CWU Program Honored Those With Disabilities

By Kendra Bobowick

With doors closed for privacy, the many women and several men filling the library’s meeting room last Sunday afternoon shared their private struggles, pain, and moments of brightness in between.

During the Church Women United Human Rights Celebration 2010, guests honored the lives of people with disabilities, their families, and others who have helped them. The day also took note of special moments that can also be considered God’s gifts, as stated on a flyer available for guests attending the afternoon discussion.

Facing a full audience were Reverend Leo McIlrath, an ecumenical chaplain for the Lutheran Home of Southbury, Ability Beyond Disability Behavioral Analyst Michelle Weinstein and her client Tiffany, 18, and Linda Jones, a registered dietician, nutritionist, and mother coping with the loss of a child who had been diagnosed with autism.

Seated up front was Linda Manganaro, Michelle’s mother, who until the end of the afternoon, did not know that she would receive a national CWU award, explained Newtown CWU Unit President Darlene Jackson.

Speaking for a few minutes about her son Tyler, who died in the past year, Ms Jones began, “My gift is people …” In the days after Tyler passed she said, “I am not sure how I know, but I knew I needed to take a walk.” Interrupting her story to talk about her son’s final night, she said, “He wanted to walk and we had our last walk together.”

She continued her story: “I wanted to experience Tyler’s world.” On her walk she encountered a nurse. “I told her I was taking a virtual tour for him. She told me, ‘He is talking to you.’”

Moments later as the sun shone through cloud cover, Ms Jones took a picture. Looking at the digital image later that day on her computer she realized that the camera caught prisms of sunlight that appeared as “balls of color; they were the autism colors,” she said. Telling his story, Ms Tyler said, “I am an advocate and a voice for him.”

Ms Weinstein began her story.

“My message is about listening,” she said. She is intrigued by the ways “people are brought to the different places in their lives.” Her job, for example, was serendipitous. As she entered an Ability Beyond Disability facility for one reason, she noticed a job posting she would later fill.

The lesson? “We may make a lot of decisions, but the world around us lets us know if those are the right decisions,” she said. Drawn to the mental health field and young adults, she turned to Tiffany, a young lady at a youth home Ms Weinstein helps promote.

“I am so proud of you,” Ms Weinstein told Tiffany. Addressing the guests again Ms Weinstein said when she first met Tiffany she was in a children’s hospital. “She didn’t want to talk a lot to anybody, and now, here she is!”

Again, Ms Weinstein promotes listening. “When I have struggles and challenges, [listening] is what I need. I want someone to listen to me.”

According to CWU notes, The Valiant Woman Award, which was presented to Mrs Manganaro, honors a woman who has given service to CWU, her own church, and her community for an extended period of time. She does not have to be a leader, but can be someone who leads in a quiet way through her example. The award is for someone “who lives the Gospel message in her everyday life.”

Founded in 1941, Church Women United works for peace and social justice and human rights. The group’s priority is “Building a World Fit for all of God’s children.”