Down Syndrome

Welcome to the podcast of the City Club of Eugene, Oregon. The City Club builds community vision through open inquiry and is dedicated to engaging the public on a wide range of topics. Coming up on this program, People with Down syndrome are part of the fabric of Lane County. They are our neighbors, coworkers, students, artists, athletes, volunteers, advocates, family members, and friends. And the list continues on from there. They contribute to our workplaces, our cultural life, and the strength and character of our community. We appreciate the sponsors who make our civic work possible, including Lane Community College, Lane. c.edu and the University of Oregon, u.orgon.orgon.edu. And here is your podcast episode. Good afternoon and welcome to the City Club of Eugene's July 24th, 2026 program. Lane County's vibrant, vulnerable community of athletes, artists, workers, and activists with Down syndrome needs you. My name is Alyssa Gilbert, president of the City Club of Eugene, and it's my honor to welcome you to another of the many forums we have held since 1990 in the name of our mission to build community vision through open inquiry. City Club creates access to our local leaders and provides a platform for Eugene area community members to be heard. In light of the division we're experiencing in the world, I believe it is important now more than ever for us to gather as a community with curious minds and mutual respect. This space to listen, ask, learn, and gather is what City Club aims to provide to our community each week. Anyone who attends a City Club forum has equal access to asking questions in our space. We would love for you to browse our past programs at City Club of Eugene.org or our YouTube or Facebook. Please consider becoming a member if you'd like to support our rigorous volunteer work as Oregon's only City Club that provides weekly forums. And now I'd like to introduce the coordinator of today's forum, Eric Dura. Good afternoon. People with Down syndrome are part of the fabric of Lane County. They are our neighbors, coworkers, students, artists, athletes, volunteers, advocates, family members, and friends. And the list continues on from there. They contribute to our workplaces, our cultural life, and the strength and character of our community. But being in a community is not always the same as being fully included in it. People with Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities encounter barriers to education, meaningful employment, housing, recreation, the arts, and independent living. Some of those barriers are physical and institutional, and other times they arise from assumptions about what people with disabilities can accomplish or how they can fully participate. Today's program asks us to look beyond the assumptions. We will hear about the accomplishments and aspirations, but also about the practical challenges faced by individuals and families. We'll explore what genuine inclusion looks like in employment, education, child care, and other areas of community life.

This is not simply a discussion about what organization or government agencies should do. It is also an invitation to consider what each of us as employers, coworkers, neighbors, educators, and customers, and so forth can do to help create a Lane County in which everyone can participate, contribute, and thrive. Each of our four panelists will speak for approximately seven minutes. After all, four have spoken, we will open the floor to questions from the audience, and there'll be a short break in between. Okay. Our first speaker will be Melissa Hart, a Eugene-based journalist, public speaker, and author of eight books. Her reporting and her lifelong relationship with her brother who has Down syndrome, give her both a professional and personal perspective. Our second speaker is Jessica Ruth Baker, is managing director of Radiant Community Arts, an accessible studio and gallery that welcomes artists of all abilities and helps artists who have traditionally faced barriers exhibit and sell their work. Jim Evangelista is co-founder and executive director of Reality Kitchen. With a background in special ed, he has worked to create meaningful employment and skill training opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. And our final speaker is Amelia Abel. Amelia is a person with Down syndrome and a child care provider at the Ark of Lane County, where she works with preschool children with disabilities. Drawing on her own experiences with disability and employment and independent living and community participation, Amelia is also an accomplished public speaker and advocate who helped launch Oregon's Look Me in the Eye campaign. For now, would you please welcome our first speaker, Melissa Hart.

Hi, thank you for being here. I so appreciate it. So I am author and journalist Melissa Hart. I grew up with my brother who has Down syndrome. That's a genetic condition that results in varying degrees of intellectual and developmental disability. My brother is the inspiration for my latest book, Down syndrome out loud. for which I got to interview 22 people from around the world. One of those people was Kayla McCune, the first U.S. congressional lobbyist with Down syndrome. Kayla is currently a spokesperson for the National Down Syndrome Federation. I think I have that wrong. And she is on Capitol Hill on a first name basis with senators and representatives all the time. She also helped to launch Mattel's first ever Barbie with Down syndrome. One of the people that I featured in the book is Isabella Tejada, a world-renowned fashion designer from Guatemala, who specializes incorporating indigenous textiles into her work and makes pieces for people with different body types. Another person I had the great pleasure of talking with is Nick Doyle. Nick is one of the founders of the Improveneers based in Canton, Ohio, and the Improveneers is the first improv troupe made up completely of comedians with Down syndrome. His signature line is, I get paid to make, I get paid to make people laugh. He is a delight. So imagine last year and the year before, you know, I'm running around doing all this research, interviewing and profiling all these people, working back and forth with them so that they're very happy with their pages in the book. Meanwhile, I'm fielding phone calls from my brother Mark, who's calling me from a group home in Ohio. where he landed after our mother passed away. And he's telling me, well, all I do every day is just sit alone in my room and watch TV. And I'm lonely and I'm sad. And I thought this is not okay. And so I registered to be his legal guardian and I brought him to Eugene on September 4th of last year. And he immediately fell deeply and passionately in love with the Oregon Ducks. If anybody here has a lead on a part-time job at the duck store, this is your man. You can see from his bedroom at Oregon's supported living program that he is single-handedly keeping the duck store in business. He wants that job. So the thing is, a lot of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities around the country,

When they age out of the system, when they graduate high school and college or a post-secondary program, they have trouble sustaining community and finding somebody who will hire them. I used to work as a job coach in Santa Barbara for this demographic, and good heavens these people want to work. They want the dignity and self-worth and camaraderie that a job affords, and they want that paycheck. But employers aren't often willing to take a risk on somebody who doesn't look and sound exactly like themselves. And so sometimes you've got families who are developing businesses just so they can employ their people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. One of the people in the book is John Cronin of John's Crazy Sox. When John, who has Down syndrome, couldn't find a job on Long Island. His dad, who's an incredible business person, launched this sock company with his son, and now it's a multi-million dollar venture. He's wonderful on social media too. So there are some businesses in our county that do employ people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. This is my brother's friend Russell who works at Texas Roadhouse Grill. Next slide. And then here are some of those businesses. Jim Evangelista is going to talk about reality kitchen. We also have Abilities Diner and Bakery. Both of those businesses are... really the bulk of the employees have intellectual and developmental disabilities or are neurodiverse in some way. So we're still looking for a job for my brother. Next slide. But in the meantime, this man is having a marvelous time. If you need to move to a new city, I feel like my brother Mark is a good prototype for how to make dozens and dozens of friends in just 10 months. So we asked him right away, what is it you love to do? And what he loves to do more than anything in the world is lift weights and get bulky. So we found Eugene's YMCA You Can Gym. This is a class that takes place Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 12 o'clock to 2, led by Jenny Adams and a whole bunch of other talented coaches. You can, Jim welcomes everybody. They welcome people with Down syndrome and people on the autism spectrum. They welcome people recovering from stroke and cancer, people with mobility issues, people who just want a slower pace as they're using the machines. Maybe they're not interested in showing up in booty shorts and using the YMCA as their personal dating app.

It is a wonderful program we also found. I asked the intrepid coach, Jenny Adams, what she most would love for her clientele. And she gave me this list of all sorts of things, some of which I know and some of which are a mystery to me. But, you know, everybody I'm mentioning today needs money to stay afloat. And a lot of these places would love volunteers as well. So at the YMCA, we also found you can boxing, an adaptive boxing program. I'm not talking about the kind of boxing where you're punching each other's lights out. This boxing class is also adaptive and attracts a wide range of people. There are two people in the class with Down syndrome. There's two people on the autism spectrum. There's a woman recovering from a stroke. There's a couple of people who use wheelchairs. There's an athlete in a walker. It really runs the gamut. And Nate Flores is the coach, and he is just a delight. He is so kind and friendly and supportive, and yet he knows how to work with every individual where they are. When my brother first showed up to you can boxing, he was terrified of the wise, big open windows. And gosh darn it, ten months later, Nate's got him right up against the windows. sparring or whatever they do in that class. So we also found Hilliard Center's adaptive recreation program. This place is full of wonderful teachers who work with people with intellectual and developmental and physical disabilities on classes in yoga and music and art and how to play games and dancing. They also have wonderful field trips all over the county. They go to the... beach, they go to the mountains, they go snowshoeing, they go to museums and festivals. This Sunday, my brother gets to go to the coast and ride a dune buggy. I've never ridden a dune buggy, but he is going and he is excited. We also found Kind Tree, Autism Rocks, which specializes in serving neurodivergent people. And they have different dropping classes and support groups. They have a really fun gala at the Vets Club every year. I would highly recommend it. And they also have what a lot of people in this county consider the high point of their year.

a three to four day summer camp, which is coming up next month. And my brother and his friends are so deeply excited about this. So we also found Lane County Special Olympics. When my brother was in his 20s, 30s, and 40s, he played every sport special Olympics had to offer. At this point, he has arthritis in both of his knees. And so he has slowed down a bit where Special Olympics has concerned. But I need to tell you that this organization, which exists worldwide, has been so important to most of the people that I profiled in Down syndrome out loud. It has been vital to them. One of those people that I profiled in the book is Chris Nickett. who is the first man with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman triathlon, and since then has run marathons in every major city in the world. He says Special Olympics was just so important to him, as does Abigail Adams, also in the book, who is the first woman to complete a sanctioned sprint triathlon, first woman with Down syndrome. Special Olympics needs us. They need money if we can afford to support them. They need volunteers. It is so much fun. You know what they really need is people in the stands to watch them play. Wow, I would love to see the crowd as... full and vibrant as that crowd we get for the Oregon Ducks Games. I think I'm going to see if we can start selling beer at Special Olympics Games. That'll get us in, right? And finally, we found Radiance Community Arts. There is magic happening in this art studio and gallery on East 11th. It's an integrated model where people who are neurotypical and people who are neurodiverse. are invited to take classes together in the studio space and showcase their work in the gallery space. First Friday, every first Friday, you can go and see what the artists are up to. My brother is enrolled in an open studio class, let's see, two days a week, and you can see that he specializes in painting and drawing the Oregon Doug. I myself signed up for a class at Radiant Arts this summer to learn how to use my grandmother's sewing machine. And I am finding this space so vibrant and so much fun. And the teachers are so patient, even when it takes me five minutes to thread my needle. Highly, highly recommended. The managing director of Radiant Arts is Jessica, and I am so excited to introduce her to you. She is a vibrant, creative visionary. And here she is Jessica, Ruth Baker. Thank you.

Hi, good afternoon. Thank you, Melissa, for introducing me. I appreciate that. I can't believe that he's only been in Eugene since September. Mark, as she said, is a very active participant at Radiant Community Arts and a delight to have around. So, let's go ahead and get started with... We haven't a wall at the Eugene Airport where we have been featuring our collaboration with community-supported shelters. They are another group that have been coming in once a week for classes. And you can see this is our community is key exhibition that we did with them last year that we're showcasing to everyone who comes through our doors of Eugene through that airport. So, making art accessible the Radiant Story. So my name is Jessica, as Melissa mentioned. I've been the managing director of Radiant for just over a year now when we transitioned from OSLP Arts and Culture Center, which many of you may know, to Radiant Community Arts. OSLP Arts and Culture Center was founded in 2012, fall of 2012. When we started at the Little Red House first, and then we were at the Lincoln Gallery, fourth in Lincoln for quite some time. Miha Andrade was the director of that program for a long time as well. Many of you know Miha. And then we transitioned to the 11th Avenue. location where we are now. We're at 11th and Pearl in between Pearl and Oak there. Same building as New Zone, which has been actually a wonderful partnership to have because they bring in clients, we bring in clients, and we send clients to each other. So last year we came around to the idea that perhaps just working with people with disabilities is not the only thing we had to offer to our community. We were excited and proud of our long history of inclusion in the arts, and we wanted to see who else we could bring in. And that's why we changed our name to radiant community arts to reflect the community that we are engaging with, and we broke away from OSLP arts and culture. Now, are we still very connected to OSLP and still connected to the people with disabilities we serve? Of course, and always will be. But it's been an adventure to see how else we can bring our mission of increasing access to the arts to build stronger communities to the Eugene area. So, first things first, we have classes. As Melissa mentioned, we do daytime classes right now. I'm working on some evening and weekend classes, hopefully, for those who have day jobs. But honestly, the daytime classes are lovely because we've got big windows with lots of light coming in. Here you can see.

On the left is our mural that we have been painting in collaboration with the public defenders of Lane County. This is on their side of the alley next to our building. And then we're this fall going to be painting our side of the alley with another class. What's beautiful about this mural is that it was designed by our class, the mural class, which was composed of about, it was 13 students. just about half and half students experiencing disabilities and students who didn't have disabilities, working together in collaboration to design this mural. And then they went out and painted it, which I have never done in my life, but it was really fun. And on your left, you'll see Shannon as well. She's one of our longtime artists, one of her favorite things to do whenever you say, oh, I'm taking a picture. She goes, peace. And here she is practicing printmaking with vegetables. We actually cut up a bunch of our spare vegetables. It was during the summer when I had way too many zucchini coming out of my garden. I think we've all had that experience at one point or another. And we cut those up, carved them up, and use those as print blocks for our printmaking class. You can also see our mosaics class here. It's one of our most popular classes that we offer. This is grout day. when everybody gets to take the mosaics that they have been carefully piecing together and grout them, put all the grout in the middle of them. Believe me, I have been watching this process many, many, many times, and I still don't understand it, but that's what it is. We also then have one of our other classes in the studio, Open Studio, which is where our students are able to work on anything and everything they wish to learn. Some people bring in projects they're already working on. Some people ask our teachers, I want to learn how to do watercolor. Can you show me how? And that's why we have that open studio available for them. You'll see there in the front. Alicia and Mark right up there, our very own Mark we've been talking about. Next slide. Oh, look, there's Mark again. We have him on our drop-in flyer. So our drop-ins have become very popular as well. During our open studio classes, we open it up to the community to drop in. $15 gets you access to all of our supplies and our teachers' time. So you can come by any time during our open studio classes. One of the handouts I brought was our tools for inclusivity. So when we are talking about inclusion in an art classroom, we're not just talking about, hey, someone in a wheelchair can get through the door. Haza. We're talking about we have tables that can raise and lower to meet that person in the wheelchair. We have brush grips. So if your fine motor skills are not allowing you to hold on to a tiny brush, we'll make sure you can use that brush just the same. We have noise cancelling headphones if the sound gets too loud. We have magnifying glasses. We have gloves for sensory sensitivities. We have so many tools. And the point is that it's every day. These are tools that we just use every day. They're not special. They're not hidden. They're not brought out when we need it. It is there. It is part of our practice in everything we do. So here's our philosophy.

Our approach to accessibility is built around three main pillars. For, excuse me, adaptive techniques, right? Like I was talking about with these tools for accessibility and the ways they can use them. Flexible pacing. We don't demand our students work at our pace. We work at their pace. We have multiple entry points. So some of our teachers are able to work with the students who have done these projects before and meet them at their advanced level. And some of our students are beginners and we'll meet them there. These classes are mixed for that reason. And last but certainly not least, we do provide a supportive structure, one where we encourage our staff, volunteers, and teachers to meet our students where they are, encourage them in everything they do, and be supportive in everything we say and do with them. Next slide, please. So this is our gallery. We are not just a studio. We are a community gallery. And we hold exhibitions that are open to the community. These are low barrier exhibitions where you don't have to pay a submission fee. And we do not jury any of the exhibitions. We simply say, here's the theme. Send us your art. We've received art from all the way up in Washington State sometimes. Our next show is Greetings from Tomorrow. It opens on August 7th. at the First Friday Art Walk, and it's all future skates, visions of our future. The other thing we're very proud about is that we have a resource for our artists to sell their art. When our artists sell their art in our gallery, we have one of the highest commissions in town. We pay them 70% of the art price, only keeping 30% to be able to cover, you know, the cost of doing business. It's great to be able to give our artists a chance to have more income and avenues of income. So you can come visit us. This is me and our studio manager, Hannah. We also have our communications manager, Grace. We love having people come by the gallery Tuesday through Friday, 10 to 5. And like I said, we're there every first Friday. The best way to help us, though, is to help us keep our doors open by volunteering as one of our docents. When we can have volunteer docents during that 10 to 5 period, I can come do things like this. So I would love for you to come join us. Next, we have Jim Evangelista. He is the executive director of Reality Kitchen, as Eric said.

And Reality Kitchen is a nonprofit cafe and bakery dedicated to providing employment path experiences that nourish and inspire all learners with and without disabilities. They serve delicious food, including their very famous pretzels, best pretzels in town, hands down, while fostering personal and professional growth through supportive resources in an inclusive community setting. Let's hear it for Jim. Thank you. It's lovely to be here. Thank you. I'm Jim from Reality Kitchen, and we are so very fortunate to be part of this special, creative, and vibrant community of learners and doers, making it possible to share our diverse skills and interests, and we're grateful to you for supporting our missions and our work together. We're all so very curious, and we're looking forward to discovering what each day and new opportunity brings, and we're able to do that because we're part of a loving family that supports our dreams and goals to build self-confidence and meaningful lives. It's all of you who gives us the chance to be playful and have fun as we grow and learn. even when there's so much in our lives that doesn't make sense or keeps us from feeling safe. It's easier to handle because we're able to make it through those times, even when it seems hard to get a grip as long as we get to have our morning cup of coffee. Because we have you as our friends around us. Even feeling awkward can be fun and is always a reason to celebrate. Making art from our thoughts and feelings and cheering them is more fun when we get to do that with our friends. And that's true for everyone. Extra chromosomes are not. Of course, we know that there are times when it's easy to see how many differences we have from each other. but it's all so easy to recognize how much we are basically the same. And those are the times that we can really come together to learn and break bread and enrich each other's lives. I'm sure we're all struggling and confused as we look around and try and make sense of what is supposed to be our shared promised land. And we ask, how can we truly build and rebuild and live in a home for us where all are included and welcome? One smiling, happy face at a time as we enjoy working and learning and getting to know each other as we build community. Together, wherever our family comes from. And how we live our culture. and still enjoy making and sharing good food and a meal together. Before you know it, the student is the chef and cooking up some great things to share with us all. And that's a great day for everyone, because he gets to show us all what he's learned. The best part about making a meal is making it together with our friends.

Learning new skills from our teachers and friends makes enjoying that meal all the much better and builds memories that last a lifetime. Joining others in the community who share your interests are ready to help you achieve your goals is what life's all about. It's a big world out there, and it takes lots of people working hard for us all to make it all work. It's nice to make a special opportunity and effort to let others who make a difference know that you see them and you're paying attention, and you wanted to just say thank you. It's true when you hear folks say, All you have to do is decide what to do with the time that you're given. Getting involved, taking the leap of faith into the unknown, and taking part in life are among the most important choices that you get to make. If you do that, all you never will be invisible to others, and they will always see it. Advocating for disability, visibility. requires moving beyond passive awareness to creating structural changes that center individuals who experience disabilities as equal, visible participants in everyday life. Fully inclusive workplaces dispels stigmas, and when the world ignores or tries to diminish your value, just catch their attention and say, Look Me in the Eye. It's my honor to introduce the founder of the Look Me in the Eye campaign, our board member and friend Amelia Able.

With my parents now, for 10 years before COVID, I live in my own apartment. I went to work and took buses where I need to go. People with Down syndrome are just like other people. We have our hopes and some special needs. Like everyone, we want to have a full life. with a hopeful future. We want to live independently and have the freedom to make choices that are important to us. People with disabilities are often poor. We need to find paid employment and have activities that give meaning to our days. I am fortunate that I... have a job at the Ark of Lane County where I have a job at the Ardalen County where I work with children with disabilities. I also volunteer at Reality Kitchen and I am a board member there. This is a great organization that provides job training for people like me. I also volunteer for Meals on Wheels. People with disabilities like Down syndrome need to be seen, appreciate, and respect for who we are. It takes... an effort from regular people, but it is important that all people with disabilities feel included. There are anxieties such as Brookes and nonprofits that provide opportunities for social engagement between people with disabilities. It is some ways this is limiting and supports. I believe that people with disabilities do not belong in this world with regular people. Once I helped start a campaign called Look Me in the Eye. I made many presentations where we challenge people to really see and engage with people with disabilities. People overcome their nerves and really connected. I got support from the Brook Ridge called Full Access. Brook Rich providing funding and link. me with services based on my yearly plan. I get funds for taxi rides to work and bus passes to get home. They refer me to allies where a support worker meets with me weekly. Other people with greater needs get more services and they attend classes and other activities.

While supports exist, they are not enough in schools. Special education funds are being cut. SSI is being threatened. Housing supports are almost non-existent. And work opportunities are aware. Some people... With disabilities, live in poverty, and some become homeless. We are always at risk of other people taking advantage of us. We need safe places to hang out. We need federal state funding. dedicated to meeting the needs of people with Down syndrome. If we are ever going to reach our goals and live a full and meaningful life, thank you for letting me speak to you today.

Feel free to line up at the microphone, and we will have a short break before we begin our Q&A. Okay, the rules are please don't go more than one minute asking your questions so we can take as many questions as possible. Hopefully, given the wonderful presentation we've heard, you've got some ideas about what you like to talk about. It's a huge subject, and it's very important for our community. Thank you. It's very good. Our presentation, I really enjoyed it. I drove on 42nd Street, I think. I just go by Arc all the time. And I keep going. Should I go in there and check? Maybe I've worked with some handicapped people. I meet people. I even had one person in a store one time. I was one of the few people that just put one arm around him. His brother, you know, his caretaker, he said, look, you've got a friend. And, you know, that's the kind of thing to receive and accept anyone of any ability or disability. And I've really enjoyed being part of that. The one question I wanted to ask is I noticed some reading that the neck area is generally weak in the Down syndrome area. And I thought, wow, horse riding is so enjoyable. And, you know, with a gentle, just leading, not a galloping or something, but do they have bracing they could put on them? And, you know what I mean, to get them on? I see in the place down in Roseburg. the game farm down here. I can actually speak to that, if that's okay. My mother, when my brother was born, she understood that he needed to get early childhood physical therapy from the time he was an infant. That really went a long way in building up his muscle tone. Several of the athletes in this book had that same benefit of early childhood physical therapy. My brother rode horses for Special Olympics for years and years. Amelia, I don't know if you, did you ever ride? Ride horses? Uh-huh. Yeah, I've done a couple of times in my life. I did with an organization called Trips Inc. Yeah. I travel, Inxie that I'm part of. Yeah. And I just got back recently this year from the Dood Ranch for Arizona, Tucson. They have a ranch out there. Yeah. Yeah. Hi, I'm Nancy Buckham City Club member. First, I just want to say hi to Jim, my neighbor. I'm out in his name, so I'm in reality kitchen all the time. But my question is for Jessica. Before Radiant rebranded, you had an event for tiny art auction?

And I'm just wondering if that has changed or if it's the same and if it's happening this year and how soon? Yes, it was the so small art auction. And indeed, we are still continuing our so small art auction, welcoming tiny art, no larger than three inches by three inches for our auction. That's September 20th, Sunday, September 20th. Last year, we received over 700 pieces. And it's a really fun day with, this year we'll have a photo booth. We're going to have games. We'll have, you know, lots of different ways to enter. interact with us. So that's a wonderful opportunity to come on out and support Radiant, of course, but also to maybe get your art out there. Three inches by three inches is not that big. That's an easy art piece you can make. I believe in all of you that you can make one to donate to us. Oh, of course. Thank you, Nancy. It's going to be at the Fifth Street Alley. And thank you to Obie companies for hosting us there as an in-kind donation. It's very generous of them. Janet Brower, City Club. I'm interested in kind of housing problems that you might encounter here in the Eugene area. And if they do still have houses where they have kind of a community of people that can live that are disabled and kind of take care of each other and have, you know, not be living alone, so to speak. Thank you. Could you all hear that question? Could you? What were the answers first? Did you repeat the question? Would you like me to speak to that with those? Oh, yeah, I think we can all. Yeah, you speak to it first, and then I'm happy to describe Mark's situation. Of course. Well, the question was about housing for people with disabilities in Eugene. And specifically, I think you were speaking to some group housing as well. So many of the agencies in town, such as OSLP, who I still work for and did. work for Alvert Taylor, folks like that have residential programs where they are operating homes that they own and are, you know, have space for residents, three, four roommates at a time, no larger than that. And that is their home. That is the residence home. They live there, and any staff who are coming through 24 or 7 to support them do not live there. They are there to support them as staff coming in and out. And I find that to be a very empowering system because it's an opportunity for folks who may not be able to live on their own or don't have family that they can live with, that they themselves can discover a level of independence that they would not have. been able to have otherwise. So I really love the group home situations that we have here and Eugene, the opportunities that we have, especially for people like Mark. Oh, yeah, just to give you a sense of where my brother lives, you know, he was sleeping on our couch for six months and we live in a very small house. He was not really happy about sharing a bathroom with three other people either. So he moved into an Oregon-supported living home a mile down from me. And that man...

is living his best life. He has maybe three or four staff at a time who adore him, who he adores. They cook together. They play games together. They went to the fair yesterday. I think they're going back to the fair today. They watch movies together. They're out in the community. He is just so delighted. But I think, Amelia, you have a different story about this, yeah? About... Oh, yeah. So I'm actually currently living with my parents right now for the last Polly 10 years. I lived on my own for a long time for 10 or 15 years. I love being independent. I had a lot of access to mobile. I live in an apartment that got me to take buses. I have bus passes. I have people who supported me, who work with me. It's very, very important to get those access to get. It takes effort to get everything that you need. But I think the most important for me as an independent living. I just learned how to do everything for myself. No, I mean, I know ever since I lived on my own, I cook, I bake everything for my almost 10, 15 years doing that. And then I moved in and I still cook for my parents. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Nice. Dad says yes.

Hello, my name is Rachel McCoy, and I have a nearly 15-year-old who lives with Down syndrome. And I was hoping that you could help give some ideas about resources or opportunities for this, like, middle age. Like a lot of the programs that you talked about are sort of for adults. When he was a kid, it was easy to just plug him in anywhere. But now he's, you know, as a teenager. noticing some discrepancies for himself. Peers are noticing discrepancies. And I just like, I want him to feel that rich community as well. So any ideas would be appreciated. The YMCA. You can gym and you can boxing. Life changing. Yep. For that age group, too. Absolutely. Oh, great. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. What else? You're right. And that is a difficult age gap there because so many services are geared towards younger people or like what we talked about today for Radiant, we are 18 plus. And I think that that's one of the things that we need to continue to advocate for is spaces for... teenagers specifically with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be able to connect to find those connections and find friendships, find deeper connections like that. The YMCA Adaptive Rec also, I think, has some programs, so through Eugene Rec. But yes. Special Olympics. Special Olympics. And an organization called Best Buddies. Do you know Best Buddies? Well, I think. We got a flyer for that, but I think that was for 18 and above as well. Well, the one, oh, I think on campus, the UO chapter is under 25. Okay. I think that's probably the perfect place. Yeah. Amelia, would you like to talk at all about what your teenage years were like? Yeah, sure. I think my early years in teenager was public speaking. I went through a lot of public speaking. My very first experience was the campaign called Look Me and I. That went viral. And my whole, I have talked about everything that I have started and worked with. I always want to teach. help and learn people, learning about what disability is and what it means, how to talk to people. I had a friend who I used to work with, Rick Dancer, who helped me to start this campaign, but I was the one who came up with this logo. So I was the one who came and started this logo, looked me in the eye, my friend. went everywhere with me. So what we did was, is that we went to high schools. We went to high schools and middle schools, and we were just talking to these kids, all different ages. And we were, me and my friend, we talked and we said, no, I mean, have you ever, ever had an experience of bowling, or have you ever seen people?

with disabilities, and they're walking down the hallways, and they get bullied. Like, what do you guys do? I mean, a lot of these topics are really heavy, and a lot of these kids were incredible. They had, they said, we never, never know, or we never aware of it. And now we actually formed, me and Rick actually started. is that we got these students to do a campaign from their high school or middle school and have their own look-me-eye club from their school and spreading around. And so that was something that really touched me the most because seeing what schools have done, it was really, really important. Does that program, is that program still? work not right now not currently but for a while it did happen with rick but we kind of left and but then for a while i joined um a board like a not really a board but like a board i was on for the for a school district you know equality community and we were just trying to get um just We were just trying to figure out all of these things that what school district does, what all of the principals and all these schools that are dealing with. No, I mean, it's heavy. One thing that I just want to share is you're in a wonderful community to find resources and supports. I can't imagine a better place to raise a child with alternate abilities. And you will find so many kind and supportive folks. I also note that you're advocating for him. And that means that you can help him advocate for himself, follow his passions. Just like every other kid, especially at that age, there's nothing to do. Well, guess what? There's lots to do. And you will be able to help him thrive and explore and meet folks and give him what he needs to be in a fertile environment to have fun and have some down days and have lots of friends. And imagine what he will bring to somebody else who will discover how cool it is. to have such a cool friend as in. So I just want to encourage that. And email me, and I'll hook you up with all my resources. Okay, yes.

Well, that was a nice segue into my question. My name is Jonathan Light, and I'm a member of the Springfield School Board. So my interest is in K-12 public education, and we'd just like to ask the panel, what are we doing well and what can we do better to serve our special clients? Oh, golly. Maybe I should gather my thoughts. I mean, having worked in 18-plus spaces, I think one of the challenges is that transition, right? Where you are supported in school, hopefully, supported by family, and then you turn 18, and some of those spaces are close to you now. So how do we create? a bridge for that. And I think there are a couple of spaces that do do that, but I would love to see more programs where we could collaboratively come up with a bridge opportunity for our students with disabilities to come into adulthood with those supports. And I want to add that people with Down syndrome are regularly graduating from university programs now. Charlotte Woodward graduated. Is it summa cum laude? I don't remember. From George Mason with a degree in sociology and a focus on social inequality and now works for National Down Syndrome Society, last year Rachel Handlin of New York became the first person with Down syndrome to earn a master of fine arts in photography, and she's showing her art all over New York. Last year, Anna Maria Espinoza became the first person with Down syndrome to get a law degree in Mexico. With a little support, people with Down syndrome, at any rate, don't need to be off in the basement in special education programs. They need to be fully included. Thank you for listening.

You mentioned the transition, and I think that's a challenge for all of our students, but sometimes our special populations, I think, have a more difficult time. And I'm just wondering, you know, not only the journey, there's a lot of issues with bullying and harassment in the schools is that. find in your own community is that more of a challenge? Just, again, are there things that we can do better so more of our kids are successful with that transition? Do we get them to 12th grade and they're really prepared then to go on beyond that? One thing I would want to share too is encourage intellectual pursuits on all fronts. Encourage social exchange, writing. Civics, inclusion in every way, support, leave no empty spaces. Folks experiencing disabilities are not naturally inclined to janitorial work or landscaping. They can do everything. But we have a round of applause for our time.

This has been our July 24th, 2026 conversation at the City Club of Eugene. Have a great week or weekend, and we'll see you next time at City Club. If you enjoyed this presentation by the City Club of Eugene, explore more of our programs by visiting our website at city club of Eugene.org or our YouTube channel and social media pages.