WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.000 [Music] 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:12.559 One out of five people in the United 00:00:12.559 --> 00:00:14.960 States has a disability. Most 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:17.240 disabilities are hidden. What we find is 00:00:17.240 --> 00:00:20.160 that people that have not experienced 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:22.730 disabilities in their own life 00:00:22.730 --> 00:00:26.530 feel that they need to 00:00:26.530 --> 00:00:30.480 um stay away as much as they can 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:32.689 because of the uncomfortable, unfamiliar. 00:00:32.689 --> 00:00:34.570 What we're looking to do is make people 00:00:34.570 --> 00:00:36.520 more familiar with with the concept of 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:40.122 disabilities. There's been a a big push 00:00:40.122 --> 00:00:44.399 nationally um to create some resources 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:47.600 to to help organizations that use 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:51.039 volunteers understand um and and be able 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:54.840 to have some tools to um to be inclusive 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:57.280 to let everybody be able to come and 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:00.280 volunteer and use whatever talents he or 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:01.280 she has. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:03.839 What people in need 00:01:03.839 --> 00:01:07.200 should understand is that if 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:08.489 there's assistance, 00:01:08.489 --> 00:01:10.680 it's about helping, not about 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:14.720 the person. It's about the process. It's 00:01:14.720 --> 00:01:16.840 about the hope that things will get 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:18.920 better or easier for those in need, 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:21.119 despite whatever they are that are the 00:01:21.119 --> 00:01:23.320 people who are helping out. Uh just as 00:01:23.320 --> 00:01:25.880 you have disabled individuals building 00:01:25.880 --> 00:01:27.830 houses for disabled individuals, how much 00:01:27.830 --> 00:01:30.159 better can that be? It's important about 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:32.560 giving and taking both ways not about 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:35.560 the person the disability. Whatever it is 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:38.360 I'm doing uh to assist in terms of the 00:01:38.360 --> 00:01:40.360 time that I that I give, I know that I 00:01:40.360 --> 00:01:44.079 get back uh the gratitude, the thanks 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.439 from those who are in need and those who 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:48.600 are helped and that's enough for me, so 00:01:48.600 --> 00:01:51.000 each experience is important. One of the 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.399 things we know about volunteering is 00:01:53.399 --> 00:01:56.119 that the the coming together with the 00:01:56.119 --> 00:01:58.920 community that it provides, that sense of 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:01.159 social connection, and the opportunity to 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:05.000 give back is so beneficial for everyone, 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.160 not just psychologically and spiritually, 00:02:08.160 --> 00:02:10.959 but physically as well. People live 00:02:10.959 --> 00:02:13.560 longer when they join with their 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:15.239 communities in activities like 00:02:15.239 --> 00:02:18.000 volunteering. They are healthier, they 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:21.239 have less pain, they have less disability. 00:02:21.239 --> 00:02:24.280 We're here we made it alive, beautiful, 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:27.319 sunny Hawaii, and I'm ready to pound, I'm 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:30.319 ready to hammer, and I'm ready to work. I 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:35.079 find that uh a lot of times people are 00:02:35.079 --> 00:02:38.000 apprehensive uh approaching me and 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:40.730 talking to me because of my 00:02:40.730 --> 00:02:43.879 disability. Uh I think people don't mean 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:47.950 to be. Sometimes people um will talk to 00:02:47.950 --> 00:02:49.879 if I'm out with my wife they'll talk to 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:54.319 my wife instead of me and something just 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:57.920 uh happened to me uh when I was at the 00:02:57.920 --> 00:03:01.879 airport uh getting getting ticketed. The 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:04.000 guy would never hand me back my tickets 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.000 he always handed them to my wife and 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.239 would always ask my wife questions about 00:03:08.239 --> 00:03:11.120 me and I'm like "I'm right here I'm right 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.720 here I can hear you I know what you're 00:03:13.720 --> 00:03:16.040 saying". You know I think we all get kind 00:03:16.040 --> 00:03:18.519 of caught up in doing our own thing and 00:03:18.519 --> 00:03:20.159 kind of step outside 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.360 and volunteer our time and you know give 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:25.249 back to the community. You know people 00:03:25.249 --> 00:03:27.159 think maybe if you have a disability you 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.080 can't really contribute to the to the 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:32.050 volunteer movement or whatever it is, you 00:03:32.050 --> 00:03:33.967 know? And I think it's important. I just 00:03:33.967 --> 00:03:36.120 think it's really important to to 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:37.850 society that you know people with 00:03:37.850 --> 00:03:39.570 disabilities are out there making a 00:03:39.570 --> 00:03:42.120 difference in the world. I got pulled 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.410 over and the policeman instead of coming 00:03:45.410 --> 00:03:47.239 up to my door like they usually do and 00:03:47.239 --> 00:03:49.011 saying oh how do you drive and do you 00:03:49.011 --> 00:03:51.570 have a license and wow Isn't that cool 00:03:51.570 --> 00:03:53.480 instead he got on his speaker and said I 00:03:53.480 --> 00:03:55.259 need to see your hands out the window 00:03:55.259 --> 00:03:57.120 right now and when I 00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:01.110 shouted I don't have any arms, he pulled 00:04:01.110 --> 00:04:02.890 his gun out and I could see him in my 00:04:02.890 --> 00:04:04.709 rearview mirror behind his door he was 00:04:04.709 --> 00:04:06.439 ready to shoot. The one thing in the 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:08.319 world he was asking of me was the very 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:11.120 one thing that I could not comply 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:14.799 with as much as I wanted to. I think 00:04:14.799 --> 00:04:17.079 anytime a person with a disability goes 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:20.400 out and lives their life unashamed and 00:04:20.400 --> 00:04:24.040 unafraid, then they are in a sense giving 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:26.720 a message. I find that as people get 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.880 older in terms of social stigmas, 00:04:30.880 --> 00:04:33.759 they're less uh willing 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:37.120 to understand diversity and differences 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:40.440 in people. Historically um there have 00:04:40.440 --> 00:04:42.720 been misconceptions as any Civil Rights 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:45.750 Movement, people with disabilities NOTE Paragraph 00:04:45.750 --> 00:04:49.639 have, in large, been one of the last 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:52.880 frontiers that still exist. I think 00:04:52.880 --> 00:04:55.080 because of the fear that people have the 00:04:55.080 --> 00:04:56.840 that they're unfamiliar with certain 00:04:56.840 --> 00:04:59.160 situations. The more familiar we are with 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:01.080 every aspect of life that seems to be 00:05:01.080 --> 00:05:03.759 uncomfortable, then we become more 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:05.479 understanding and more 00:05:05.479 --> 00:05:07.800 compassionate. When I was first asked to 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:10.120 help with Nancy, I kind of I was thinking 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:12.479 of what a blind person could really do. 00:05:12.479 --> 00:05:15.880 If you ask them what they need to do a 00:05:15.880 --> 00:05:18.470 job once you describe what that job is, 00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:20.350 they will tell you what they need to do 00:05:20.350 --> 00:05:23.319 it or if that's not a good match. Uh so 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:25.160 it's not it's not rocket science. You 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:27.320 need to deal directly with the person 00:05:27.320 --> 00:05:29.180 you're trying to engage in a particular 00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:31.800 task and they will tell you uh if they 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:34.319 need an accommodation. I was very nervous 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:36.920 I didn't know what to expect, uh I 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:38.730 had never hammered nails, 00:05:38.730 --> 00:05:42.759 especially building a house and I 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:44.800 found that with with the guidance from 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:47.080 people who knew what was going on, they 00:05:47.080 --> 00:05:49.610 could help line me up. Everybody was so 00:05:49.610 --> 00:05:51.230 wonderful. Being able to work with 00:05:51.230 --> 00:05:53.160 somebody with that disability has opened 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:55.199 my mind on what people with disabilities 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:57.199 can really do. Since I do a lot of work 00:05:57.199 --> 00:05:59.960 in Corporate America, if they have someone 00:05:59.960 --> 00:06:02.831 in their workforce that has a 00:06:02.831 --> 00:06:06.360 disability, how should they treat them? My 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:08.560 response is: No differently than you 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.479 treat anybody else. People are are are 00:06:12.479 --> 00:06:15.280 much more um alike than they are 00:06:15.280 --> 00:06:17.960 different. When you look at somebody who 00:06:17.960 --> 00:06:20.280 has a visible disability, you may have 00:06:20.280 --> 00:06:23.240 preconceived ideas of what they will be 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:26.240 able to accomplish. What I would say is, 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:28.360 try to take those preconceived notions 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:31.520 away and look at the possibilities they 00:06:31.520 --> 00:06:33.919 may bring. We can take disability and 00:06:33.919 --> 00:06:36.599 turn it into possibility. Differences in 00:06:36.599 --> 00:06:38.800 life doesn't mean 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.599 deficit, it just means different. If I 00:06:41.599 --> 00:06:43.499 volunteer to help or to do something 00:06:43.499 --> 00:06:45.360 it's because I want to be a part of the 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.520 solution or a part of the team or and 00:06:48.520 --> 00:06:50.479 and I actually want to 00:06:50.479 --> 00:06:52.810 help. When somebody 00:06:52.810 --> 00:06:54.960 who doesn't know you very well, 00:06:54.960 --> 00:06:56.630 hasn't lived in your skin for your 00:06:56.630 --> 00:06:59.280 entire life sort of assumes that they 00:06:59.280 --> 00:07:01.440 have a better idea of what you're 00:07:01.440 --> 00:07:04.680 capable of than you do is a very common 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:06.720 misconception. Some people have made 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.520 assumptions when I do try to do do some 00:07:09.520 --> 00:07:12.560 type of of work and they assume that 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:14.680 that maybe I'm not capable of doing that 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:16.479 because of my disability. The 00:07:16.479 --> 00:07:18.800 straightforward questions are always the 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:22.000 best way, then you can kind of take away 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.120 as much awkwardness as possible. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.960 Accommodating volunteers with 00:07:27.960 --> 00:07:30.520 disabilities um you usually means just 00:07:30.520 --> 00:07:33.319 thinking a little bit more creatively 00:07:33.319 --> 00:07:35.840 about the tasks that need to be done. 00:07:35.840 --> 00:07:37.520 Approach the volunteers the way you 00:07:37.520 --> 00:07:41.319 would approach any volunteer saying this 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:43.919 is what we need to be done um how do you 00:07:43.919 --> 00:07:46.440 think you could do that? If we can be 00:07:46.440 --> 00:07:50.479 open to um suggestions for other ways 00:07:50.479 --> 00:07:52.879 something can be done then people can 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:55.879 come up with um amazingly creative and 00:07:55.879 --> 00:07:59.039 effective solutions. We hope um people 00:07:59.039 --> 00:08:02.639 will realize when they're outreaching to 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:05.599 to people to volunteer in their programs 00:08:05.599 --> 00:08:08.309 is to remember 00:08:08.309 --> 00:08:09.900 maybe not even the word 00:08:09.900 --> 00:08:12.919 remember, but to think about outreaching 00:08:12.919 --> 00:08:15.080 to volunteers with disabilities in any 00:08:15.080 --> 00:08:17.680 of their programs. It is disappointing if 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.360 somebody says "I don't think you should 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:23.520 do that. I don't think you can do this or 00:08:23.520 --> 00:08:25.240 that". For example, 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.919 to assume that a person who uses 00:08:27.919 --> 00:08:30.240 a wheelchair could only do 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.959 a job on a computer is just false, and 00:08:34.959 --> 00:08:37.399 and to assume that I would be a 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:39.279 professional soccer player instead of 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:40.760 guitar player 00:08:40.760 --> 00:08:43.959 is is just it's just a false assumption. 00:08:43.959 --> 00:08:47.640 We we can't judge a book by its cover. We 00:08:47.640 --> 00:08:50.000 shouldn't pick our dreams based on what 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.760 a perceived limitation is. We should 00:08:52.760 --> 00:08:55.109 decide what we want to do and then find 00:08:55.109 --> 00:08:56.880 a way to do it, and that goes I think 00:08:56.880 --> 00:08:58.920 across the board for all of us. 00:08:58.920 --> 00:09:00.560 We need to open 00:09:00.560 --> 00:09:03.290 up our perceptions a little bit more. 00:09:03.290 --> 00:09:04.510 [Music] 00:09:04.510 --> 00:09:08.307 You walk on by in high to rise. Sympathize 00:09:08.307 --> 00:09:11.360 but you don't know who I am. Who are 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:14.120 you? Where do you come from and where do 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:17.050 you go. And if I send an 00:09:17.050 --> 00:09:20.240 invitation to my world, would you come 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:24.040 and stay? And if I had a chance to sing 00:09:24.040 --> 00:09:27.260 my song, this is what I'd say. 00:09:27.260 --> 00:09:29.000 We are more the 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.519 same then you may think, yeah you and me 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:35.760 we are the same. Does anybody really have 00:09:35.760 --> 00:09:39.296 to take the blame? 00:09:39.296 --> 00:09:42.079 We are the same. We are more the same 00:09:42.079 --> 00:09:45.480 than you may think, said you and me we 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:50.309 are the same and it's a shame to be 00:09:50.309 --> 00:09:55.000 ashamed. You hide your head, don't hide 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:57.959 your heart. You turn it off so you don't 00:09:57.959 --> 00:10:01.279 fall apart. When you see that man walk by, 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:04.320 got his whole life in a shopping cart so 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:06.620 you side, you don't 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:11.360 cry. Then you wonder why you're so alone. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:14.920 We are more the same than you may think, 00:10:14.920 --> 00:10:17.720 yeah you and me we are the same. 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:19.060 It doesn't anybody 00:10:19.060 --> 00:10:22.779 have to take the blame, no, we are 00:10:22.779 --> 00:10:26.240 the same. We are more the same you 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:27.240 may think, said 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:31.440 you me we are the same. It's a shame 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:35.040 to be ashamed. 00:10:35.040 --> 00:10:39.088 I don't want you to look the other way, 00:10:39.088 --> 00:10:41.399 fumble around thinking of what to 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:45.480 say. Wouldn't want to be anybody else and 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:51.391 I'm okay with myself. 00:10:51.391 --> 00:10:53.460 Cuz we are more the same 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:55.871 then you may think [Music] 00:10:55.871 --> 00:11:01.240 [scatting]