I have been deeply interested since my childhood in the reality that people who are considered to be “disabled” are vulnerable to being treated as if they are not really citizens, and often as if they are not really human. My interest was born from my own experience with life long quadriplegia. It has been nurtured by decades of experience in hearing stories of the rich contributions that people who are labeled with developmental disability and autism are making.
In short, in the mid-‘90’s I realized that educational research, and other more anecdotal evidence, points to a connection between full inclusion of people of all abilities and communities becoming more peaceful. I gradually decided that I am in the unique position of fostering a world peace discussion based on the social contribution that people with disabilities make – in a very unrecognized way.
I have spent a lot of my adult life working to sustain a stable life in Toronto, and be the inclusion gypsy, travelling from place to place, on weekends and holidays. About two years ago it became clear to me that the job part of that scenario exhausted and limited me and that primarily I was working to keep a house and a job when I really want to “get the word out”. I began to dream about living in a trailer and traveling slowly from community to community throughout North America, talking to and working with people who were excited about living in a world that loves diversity. This crazy idea kept meeting with the sort of respect that let me know others could imagine it too. In time I began to research and put the many pieces and people in place.
In August I bought an old wheelchair accessible van – Bronte, that has the capacity to tow a ton and I moved into my new to me trailer – Avalanche.
My intention is to park Avalanche in Savannah early in November. I will stay for at least a month, hopefully three. My general plan is to work with the Southern Collective for Inclusive Citizenship (SCIC) along with doing some traveling and speaking in and around Georgia. The SCIC was formed in February of 2008 in response to a number of talks I gave in Georgia about valuable contributions people who are labeled make toward making us peaceful.
In the spring I will go west and north, connecting to other groups in Arizona, Oregon, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. I intend to be in Toronto by the end of May.
The World Peace through Inclusion tour will be documented through video and other media.
