Power Grid Blog
The Interfaith Initiative
August 13, 2012 | Heather Rasmussen
This summer at AAPD was my first internship ever. This means that I had to learn from scratch how to work in a professional environment: how to dress, how to interact with co-workers, and what to say and NOT to say in certain circumstances. I also learned a great amount about the disability community and the issues we face. I am blind, so it may seem a little strange, but before coming here I really didn’t know much about people with disabilities other than blindness. I think that AAPD does a great job of running several, widely-varied programs simultaneously that address the needs of people with all types of disabilities.
Although I was technically an external affairs intern, I also did a lot of work with the Interfaith Initiative and the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC). I first found out about IDAC when giving myself a crash course on AAPD before my first telephone interview. I remember when reading about it that day thinking how nifty and different the program sounded. Then when I was told at my in-person interview that I could do some work with IDAC, I got really excited because it was something I’d never thought of working at before. This is a really cool program for a couple of reasons. First of all, it brings members of different faith groups together for a common purpose. That purpose, of course, is to become more inclusive of people with disabilities and support legislation important to the disability community. This common purpose allows people to work together and overcome the differences that often devide people of faith; it is a great tool for bridging the gaps between us.
Secondly, IDAC brings together a number of influential organizations to back legislation important to the disability community. The more people we have backing our causes, the more likely members of Congress are to listen to us. Many representatives take faith groups very seriously, and the more of them there are the better. Also, the fact that IDAC has groups from four different religions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism—give it more weight. Diversity always makes a message more convincing.
So although I think nearly all of AAPD’s programs and current campaigns are useful and much-needed, I found that the Interfaith Initiative and IDAC were the things that I felt most connected with and inspired by. Coming out of my internship experience, I believe that civil rights organizations—AAPD included—ought to focus on interfaith work and use it as a way to connect with people of every background.
It’s so easy to get involved.
“Like” IDAC’s Facebook page, and you will be able to share and receive information about faith and disability. AAPD’s interfaith program page for information and publications that support faith communities’ efforts to be truly inclusive. Share all of this with your friends, family, fellow parishioners, and any people of faith you know who care about civil rights and might not have known how people of faith can promote disability inclusion.
Comments
Submitted by More about Feihud at 05:11 AM on August 4, 2013