2013-2014 Working with Communities & Systems II
<-- 2013-2014 MCH Competency Reflections
Dr. Al Condeluci, CEO of CLASS (Community Living & Support Services) offered a unique and engaging perspective in regards to the relationship between individuals with disabilities and the communities in which they live. He explained that, despite the hard work that professionals and organizations have put in to help those with disabilities, the focus has been short-sighted. Instead, there must be a shift to examining more global issues related to disability, and this can be done through an emphasis on culture and community. This new focus fits well with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau competency of working with communities and systems because it requires an understanding of how multiple aspects of the community and environment must interact to achieve a positive outcome.
Interestingly, the theories and goals discussed by Dr. Condeluci were not originally intended to relate to disability, but rather to society as a whole. The first theory was developed by Jürgen Habermas and explains two aspects of life. The first is the “Life World”, which includes all of the things people have in life, such as education, a job, friends, etc…. The life world is where people want to be; however, if a problem becomes too great to solve within the life world, people must then turn to “systems”, which are formal institutions that aim to fix problems. Dr. Condeluci explained that as young professionals, we are training to work in a system. This is not a bad thing because when systems do their job correctly, people can successfully return to their life world. The problem is that system outcomes are not always successful in that way. Dr. Condeluci gave an example related to disability in which someone wants a home, so the system finds them a group home, or someone wants friends, so the system sets up a support group. The system ends up creating a whole other world for long term service that seems nice, but is not a life world. As this failure continues, people with disabilities become isolated.
Isolation of people with disabilities leads into the second theory of society that Dr. Condeluci discussed. This theory, developed by Robert Putnam, states that the most important thing in life is social capital (relationships) and that the only way to build social capital is through community engagement. When individuals with disabilities are isolated because of the work of systems, they do not build social capital. Because of this, Dr. Condeluci stressed that when working in a system, the ultimate goal must be community engagement. The way to increase community engagement is through changing the environment and allowing people to be incorporated into the life world.
Lastly, Dr. Condeluci discussed how all humans, regardless of disability, build communities. Initially, people are drawn to others with whom they share common passions. Habitually, people who share passions tend to meet in similar places. For example, if someone is interested in books then it is likely he or she will meet another with this common passion at a library or bookstore. The next step is to discover what is important in how this community behaves. Lastly, one must look for (or become) the gatekeeper to other community members.
Dr. Condeluci’s passion towards this topic was evident. He stressed that currently there is a problem with how our society attempts to “fix” people with disability, but he also provided a new framework for how we can begin to impact perspectives and change.