Individual Food Drives Help Feed Hungry Tulsans
As The Arc of Oklahoma watched COVID-19 infections rise in their state in the second half of 2020, they hoped restrictions would decrease in time for their MLK Day of Service event in January 2021. But as the year progressed and COVID cases continued their upward trend, the organization began laying the groundwork to transition their in-person event into a virtual one. Regardless of the format, the goal remained the same: make a notable dent in Tulsa’s 15.8% food insecure population.
Interested in hosting your own MLK Day of Service event? Apply for a grant from The Arc and AmeriCorps to help organize your 2022 service project, give back to your community, and promote the inclusion of people with disabilities!
The Arc of Oklahoma’s Board of Directors, members of their Self-Advocacy Program, and community partners ultimately decided that individual food drives would maintain the integrity of the event while preserving the health and safety of all involved. So, “Individual Food Drive Hosts” set to work, collecting food items from families, neighbors, church members, and co-workers. Hosts then donated the items to their chosen pantry. By the end of March, 60 volunteers had administered individual food drives, serving nearly 430 of their fellow Tulsans.
The recipients of the individual food drives were not the only beneficiaries of the program. Volunteers from The Arc of Oklahoma’s Self-Advocacy Program also reaped benefits, growing professionally and personally. The majority of the volunteers have an intellectual and/or developmental disability (IDD) and experience difficulty communicating verbally and in social situations. Service projects such as these allow people with IDD to play a vital role in their communities though volunteering. As an added bonus, these individuals gain access to a welcoming and safe environment to practice social interactions and build the confidence needed to speak up for themselves and others.
Although the format of The Arc of Oklahoma’s 2021 MLK Day of Service event changed from their original proposal, it was a wonderful kick-off to a year of service, just as Dr. King had envisioned. Subsequent activities, such as the organization’s recent drive-through food distribution, have furthered the goal of alleviating hunger in Tulsa.
As The Arc of Oklahoma’s service events continue into the summer and fall, the organization’s true impact on food insecurity has yet to be seen. But if the following statement from a family who benefited from the food drive is any indication, the organization’s impact promises to be significant!
“I want to thank you with all my heart for how much you have helped us! You are wonderful people. Thank you for being so generous. Thank you to everyone who has helped us through you. You are angels to our family, and we are fortunate to know you!”
Steve has cerebal palsy. For most of his young life, and like many people with disabilities, he lived with his mom. When Steve was only 22 years old, his mom became very ill. Because she could no longer provide the supports he needed, Steve was forced to move into a nursing home to get the care he could no longer receive in his childhood home. Even though Steve knew he could make it in the community with the right supports, he was forced to make this move. This was because his family was concerned about his well-being if he lived independently, and because they feared the appropriate supports were not available to him.
There were no supports available outside of the public schools and the schools were not prepared to serve children with high levels of need. When my brother was kicked out of school at a very young age (before the federal law ensuring a right to education) for his disability-related behaviors, he had nowhere to go except home all day with a very loving caregiver. He missed the routines and rhythms of school and had a hard time staying home while everyone else went to work or school daily. He waited all day for the staggered returns of kids and parents, dinner, and then his beloved ride to the drugstore for a Coke and a long drive listening to rock and roll and beach music on the radio. Jud also had daily trips to the Post Office with our Dad to pick up the mail for his business, trips to the barbershop, church on Sundays, other local gathering places, and a house full of our friends and exchange students who lived with us at various times. He loved all the interaction and was known all over town.
Sadly, as each of his older siblings began to leave home for college, military service, or otherwise, Jud’s physical size and his inability to control his frustrations and emotions became dangerous for our aging parents. After much searching and trying many approaches, the only available service for someone with his needs was the state institutional system. This was devastating for Jud, for our whole family, and for the many friends who had known him over the years. Jud suffered greatly from the travel distance from his family (even though we visited regularly), home and hometown, friends, and routines. And while there were some wonderful staff who supported him in his new location, we were horrified to learn that he also suffered some terrible abuses– the kinds of things that can be hidden when people who are unable to communicate or be understood cannot tell others what is happening to them. My father found that Jud had been burned with cigarettes and that other men in his unit had been more extensively burned. In other incidents, men in his unit died after being subjected to dangerous restraint methods. He also suffered from toxic environmental conditions, including asbestos and sewage leakage. As a family, we were determined to end these abuses.
Jud’s experiences fueled my passion to change the system. I worked in Washington to pass federal legislation to move the Medicaid funding bias away from institutions and to build the community service system, making the community the preferred service setting. My advocacy led me to a career in The Arc’s national public policy office, which I joined in 1984. While our systems have evolved since the 70s through the late 80s when my brother was experiencing so much pain, we still have a long way to go. I am happy to report that Jud was eventually able to leave the state institution and live in a group home about 7 minutes from our widowed mother in his beloved hometown for the last 20+ years of his life. Jud also experienced some serious problems in his group home, but those were able to be discovered and remedied because family were nearby and able to observe how he was doing. For those who understood him, Jud continued his mantra: “Stay at the new house; not gonna keep saying it” throughout those years, lest anyone think he would ever want to go back to the institution.
