| 11/03/2006 |
| In artwork, as in life, disabled can do it all |
| By: ASHLEY LOPES |
|
TAUNTON - "Never Give Up on Your
Dreams" read Jenise Peebles' poster, which portrayed an athlete with
prosthetic legs running a race.
This was not only the creation
of a 9-year-old's imagination, but the theme of the day at the
Taunton Area Committee on Disability Awareness' annual awards
breakfast, meant to raise disability awareness in the
community."It means that everyone can do the same thing that we do, and we should be treated the same," said Jenise, of East Taunton Elementary School. "We are equal." Jenise's art and message was part of an annual poster contest in which Mayor Robert G. Nunes and Dawn Dow, poster contest chairwoman, presented 18 students from elementary through high school with awards. The breakfast, held at Bristol Plymouth Regional Technical School on Thursday, was an opportunity for Ruth Blais, a Taunton High School art student, to help open doors for people with disabilities and break down barriers to employment by doing what she does best - picking up a pad and a paintbrush. "It's good to show everyone in the community in a positive light and what they can do," said Blais, who won second place in the high school division for her poster. "People have to remember that disabilities don't stop anyone." East Taunton Elementary School art teacher Andrew Inman was amazed not only with his students' final products, but with what kids took away from the lesson. "It was a way to use art not just for art's sake but to expand awareness and work with social issues such as disabilities," Inman said. "I tried to teach my students that the disabled are a functioning and important part of society just like you and me." With the help of honorary guests Nunes and state Rep. James H. Fagan, D-Taunton, members of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, community service programs, parents, students and representatives of local businesses, the breakfast was also a way to celebrate the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission's 50th anniversary as a state agency. The commission helps people with disabilities live and work independently. For Linda Andrade, event committee member for the past 11 years, the event serves as an eye-opener for the public, which needs to understand the importance of the disabled to business, people and society as a whole. "This is something that we need to keep talking about, thinking about and opening our minds to," Andrade said. The commission does just that through its Vocational Rehabilitation Program, which helps disabled people find or return to a job and works closely with employers to create job openings and increase employer awareness on the benefits of diversity in the workplace. "It shows how these individuals who might have a label can get rid of that label and can do whatever they want if they put their mind to it," said Murphy, one of the original founders of the Taunton Area Committee on Disability Awareness and co-director of Independence Associates, a service agency that covers 35 local cities and towns and helps more than 600 people with disabilities a year. "With a little extra help they can get there. They just need to know that help is out there," Murphy said. |