate exemplars in inclusion, which by example accelerate innovations for people with disabilities and energize the global Jewish community to work toward those ideals,” said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation.  “We believe this competition will generate new attention to the issue and spur new ambitions, as we work toward our goal of the full inclusion of people with disabilities in the Jewish community, so that these individuals have the same employment, social, and religious opportunities as those without disabilities.”

In June, the Foundation awarded $200,000 total to ten organizations.  The Foundation received over 150 applications representing seven countries.  The Ruderman Prize recognizes organizations for exemplary existing initiatives rather than making grants for new programs.

The application form for the awards is available on the Foundation’s website.  Submissions are due on March 18 and winners will be announced in May.

The Ruderman Family Foundation is dedicated to creating and promoting innovation that fosters inclusion of people with disabilities in the Jewish community and Israel.

What ARE they thinking?

Friends,

One of the great benefits – and occupational hazards– of championing a cause such as the inclusion of people with disabilities is that eventually one can end up in a bubble, surrounded by wonderful but like-minded people devoted to the same cause.  That may partly explain why I was so shocked earlier this month to see the survey results reported in the Times of Israel article below.

To those of you familiar with Israel, I ask: do these statistics sound accurate to you?  Is this really what most Israelis think?  If so, why?  Is this so different from the way the rest of the world thinks– or are these Israelis just being more honest?

Most importantly, what can we do about it?

How can we usher in a new era of tolerance, understanding, and compassion in relation to our neighbors with not only intellectual disabilities, but all kinds of disabilities?  These are questions I ponder every day, and I invite you to help me better understand the attitudes and assumptions that stand in our way.

–Jay Ruderman

 

Half of Israelis don’t want anything to do with mentally disabled

Asher Zeiger, Times of Israel, January 3, 2013

A narrow majority of Israelis — 52 percent — would prefer not to meet people who are mentally disabled, according to a survey released by a leading Israeli organization that advocates for the intellectually challenged.

In addition, 40% of those interviewed said that they would not want to be the neighbors of a mentally disabled person, and some 25% said they would not want to work in the same room as such a person, or even receive service in a coffee house from one.

The survey, which was published on Wednesday by AKIM, the National Association for the Habilitation of Children and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities, was based on a sample of 605 people and was conducted in conjunction with the B.I. and Lucille Cohen Institute for Public Opinion Research of Tel Aviv University.

Some 25% of the people interviewed believe that mentally disabled people could be dangerous, and 31% said they should be kept separate from the general population.

Beyond complete separation, many of the people interviewed believe that some of the rights enjoyed by most Israelis should not be granted to the mentally disabled. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they should not be allowed to vote, 15% believe they should not be allowed to marry, and 28% said they should be prevented from having sexual relations.

Israeli law not only allows the intellectually disabled adults to vote, but also permits them to have a companion with them in the booth when they cast their ballot.

Sigal Peretz Yahalomi, the director-general of AKIM, explained that, in Israel, the classification of a person as mentally disabled is done by a Welfare Ministry expert committee. The definition includes those with an IQ of less than 70, she said.

She’s got my vote

Friends,

We have just heard about Alexis Wineman, an extraordinary young woman competing this weekend in the Miss America pageant.  Check out her interview with Fox news.

Alexis was diagnosed with autism at age 11, and this year at age 18 is representing Montana as the youngest pageant contestant ever.

Her slogan?  “Normal is just a dryer setting.”  I want it on a bumpersticker.

Could this be any more a sign mainstream of inclusion in the U.S.?

Good luck, Alexis– and thanks.

–Jay Ruderman

P.S.  If you want to vote for her in the online popularity contest, you can login here until midnight pacific time today—Thursday, January 10^th.