The fourth annual Southwest Ability Summit at the Durango Community Recreation Center on Thursday put the voices of Durango’s disabled community front and center to discuss inclusion through art.
San Juan BOCES, and collaborators such as the Southwest Center for Independence and Community Connections, focused on topics such as emergency management and Social Security and prioritized their impacts for people with disabilities. On Post-it notes during the event, participants answered questions such as: What is an inclusive community and how can we support each other in taking the next steps?
“Our vision for the Ability Summit was really to bring the voice of people with disabilities to the forefront in our communities to better understand how we ... can do a more comprehensive job of including everyone,” said Adrea Bogle, executive director of San Juan BOCES.
As participants defined their own “inclusive community,” Durango artist Jon Bailey turned their feedback into art.
“We’re going to share that with all of the participants, so they can see not just what they saw and learned, but what everybody saw and learned,” said Steve Otter, director of innovation and collaboration at San Juan BOCES.
The Ability Summit, with the theme “Building an Inclusive Community,” included sessions about developing circles of support, emergency planning, exploring college options and ableism – body and mind oppression.
For example, emergency planning for people with disabilities can be complex, especially finding the resources they need. The summit also helped people understand how to access community resources.
“We had so many powerful stories, resources, ideas that it was really worth the time and effort to do the event,” Bogle said.
smullane@durangoherald.com
