GREENFIELD — Athol-Orange Community Television is assisted weekly by a 29-year-old volunteer from the area. This past Friday, that adult took some time to talk about his work experiences at an event with his father.
At the United Arc’s annual Coffee and Conversation in Turners Falls, Jeremiah George and his father Peter spoke with other members of the community about the importance of the heavily state-funded program, with government representatives present, including Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, who is the vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
This year’s theme was inclusion. George, the co-chair of the Greater Athol Area Advocates for Families with Special Needs, emphasized in a conversation after the event the two-way street of working with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“The process that you go through is challenging. It’s rewarding but it’s challenging,” George said. “It forces you to get involved into elements of society that people normally would never experience.”
Two other families talked about their experiences at event.
President of The United Arc board of directors, Mary Siano, talked about how being in a small community can be very beneficial to disabled members of the community since everyone knows them. “They feel that down the road he may be able to get a job, because someone will remember that they went to school with him, for example,” Siano said.
Again, Siano and George said the day emphasized the idea that the community has to work together. They noted that it is not only a relationship between families and centers that help provide service, like The United Arc, but also the community at large. Siano noted another family’s story.
“As one of his brothers said, a rather young person, ‘I feel that I’m a much more empathetic person,’” Siano said. “It really is such a profound statement from such a young person.”
All of this was significant for Kulik to be a part of, especially with his role in the drafting budgets in the House Ways and Means Committee. “It’s important for me to see that and for me to understand that and for me to translate that into state legislation,” Kulik said.
He mentioned that this year attendees of the event seemed relatively pleased with the amount of funding that they received this past year.
Naturally there are concerns about potential cuts in budget both at the state and federal level given a change in administration.
“I think everybody is waiting with baited breath,” Kulik said. “The folks I met on Friday were no exception to that.”
Kulik plans on keeping the funding for programs like The United Arc as similar levels, knowing how important they are for the society. At the same rate, he notes the air of uncertainty in Washington.
“Throughout state government we are concerned at what might happen at the federal level, particularly with health care,” Kulik said.
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Joshua Solomon at:
jsolomon@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 264