Post 21 | Alliance for Independence

A picture of me with my sister Christina.

Visiting Alliance for Independence was quite a meaningful experience. My heart goes out to them and every good thing they are doing today to help adults with disabilities. The incredible thing is that before this last visit I had never been to a facility as such even though a have a special needs sister myself. I honestly felt in going that meeting the disabled adults would be no surprise due to the situation with my sister, but to my discovery, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This last experience was like one I had never had before. Instead of being at home where my sister’s disability was an abnormality, I went to a place where it’s normal to be disabled. It was heart touching to say the least to see so many people weighted down by disabilities in the same place being happier than many of us today. In fact I think eye opening is a better word. Just like my sister, these people, although some of the most weighted down people in the World, were the happiest people in the World. This visit really teaches me to count my blessings everyday. One thing about Alliance for Independence that is also admirable is that they not only take care of these disabled people but they also teach them to work and function in everyday life. There is even a group that has been declared “work ready,” which means they can work and receive a paycheck just like in the rest of the World. An achievement such as this is truly amazing. With all this said I am inspired to do the same thing for my sister. Despite her disability I believe she is very intelligent. I said last class I feel she may even have a better memory than me. She can remember names from years ago in the blink of an eye and can recognize a place and directions to that place with only visiting it once. I have high hopes for her in the future and the visit to Alliance for Independence only furthered my hope. This was by far the most impactful field trip for me yet.