The following is my reply to a woman who is frustrated with the Department of Services for the Blind in Washington State, and is contemplating goint out of state for her adaptive skills training.
Debby and All who feel Frustrated with the Department of Services for the Blind's level of Services,
It is important for you to make the choice that you feel is the right one for meeting your needs.
Having said that, I do have some pretty strong feelings in general, about the manner in which we support our Department of Services for the Blind, and all of the programs within the Department.
I totally understand the feelings of frustration when Services are not meeting my needs. If you are feeling that way, you can bet there are others with the same concerns.
So that you don't think I am simply blowing smoke up your nose, remember the history of our Department. Prior to 1977 it had been a tiny program tucked away in the Department of Social and Health Services. Some of us blind clients felt we were not being served well. We went to the agency and were blown off. We went to the DSHS folks and were given platitudes. We were frustrated beyond belief. But did we send our newly blinded brothers and sisters away to other more effective programs? And there were several. No. We gathered together at our Washington State Association of the Blind(WSAB) convention in Hoquiam, in 1970, and passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a separate agency, a Commission for the blind.
That began a 7 year battle before the Commission Bill was passed in 1977. The story of how it then became a separate Department is recorded in our WCB Newsline.
The point of telling you this is to demonstrate what a difference it makes when people take a stand and demand their rights, rather than simply going away. You, personally may fair better for the trip out of state, but what about all of the blind men and women and unborn blind children yet to come? Where will their needs be met? Will we just roll over and demand that the Department send them all away? What sort of a Department will that create in years to come? Will you and others stand as proudly as I do, bragging about how we slew the dragon and made life better for the Blind of Washington State?
Once, Washington State was considered among the leaders in the field of work for the blind. Because of our strong organization of blind people, supporting our separate agency and demanding effective programs, we were considered by many to be the Mecca of the
West.
Our Business Enterprise Program was among the top 3 nationally, our growing child and family programs were looked to by other programs around the country, we became one of a select number of states funded through grant money, to serve the unmet needs of our older blind population. And our Orientation and Training Center was challenging students to become independent.
Whatever we feel about the Department today, we must first look to ourselves and ask, "What have I done to keep the Faith and ensure quality services for future generations of blind people?"
If the answer is, "I went away so I could become a better person and return to fight the good fight with more tools at my disposal", that is a good answer.
But if you say, "I am plain frustrated and I am going to take care of my needs, and the Devil take the hindmost", and if enough of us simply take the self serving road, we might as well padlock the agency door and put up a sign that says, "Hope Deferred".
Carl Jarvis
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