Collaborative on Faith and Disability Puts Faith to Work, Offers Online Trainings, and Encourages Faith Community Commitment to Honoring ADA
The National Collaborative on Faith and Disability(NCFD) was formed to coordinate the growing efforts of UCEDDs and organizations already working with faith networks, service systems, and communities and to facilitate new and innovative collaborative projects.
“For many people with disabilities and their families, faith communities can be a powerful source of natural community support and connection, as well as a doorway to other important outcomes in areas of relationships, work, community living, recreation, and service,” said Bill Gaventa, M.Div., NCFD director. “For many others, however, their faith community has not played this role. Barriers of attitude, awareness, and accessibility remain prominent in many congregations. There is a clear need for coordinated and concerted efforts to support people with disabilities and their families in this dimension of their lives and to better equip service systems to draw on natural partners in the community. The Collaborative on Faith and Disability seeks to encourage forward movement in this area with a variety of projects and activities.”
Putting Faith To Work
The Putting Faith To Work (PFTW)project is a collaboration between four NCFD partners (TN, KY, MN, and TX), and is made possible by a Signature Employment Grant from the Kessler Foundation. The project aims to build capacity and support communities of faith to serve their members with disabilities who are seeking employment and career advancement. Directed by Erik Carter, Ph.D., associate professor of Special Education and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigator, the project currently is serving 45 individuals with disabilities in 26 congregations across the four states.
“Our model carefully integrates ‘discovery’ approaches, natural supports, and customized employment features and delivers them through faith networks,” said Carter. “But it also builds upon scriptural understandings of the dignity of work, stewardship of one’s talents or gifts, and the responsibility of the community to support those ‘on the margins.’ We are convinced that we must work both within and beyond the formal service system if we’re going to fundamentally change the employment landscape for Americans with disabilities.”
Though the project varies in each participating state, the PFTW process generally involves developing project teams, supporting the teams in identifying interested members with disabilities, holding person-centered planning meetings to identify interests and strengths, brainstorming ways of making connections with potential employers through networking within the faith communities, and providing assistance in connecting with on the job supports.
“We were excited to join Putting Faith to Work because we felt it would be a unique opportunity to more fully know some of our adults with disabilities,” said Gigi Sanders, Special Needs Ministry Coordinator at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. “We have had two person-centered care meetings with two of our young ladies. Both evenings were treasured times, as we heard from a variety of family members and friends who know and love each woman. We are excited to see what God will continue to show us and what possible work connections may happen for these amazing women. As exciting as a possible job/work situation will be, we are even more excited to have our two friends become more fully known by our congregation.”
The overarching goal of PFTW is to develop and disseminate a vision, process, practices, examples, and resources that can enable organizations, congregations, individuals, and networks to adapt and replicate the project. A replication guide will be available in 2016.
National Collaborative Webinar Series
In January, the NCFD launched the webinar series, Honoring Spiritual Needs and Gifts: From Inertia to Collaborative Action by Providers and Congregations. Topics in the free monthly series are focused on honoring the spiritual needs and interests of people served and supported by provider agencies, strategies for connecting with congregations, resources developed to start and strengthen inclusive ministries, and a community call to action to move beyond inclusion to belonging.
The next scheduled webinar, Strategies for Congregations To Use in Building Awareness and Commitment Within Congregations will take place on Monday, April 27at 1:00pm (CDT). Registration is required and all webinars are recorded and archived on the NCFD website.
The series is co-sponsored by the Spirituality Division of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and The Bethesda Institute. Supporting Networks include The Arc, Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Autism Society of America, Parent to Parent, the American Network of Community Options and Resources, and TASH.
The 25th Anniversary of the ADA and Faith Communities: An Opportunity, Invitation and Challenge
In 1990, the religious community was exempt from the legal requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Because July 2015 marks the 25th Anniversary of the signing of the ADA, the NCFD is working with the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition of the American Association for Persons with Disabilities and the ADA Legacy Project to invite individual faith communities and faith networks to join in the national activities and to educate, celebrate, and re-commit to the vision of the ADA.
The NCFD has compiled a list of resources and activities on its website, including a downloadable and customizable pledge that illustrates a faith community’s willingness to commit to an accessible, welcoming worship experience for individuals and families with disabilities.