How well does your community support it’s disabled residents?

Thursday, January 29th, 2009 | Caregivers and providers, Disability Awareness and Sensitivity, Great accessible communities

As Quincy gets older we face tough questions about what quality of life our community can provide for her outside of the school system. I have expressed my frustration with elements of our school system, but overall it does a good job of allowing Quincy a fun, safe environment for her to interact and develop relationships. The school provides therapy services, social opportunities and overall stimulus that Quincy needs and enjoys.

If I find that our school system lacks for all the supports Quincy needs, our community has even less to offer. It’s unfortunate for us that the smaller, more rural a community the less opportunity available for the disabled (and perhaps the elderly). Even if we look at our sister community of Anchorage, just 40 miles south, we find agencies providing a variety of respite, day hab, job training, and recreational opportunities for their residents.

I have spent many hours discussing this with my friends who live here and we even went so far as to seek out funding possibilities to support a project that would provide much of what is lacking in Wasilla. But the reality is that it would probably be easier for all of us to move than to try to get a project of that magnitude off the ground. Particularly now, with the economy as it is and non-profits statewide and nationwide struggling to sustain funding sources and keep their doors open.

I’m not sure what we will do when Quincy ages out of the school system. Luckily, we have some time to think about it and perhaps during that time things will change for the better. It’s frustrating when you begin to realize that the place you call home no longer meets your needs. Families like mine must balance so many things…career opportunities, educational opportunities for all their children, and support networks for the disabled members of their family. The reality is that worked for us when our children were babies, toddlers and even teenagers may not be sufficient for them as adults.

Tags: community supports