By Ted Bruce
I recently attended the 25th anniversary of Starworks – DDA’s social enterprise. It reminded me of how important true inclusion is to DDA. Inclusion in a society does not come easily. It requires a lot of things to happen at the same time. Simply placing someone in an integrated daycare or an apartment is not enough. Leaving someone isolated, dependent, unemployed, or lonely is a failure. Inclusion requires policies, programs, and, importantly, attitudes that support people living with a disability.
This must happen across a range of ages, needs, and goals of the people we support. It also requires a sustained effort over time. This is the strength of DDA.
Inclusion requires hard work and an openness to change. Families age, new technologies become available, and, unfortunately, old biases can resurface. DDA is constantly looking at how to better address our ever-changing community. Through staff training, innovation, advocacy, and expansion of services, DDA is up to the task of making inclusiveness more than a catch phrase. And the folks at Starworks reminded me of what that word really means.
