October is Disability Awareness & History Month
Pamela Beck, known fondly as Candy Beck, is the owner-operator of Bonners Ferry Social, a community access-based program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For a few hours Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, she makes her rounds picking up a small group of individuals who are otherwise mostly homebound. They make their way around the community, shopping at thrift stores, visiting friends, dining in the local cafes or the senior center. Many an afternoon is spent at the library’s fab lab and bowling is a favorite pastime in the winter. Recently some of the group participated in the local chapter of Special Olympics.
Candy is the only provider working in Boundary County to serve this population. There are more individuals who need this type of support than she can serve and many of them must travel to centers based in Sandpoint or even further. I wanted to know what prompted her to start her business.
Q. How did you get interested in this line of work?
A. I started the group in response to discrimination I had encountered against adults with disabilities, and because I had become aware that there was limited resources in this area for them. I was working for Partnerships for Inclusion, a developmental disability therapy and advocacy agency that was here in town in the late 1990s.
I became passionate about helping people connect with one another and giving them the opportunity to learn new skills or improve their skills. For me, it is very rewarding and a privilege to see them grow and connect and have happier lives. By enabling these individuals to access the community I also saw that it gave people a chance to learn about and interact with people who are different from them. Their participation benefits the entire community.
Community inclusion is the opportunity to live and exist as a contributing member of the community while being valued for one’s abilities and uniqueness — regardless of disability. The ultimate goal of community inclusion is the participation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across a range of areas, including employment, housing, education, recreation and leisure, civic engagement, and more.
Society is enhanced and enriched by the diversity of the people. Everyone with different backgrounds, abilities, and interests all bring something unique and can contribute to the richness of society. https://communitymainstreaming.org/what-is-community-inclusion/
From integration, ensuring that people with various disabilities were present and their right to access ‘regular things’ was respected, to laws that required service providers to accommodate them so they were able to participate, society has taken steps toward inclusion. But real inclusion is something more, it is the internalized value that all people have value and the right to belong. Inclusion values diversity and allows for the real opportunity for people (with and without disabilities) to have meaningful relationships.
Candy lights up when we are talking about her group. She is animated and passionate; this is her purpose in life.
Q. What do you enjoy most about your program? What are your successes?
A. The community has often told me how much my group has changed, blossomed really. When I first began this program many of the participants were unused to being in the community; they struggled with anxiety, communication with others and things like simply knowing what to do in different situations. I have watched as they have grown more comfortable and confident with every interaction. They are learning to have conversations with people, and it has increased their vocabulary. They have become less anxious about being in unfamiliar environments because they now feel comfortable asking for help. I have been especially happy that they are learning to care about each other. We celebrate everyone’s birthday and the holidays. Simple things like being given the opportunity to buy a card or small gift for someone else has greatly increased their empathy.
I would say that the program’s biggest success is that it has contributed to the richness of its members lives and that they have a real relationship with their community, and that the community has learned from and embraced them.
Q. What is the primary challenge people with disabilities living in our county face?
A. Housing. I encourage people who are interested to look into the Certified Family Home program. It was created to provide more local housing and foster care for the IDD population, enabling residents to remain at home, or close to home. (bit.ly/3M8coKV)
Candy will eventually retire and hopes for someone to spearhead a program that includes long-term housing, social and recreational programs, and employment opportunities for the adult IDD population. She is very optimistic about this community’s potential for growth in this area.
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Mary Joseph is a member of the Boundary County Human Rights Task Force.