Community Connections Series: Disability Awareness

The San Antonio Area Foundation hosts small group events for donors to learn about key issues in our community and how to get involved.

“Our mission is to help donors achieve their charitable goals” said Dennis Noll, president and CEO of the San Antonio Area Foundation.  “The Community Connections Series offers a way for donors to learn specifically how we can work together to improve our community.”

The first Community Connections Series event was held at Morgan’s Wonderland on January 19. Leaders from the disability field highlighted how donors and the community can help children and adults with disabilities. About 10 percent of the San Antonio population lives with a disability. Through the work of local nonprofits and companies, children and adults are able to become productive citizens in the community and live to their full potential.

                Pam Kelly of RMI, Melissa Bentley of Bank of America, and Gordon Hartman of the Gordon Hartman Family Foundation discussed housing, employment, and education for children and adults with disabilities, and how San Antonians can help them.

RMI, also known as Reaching Maximum Independence, helps adults with intellectual and development disabilities work and live as independently as possible. Having affordable housing for people with disabilities benefits everyone in the community and reduces the need to rely on government funding.

“There are about 73,000 people in the San Antonio area that have disabilities but fewer than 6,000 people receive support through Medicaid,” stated Kelly.

        RMI offers a variety of living options. “It is important to create safe housing that is close to public transportation,” Kelly said.

Options for housing include:

• ·         Group homes for four or six individuals per home
• ·         Semi-independent apartment living
• ·         Foster care and supported home living

Melissa Bentley, with Bank of America, explained how they have been helping people with disabilities find employment within the company for the past 20 years.

“We identify skills needed and hire people based on their abilities not their disabilities,” said Bentley.

Bank of America has four departments with associates that have disabilities and the company makes sure that each person has what they need in the workplace. Those associates also volunteer at schools to participate in mock interviews and give feedback to students in similar situations.

Gordon Hartman closed the presentation by discussing the establishment of The Monarch Academy and how important it is to meet the educational needs of children with disabilities. The Monarch Academy has specialized curriculum and helps children with disabilities learn social, academic and life skills in a comfortable environment that meets their needs.

“Instead of 18 being the age limit, we’ve extended it to age 24 so students can continue their education and continue to develop,” Hartman said.

Although the Monarch Academy is only in its first year, it has seen great progress and keeps every activity a learning experience. Students plan their transportation routes for field trips, cook family meals once a week, and learn important skills that can help them once they are ready to live on their own.

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For more information on upcoming Community Connections events please visit www.saafdn.org