Words from an ED!
"I did want to say thank you again for the introduction of the special needs on our build sites. "Last night I was a guest speaker for a disability support group. What astonished me was the surprise in the eyes of everyone at the meeting when they learned who had been building those days. It was like they did not believe that people with disabilities could make an impact on a family’s life on a build site. That caught me off guard. You meet people that just want to show how much they can do no matter what, and here it seems that some have accepted the ideology that they just need to survive in their own world. "You have not only assisted habitat in keeping true to our mission by “working in partnership with God and people everywhere, from all walks of life,” but you helped some more of our community to come out and share the love they have inside of them. THANK YOU!!!!!!!" Jym Littrell Lawrence County HFH |
FREE On-Site Training Opportunity
Do you have a homeowner who has a disability or health condition and is eager to contribute to the construction of his or her home?
Have you had people with disabilities show up to volunteer and not been sure how to maximize their experience while meeting the day's construction timelines?
Through a Corporation for National and Community Service grant, ABILITY Awareness is able to provide on-site disability training to a limited number of low-income homebuilding organizations* at no cost! ABILITY Awareness, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, has been partnering with Habitat for Humanity affiliates on ABILITY Builds since 1999, engaging people with all ranges of health conditions and disabilities in community service—demonstrating their capacity as volunteers, mentors and employees.
* Qualifying low-income homebuilding organizations include: Habitat for Humanity, Fuller Center for Housing, Rebuilding Together, Homes for Heroes, among others.
The following criteria must be met in order to apply for selection:
- Home must be visitable or “handicap-accessible”. (Visitability requirements are one zero-step entrance into the home (does not need to be the frontdoor), 36" hallways and an accessible restroom on the main floor.)
- Able to build for 2 or preferably 3 consecutively scheduled build days.
- Willing to take a brief (10 questions) before and after survey.
- Able (for this grant) to conduct the ABILITY Build training event by August 31, 2009 (home does not need to be completed by this time). Please note that other training opportunities will continue to exist after August 1.
- ABILITY Awareness sign-in must be available, with option for volunteers to confidentially disclose if they have a disability.
- Site must have an accessible port-o-john for ABILITY Build days.
- Homeowner families are not required to have a disability, but it is preferred.
What the ABILITY Build includes:
- Resources/hand-outs on appropriate terminology, disability ettiquette and tips for working with various disabilities.
- On-site representative of ABILITY Awareness to provide construction staff with training and facilitate the day's building.
- Support in outreaching to people with disabilities as volunteers.
- Sample documents (press release and media alert) for the press highlighting your organization's ABILITY Build.
- Inclusion on ABILITY Awareness' website and potential for editorial in ABILITY Magazine.
- Inclusion in our reporting to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Since many nonprofit low-income building organizations (especially Habitat for Humanity affiliates) rely heavily on AmeriCorps National Direct and AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteers administered by the CNCS, and since the CNCS is committed to engaging volunteers with disabilities, your inclusion in our report will demonstrate to the Corporation your affiliate's commitment to people with disabilities!
Next Steps
ABILITY Awareness will only be able to provide a limited number of ABILITY Build training opportunities at no-cost to low-income homebuilding organizations. To be considered, complete the ABILITY Build application and return it at soon as possible for immediate consideration. The form may be faxed to ABILITY Awareness' Program Director, Romney Snyder at (714) 277-3743. For questions, please contact Romney at (949) 943-4496.
Download ABILITY Build Application