COMMUNITIES THAT HELP PEOPLE

  Reprinted with permission of           where Ferdie makes the cheese, she felt
       John McKnight                  powerful beyond words because Mary
Director of Community Studies,          had been running Ferdie’s life since he
               Illinois                   was a baby.
                             

Communities that Help People This is a story that takes place in a little town in Wisconsin called Spring Green. Spring Green has 1700 people. It’s in dairy country. There are more cows in the country than there are people. Is there a Canadian Legion Hall in your town? We have American Legions in the United States and there is a Hall in most towns. Communities work by trust and obligation, not certification and money. Ferdie is the Commander of Post 1147 of the American Legion in Spring Green. Ferdie is about 58 years old. We have Independence Day on July 4. We always have a big parade and the American Legion always lead off the parade. At the front of the parade there are three guys. Ferdie is the guy in the middle, middle aged, potbelly, white shirt, blue jacket, carrying a flag. On either side are two other guys carrying guns that don’t shoot. Ferdie is also the Cheese Maker in town. He owns a little Cheese Factory. This is a story about Ferdie. One day about six years ago a worker came to Spring Green and went to talk to a woman named Mary. When the worker was done talking to Mary, Mary got on the phone and called her brother Ferdie. As the worker drove out to the country she felt powerful beyond words because Mary was running Ferdie’s life since he was a baby. The worker said to Ferdie, “Do you remember Charles Symbles?” He said “I remember but I remember his mother better. She lived next door at one time.” “She died early, you remember that,” the worker said. “When she died they sent her son Charlie to an institution. Now Charlie lives in a group home in the next town but his home is here in Spring Green. I was wondering, Ferdie if Charlie could join you and go to the Legion Hall. He could do something there. He could also meet some people.” Ferdie was really taken aback. He said to the worker, “Well, you know Charlie wasn’t in the big war and you had to be in it to be in the Legion.” The worker was a person who knows about community. So she said to Ferdie,

“But Ferdie, he is fifty four years old. He Ralph rushed outside to get somebody to help him get that feed out of there and there was Charlie. He and Charlie got all the sacks out to dry. Ralph was impressed. He then hired Charlie to work in the afternoons.

Ferdie bought a computer, put it in his office and turned the switch on. You know what? It did nothing. He was disappointed but Charlie hung out a fair amount at the Cheese Factory and he turned it on and began to touch the keys. He began to spend hours on the thing. Ferdie realised that, though Charlie doest talk, he does talk with the computer.

Ferdie told Mary who was the School Principal; ‘He is talking to that computer.’ Mary drives twice a week to take Continuing Education Courses. She said to Ferdie, ‘I can take Charlie over to Extension, because they’re giving Computer Courses.’ Mary began to drive him back and forth. Charlie learned a lot and he began to show people in Spring Green how to use computers.

Out of this whole thing Mary became very fond of Charlie. Mary’s only son, John went away to University. This meant that John’s room was vacant. Mary decided to invite Charlie to come and live in the boy’s room. She called up the worker and said she wanted to see if Charlie could come and stay with her but she was afraid. She don’t know about the money situation and she knew that Charlie needed some special medical care. The worker came and talked to Mary and said, ‘Don’t worry Mary. We have it arranged so Charlie will get additional money from his job that will allow for his medication from Dr Thorn right here in town.’ So Charlie moved in.

Editorial Response

This excellent modern community development parable by John McKnight clearly illustrates how community exists in the lives of people with disabilities when-

1. People truly believe in the capacity of community to welcome people with disabilities, and to become stronger through the sharing of their gifts, talents and contribution.
2. People with disabilities believe themselves that they have the capacity to be of community.
3. That the human service system “let go” of people with disabilities so that community can truly be found.

There is a last part to the story.

Two years ago Charlie walked into Ferdie’s office and found Ferdie dead. We were worried about what this meant to Charlie. It was June. On July 4, Independence Day, I was there to watch the parade. When the parade turned down Main Street, there were three people, two with guns and one in the middle with a flag. The one with the flag was Charlie. I knew what had happened to Charlie. I knew he was finally safe. No worker could ever keep Charlie from falling back into an institution. In that group home he would have grown old and gone back to an institution but now he is safe. He’s safe because Spring Green is not a dependent on an agency. It is the place that surrounds Charlie.

The community is the only safe place for our folks. Community is a powerful