{"id":24417,"date":"2012-03-14T19:19:31","date_gmt":"2012-03-14T19:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=24417"},"modified":"2015-11-08T07:46:17","modified_gmt":"2015-11-08T12:46:17","slug":"a-campaign-for-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-campaign-for-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"A Campaign for Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Tikvah Juni, a Brooklyn native, is a member and public speaker for Yachad, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities. Yachad\u2019s mission is to help provide inclusive activities, including Shabbatonim, for those with mental and physical disabilities within the Jewish community. In Tikvah\u2019s own words, \u201cI love the way I feel welcomed and a part of the group during Yachad programs. I live from Shabbaton to Shabbaton and my self-esteem grows with each one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, Houston Yachad celebrated North American Inclusion Month (or NAIM) by inviting Tikvah to speak to the Houston Jewish Community. She spoke about what it was like growing up with Down\u2019s Syndrome, relating, \u201cIt\u2019s like having a warning sign flashing over your head at all times. It\u2019s like having ‘stare now\u2019 taped to your face and never being able to take it down.\u201d Her speech was heart-wrenching at times, but to Tikvah, it was all about delivering a very important message to Houston\u2019s Jewish youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere is the truth: People with disabilities are just like anybody else. There is no reason to be afraid. Get to know us and you will see. I turn to each of you, asking you to make your community a place where kids reach out to their neighbors with disabilities and make them feel included.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of Tikvah\u2019s visit included introducing Houston Yachad\u2019s initiative to end the use of the \u201cr\u201d word among Houston\u2019s Jewish youth. Inspired by the \u201cSpread the Word to End the Word Campaign,\u201d Houston Yachad and Tikvah encouraged hundreds of local youth to pledge their support of the campaign and discontinue their use of the hurtful word \u201cretarded \u201cin their everyday speech. In the course of just five days, Tikvah spoke to 10 organizations throughout the community including Ahavat Yisrael, Brith Shalom Religious School, The Emery\/Weiner School, the Kesher Program ,The Miriam Browning Center for Jewish Learning at Congregation Beth Israel, the Robert M. Beren Academy, Torah Girls Academy, Torah Day School, Sephardic Gan Torat Emet, and Young Israel of Houston. In total, Tikvah\u2019s message reached over 1000 people before she flew home to New York.<\/p>\n

Parents, teachers, and students were inspired by Tikvah\u2019s message. Jane Alexander commented, \u201cTikvah shared the pain and hurt when others didn\u2019t include her in social situations and my son listened to feelings he couldn\u2019t express himself.\u201d Tal Behor, a seventh grader at Emery\/Weiner said, \u201cI was about to say that word [retarded] to my friend , but then I remembered what Tikvah told us and I stopped myself.\u201d A sixth grade student at Brith Shalom told Tikvah, \u201c You really live up to your name, Tikvah , Hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Shulamis Pollak, Tikvah\u2019s sister and Director of Guidance at Beren Academy remarked, on the lasting impact of Tikvah\u2019s words,\u201cTikvah\u2019s honesty in telling her life story and message of inclusion gave the Houston Jewish community a vision to work towards. Her heartfelt words will echo in our shuls and schools for a long time to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston Yachad will offer more events for high school teens and their peers with special needs before the end of the school year. For more information about Houston Yachad events, contact Gina Fass at houstonyachad@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

This article originally appeared in the The Jewish Herald Voice.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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