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With a Cookie or Candy Tray glori0/13 737-2450 1 106 FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 1989 JWF Task Force Studies Needs Of Jewish Disabled RUTHAN BRODSKY Special To The Jewish News THE TREE OF LIFE and THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL A 1 WE DELIVER! D etroit's Jewish corn- munity is in the fore- front when it comes to providing services for the elderly and the retarded. But when it comes to meeting the needs of the disabled, Detroit is sorely lagging. To make amends, the Jewish Welfare Federation has established a Disabilities Task Force. Its aim is to meet the needs of the disabled while mainstreaming them into the fold of the Jewish community. Dealing with the disabled has been a possible topic for study for many years, but set aside because of the enormi- ty of the subject. Today, Federation leadership is discovering evidence of under- lying attitudes of indifference and resistance to the disabl- ed within the Jewish commui- ty despite heightened sen- sitivity during the last 20 years and the resulting policies and services for the disabled established through civil rights legislation. The Detroit Jewish com- munity is one of many across the country taking a careful look at ways in which all of its members have the opportuni- ty to participate in communal activities. In fact, a national task force from the Council of Jewish Federations head- quartered in New York is in- vestigating this same issue on a national scale. Normal Wachler, co- chairman of the task force, said that the committee is not interested in reinventing the wheel.Rather, it is "to deter- mine which services and pro- grams are available for the disabled from the general community as well as from within the Jewish communi- ty. We also want to have a complete understanding of the general and specific needs of the disabled within the Jewish community. Then we can comfortably recommend policies and programs for those areas in which needs are not being met." Nora Barron, co-chairman of the task force and former president of Jewish Voca- tional Service, said the com- mittee is "working to get an overview of the needs of the disabled in the Jewish com- munity so that we have a bet- ter feel of what is available and what is needed. It is not our intent to set up a service that meets everyone's needs, but to act as a resource so that everyone has access to services that are available, and then to fill in the gaps where needed." The task force found that compiling and sorting infor- mation about the disabled, dealing with legislation, government programs and policies, local services and in- dividual needs was an enor- mous task. To make its study more manageable, it divided into three sub-committees: developmental disability (mental retardation); mental illness (manic depression); and physical disability (blind, deaf). "We found out that our task was much larger than we an- ticipated,"says Elise Levin- son, task force member and mother of a developmentally disabled son. "There's a lot of ignorance out there that you're not aware of unless you're touched by it." Levinson says that she and her family worked very hard, putting in a great deal of time and effort to make certain that her son was involved with activities beyond school. "The Jewish community didn't open any doors for my child; my husband and I did," she said. "We sought out a program. If it wasn't there, we tried to create it."Barron sometimes worries whether the task force will open a hornet's next by raising false hopes. "It may be that we won't be able to provide special ser- vices for the disabled im- mediately because of lack of funding," says Barron. "But we can still influence big changes by simply making people aware of the needs of the disabled. I don't think in- dividuals in the community have seriously discussed the problem and when they do, many positive things will happen such as more signing for the deaf at services and more ramps for building ac- cess." Gerald Benaderet, a task force member with a physical disability, said he believes that the Jewish community has no real concept of how big the problem really is. "It's a lot more common than people realize," says Benaderet. "The fact that people are livng longer and that the elderly are increas- ing the ranks of the frail and disabled is making a big im- pact on the issue." The task force is inviting disabled people to provide in- formation about their needs. "Bring the disabled into the mainstream," stresses Benaderet. "Recognize their needs and make adaptations. Think about the disabled before a building goes up." And from Neal Freeling: "I'm blind. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could walk in- to any synagogue or temple in town? Many of us want to par- ticipate in Jewish activities, but we need the community's help for things like transpor- tation, barrier-free buildings and access to buildings. "The Jewish community needs to be more sensitive to me as a blind person and to others who are physically im- paired." Family lb B'Shevat Celebration Slated Debbie Friedman, singer and songwriter; Corinne Stavish, storyteller; and Howard Faber, magician, will appear at a family celebration of Tu B'Shevat at 2 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Maple/Drake Jewish Community Center. The program stresses the particular importance of trees to Israel because of the arson forest fires that burned Israel's landscape this past summer. As a result, each family is being asked to pur- chase a tree as the price of ad- mission to the program. Friedman's songs have been sung at the Israel Song Festival. Stavish has performed throughout the Detroit area. Faber has performed magic at a variety of J.E.F.F. events. The Tu B'Shevat celebra- tion is sponsored by the Labor Zionist Institute along with The Jewish News, Jewish Ex- periences For Families and The Jewish National Fund. Each family is asked to pur- chase a tree from The Jewish National Fund expressly for this program. Trees can be ordered in avance through J.E.F.F., The Labor Zionist In- stitute or purchased at the door. For information, call Jewish Experiences For Families, 661-0600.