The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham
The first visit kicking off the “Many Faces of The Arc of VA-Chapter Tour 2007” was The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham. After meeting this group- I now know why the Harrisonburg obtained the nickname of “The Friendly City”! Upon walking though the door, one feels right at home at this local chapter. I could not help but think at that moment that just as much as The Arc works to build community opportunities-we are also a community in ourselves! I recalled the phone calls that we chapters get when a new member moves to our community. How welcoming it must feel to know that there is a network of support waiting for you wherever you go!
For this visit, I had the opportunity to sits down and chat with some of the folks who make up this network of support in Harrisonburg-Executive Director Mary Ellen Chewning, Office Manager Carol Hart, Board Members Jerry Minskoff and Karen Casey-Winton, soon-to-be- Board Member Tara Greene, and Donna-a long-time member of The Arc and Op Shop. During this visit, Mary Ellen and her team of experts shared with me the many ways The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham is busy working towards “A Life Like Yours” in their community….
To share with me the history and roots of this chapter, Donna explained that she was one of three women who were supported by Trinity Presbyterian Church back in 1976-when community-based care was scare and options were few. She watched the program evolve from serving three individuals to what is now known as “The Op-Shop”. Donna explained to me that the “Op” stands for “Opportunities”, pointing out that direct-care staff are a critical element in making opportunities happen. “It’s the staff” she said, “that do things for people and help people”.
Mary Ellen reminded us all that The Arc was often the first to bring about community-based opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For example, like many other chapters of The Arc, The Arc of Harrisonburg was the first to provide early intervention/education services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the Friendship Project for children ages 2-5, before the days of PL94-142 or IDEA. Jerry shared with us a fascinating lesson on the history of this important piece of civil rights legislation-explaining that the united voice of families was the most important factor in bringing about changes in public education for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham is located within the Lucy Simms Community Center, which also houses the Boys and Girls Club. Many, many, years ago, the center served as a segregated school for African Americans. Lucy Simms was a teacher at the school who was absent from work only 1 day in the 56 years she taught there. I though about how fitting it was for The Arc of Harrisonburg to be at this center-given that so many individuals, families, local chapters of The Arc are working endlessly to make “A Life Like Yours” a reality for Virginians with intellectual and developmental disabilities!
The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham was busy with so many projects I could hardly keep up! There was the yard sale that happened last weekend where students of nearby James Madison University volunteered for the “A Life Like Yours” cause, the golf tournament that is occurring this coming weekend, and the annual meeting that they are gearing up for in June. As a fundraiser for the annual meeting-the chapter obtained a print by P Buckley Moss to hold a raffle. The groups shared with me the that P. Buckley Moss is a local artist who also has a learning disability and is often very involved with promoting “A Life Like Yours”. Her museum is completely accessible to people of all abilities and the folks at The Op Shop frequent the “Barn” of “The People’s Artist” often for tours of her work. Another nearby example of “A Life Like Yours” is Virginia’s first-ever, accessible tree house located at Camp Still Meadows. The group shared with me that the ribbon cutting will be this weekend and many families in the area are thrilled about this new resource in their community.
With success comes challenge, as Mary Ellen and Carol discussed the difficulties in branding, as many in the community still think that the “arc” is an acronym. Although they enjoy a significant amount of local media coverage, they are often reminding their local newspaper editors and writers that The Arc no longer is an acronym. They explained that it has been helpful to use as a precursor that “we were formally known as The Association for Retarded Citizens” but we dropped the label and now we are “The Arc”. Terminology is also taking a new direction in Harrisonburg, as The Arc newsletter has just shifted from using “mental retardation” to using “intellectual disabilities” instead.
Karen, a parent of a 5-year-old son who has Down Syndrome, noted that this shift will be helpful in bringing in younger families. “MR scares them” said Karen, but “there is a gap in between services for young children and services for adults”, noting that communication with younger parents is essential in paving the way for the future. Mary Ellen and Carol explained that The Arc of Harrisonburg has attempted to reach out to many of these families through distributing their newsletters to Harrisonburg and Rockingham schools. 1.800 newsletters were distributed and as a result The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham has benefited from a significant bump in membership!
The Arc of Harrisonburg has also been working hard to reach out to members of related developmental disability groups such as Autism. Rather than starting a separate organization from The Arc, members of The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham have formed a support group that focuses solely on Autism-related topics. The team at The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham said that this has helped to build a bridge between the disability groups they serve.
Thanks so much Harrisonburg for the thoughts, suggestions and insights you provided on this visit. I’m off to Hanover now but I will keep the carved wooden house from the Op Shop by my side throughout the trip to constantly remind me of the importance of building community!
