Written by William Keiser, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator of the Dance Institute of Washington

On Sunday, November 15^th, ten talented performers, aged 6-18, took the virtual “stage” for an evening of performance broadcast to an audience of over 50 watchers. This was the Dance Institute of Washington (DIW)’s fourth annual Youth Talent Showcase, an opportunity started in 2016 to provide an uplifting platform for youth who are eager to showcase their talent, who then receive feedback from experienced judges. While this event is usually a big in-person evening, complete with balloons, a charismatic emcee, and families bustling in and out of DIW’s flagship 14^th street building, this year, the action was substantially more confined, but no less dynamic.

Teens’ division runner up, Fatima Diop

These performances were of varied disciplines; in the first half, we saw dance, acting, and some guitar playing and singing. In the second was rap, modeling, comedy, rock music, and spoken word poetry. After the show, the performers all hopped on a special zoom call to receive personal feedback from the judges: dance teacher Edwin Sorto, model/creative director Yoii Moore, musician Sean Isler, choreographer Shalyce Hemby, and hip-hop vocalist Cleva Thoughts. They announced first and second place winners in each category, but the spirit of the event was more of personal growth and expression than of competition.

For the performers, most of whom have been cooped up in restrictive quarantines for the past seven months, just having the chance to perform is extremely meaningful. Fatima Diop, sister of Adelina Diop, a DIW student, performed Sunday in the Youth Talent Showcase for the fourth time. Her persistence paid off. Her rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing” was technically proficient and emotionally moving. She received 2^nd place in the teens’ category and the opportunity to make a professional film with video production company DLE Vision. Fatima’s and Adelina’s mother writes, “I’m so proud of Fatima and of her perseverance and accomplishments. She is truly developing her gift and this is an amazing opportunity is presenting for her. She thanks DIW and DLE for the opportunity to further develop her talent.”

Teens’ division first place winner, Morelys Urbano

In the kids’ division, first place went to Raegen Coby, with a contemporary and hip hop dance routine. Second place was awarded to Fly Zyah, whose raps covered subjects of injustice and Black Lives Matter protests. In the teens’ division, first place was awarded to 18-year-old Morelys Urbano, whose beautiful and hard-hitting spoken word poem spoke about migration.

The Students and Judges’ Zoom Call

Kids’ division first place winner Raegan Coby

On the kids’ and judges’ zoom call to dispense feedback and answer questions, judge Edwin Sorto summarized the evening best. “There’s only one of you in the world and everybody here needs to see you,” he explains. 10 participants, 5 judges, 10 videos, 44 minutes, and $326 raised in donations for the Dance Institute of Washington later, we are in agreement.

If you would like to enjoy these inspiring performances, we encourage you to watch them here.

Written by Katie Guerin, Director of Development and Communications of City Kids Wilderness Project

When the COVID pandemic closed City Kids Wilderness Project’s offices and postponed our programming in March, as an organization, we, like the rest of the world, had no idea how long we would remain in a state of isolation. However, we knew we needed to start communicating with our youth, families and external stakeholders fast to assure them that we would not only survive this pandemic but thrive in it to support our youth.

Internal communications with youth and families was key for our programmatic continuation and evolution. We began surveying our youth and families at the onset of the pandemic to ensure that our virtual programming supported them while we were not able to all be outdoors together. Families asked that we stay connected with youth as they navigated a spring separated from friends and began virtual learning.

Then came the May murder of George Floyd and the rise of the broader social justice movement. Following the first weekend of protests after Mr. Floyd’s death, City Kids put part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement of Beliefs out in a public post on Instagram. Externally, City Kids is increasingly seen as a leader in the outdoor social justice movement, receiving mentions on social media and increasing our Instagram audience by 25% in the month of June alone.

By virtue of the programming we do, City Kids is an organization founded on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) principles, and as such, these core tenets have historically been at the forefront of our internal communications among staff, participants and families. We have been careful and intentional to let our youth voice drive our communications, and this present moment has pushed us to share these efforts publicly and put a call to action to our CK community about allyship and solidarity and provide resources that help educate.

In an effort to respond to inquiries and share the story of City Kids and the impact of the dual pandemic on CK youth and families, we worked with DC production company In My Shoes on a video A Summer Like No Other that has been widely distributed to our stakeholders. Additionally, a group of our high school youth designed and created JET Talks, a new podcast for the City Kids community. So far, two episodes have been released, with more to come focused on exploring meaningful themes about their City Kids experiences.

Our efforts continue to evolve during COVID to meet our youth and families’ needs, and communication is essential to ensuring that we all feel supported during this time. Between March and July, the organization conducted 400+ virtual engagements with many more rolling out this fall. Thanks to emergency grants from several D.C.-based foundations in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, we were able to implement The New York Times’ 1619 Project as a central element of our summer curriculum.

After completing the lessons, a City Kids youth reflected: “One thing that I have learned was the ultimate power of narrative and how beneficial it is to take a deep dive into the true narrative, and be able to take great pride in it.”

Find out more about City Kids’ work by visiting citykidsdc.org.

Written by Linda Ryden, Founder of Peace of Mind

As the full time Peace Teacher at Washington DC’s largest public school, I get to work with all of our students in my weekly “Peace Class.” In Peace Class, kids learn about mindfulness and brain science and practice kindness, inclusion and peaceful conflict resolution. One important part of the program is Mindful Mentors. When my students get to 5^th grade, they can volunteer to be a Mindful Mentor. My Mindful Mentors visit younger grade classrooms and lead Mindful Moments. Mindful Mentors is a very popular leadership program that younger students aspire to be part of and it has always been a lot of fun.

Now that we are having virtual school, I’ve been struggling to figure out how to make Mindful Mentors work. After sorting out the complicated logistics of having my 5th grade students visit other virtual classrooms, I called the first Mindful Mentors meeting. I was a little bit surprised when DeAndre showed up.

DeAndre has cerebral palsy. He uses a wheelchair and it is challenging for most of us to understand him when he talks, although he talks a lot. DeAndre has been my student for over 5 years and has always seemed to enjoy Peace Class. Now here he was with his Dad by his side helping him out and his younger sister curiously looking on. I suddenly realized that I didn’t know how to handle the logistics at all.

I made a quick decision to see if any of the kids would feel more comfortable working with a partner and a few kids raised their hands, including DeAndre. So I paired him up with a student named Kayla. If we had been in the building I would have been able to pull her aside and talk to her about how she could handle working with DeAndre given how hard it is to understand his speech. They would have had to take turns leading the mindfulness practice. But in an online classroom talking with her privately wasn’t an option. So I just had to have faith in both of them as I sent them together into a virtual 4th grade classroom.

I heard later from the teacher who hosted them that they did a beautiful job. DeAndre was able to lead a mindfulness practice from his living room with his family looking on. Because we have been creating the ritual of the Mindful Moment for many years in Peace Class, all of the children know how it starts. “Let’s get into our mindful bodies. Let’s close our eyes or look down. Let’s take three deep breaths.” So even though they might not have been able to understand DeAndre when it was his turn, they knew what he was saying and were able to follow his directions. All of the kids treated him with kindness and patience, and his partner acted with grace and generosity. This is one of so many beautiful stories that I hold on to during this very difficult time.

DeAndre’s partner is a very thoughtful child, but I think that all of the kids at our school treat DeAndre, and all of the other students with challenges, with kindness because that is part of our culture. In Peace Class we use a curriculum I developed called “Peace of Mind.” Students begin weekly Peace of Mind lessons in early childhood and carry on through Grade 5. Peace of Mind teaches children how to notice and manage emotions such as uncertainty and worry and to understand how their brains work when they feel these emotions and when they use mindfulness to calm them down. Equipped with mindfulness skills and brain knowledge, children learn and practice inclusion, kindness, patience, acceptance, and love. Most of our students do this weekly (or more often) for 7 years in the company of their classmates. These practices are all pillars of the Peace of Mind program and over time they have become an integral part of our school culture.

After 15 years of developing the Peace of Mind Program in my classroom in Washington DC’s largest public elementary school, we formed our nonprofit organization, Peace of Mind Inc., to develop, publish and share the Peace of Mind program with other educators. Peace of Mind is now used by teachers, counselors, and social workers in public, public charter and independent schools to reach over 3,500 students a year in the DC area.

As our schools prepare for an uncertain return to in-person learning, focusing on students’ social and emotional well-being has never been more important. In the year ahead, we will continue to develop transformative mindfulness and brain-science based resources, support our Peace of Mind educators personally and professionally, and facilitate and encourage the application of mindfulness and social emotional skills to the most pressing social justice issues of our time.

Though we can’t know exactly what challenges are ahead for our children, we can help to equip them with the tools to meet them with skill and compassion. We hope that the Catalogue for Philanthropy community will join us!

Interested in knowing more? We’d love to talk with you!

TeachPeaceofMind@gmail.com

Written by Mary Ellen Dingley, Communications and Outreach Coordinator of L’Arche Greater Washington, DC (GWDC)

You can’t miss the calls to vote these days. It’s everywhere – online and on yard signs, in hashtags and on t-shirts. The message is clear – make your voting plan and exercise your right to vote! But what about people with disabilities who face challenges accessing their voting rights?

A core member (adult with intellectual disability) at L’Arche GWDC expressed their desire to join their fellow community members in voting. But this core member’s right to vote had been taken away when they were placed under guardianship. A L’Arche leader stated that “with the right supports and the right accommodations” to communicate and explain the issues and candidates on the ballot, this core member could vote. They know who they want to vote for. They have explicitly said they want to vote. But they don’t have the right.

This core member isn’t alone. As Pew Trusts reported there are “tens of thousands of Americans with disabilities who every year lose their right to vote during guardianship proceedings, according to the California-based Spectrum Institute, an advocacy group for people with disabilities.” While this impacts thousands of people, the process itself isn’t standardized: “Not only is there no agreement among legal and psychological experts over whether certain people with disabilities should be disenfranchised, but there is also no set standard for measuring the mental capacity needed to vote.”

And even if someone with disabilities retains their right to vote, actually casting that vote can be difficult. Barriers can include not having a ballot they can read (visual disabilities or ballot formatting), not having an alternative to providing a signature, the voting location not being wheelchair accessible, no functioning accessible machines, or poll workers not knowing how to support people with disabilities. The pandemic, of course, just exacerbates the situation. This is no small number of people impacted by inaccessible voting. Rutgers University researchers found “A projected 38.3 million people with disabilities will be eligible to vote in the November 2020 elections, representing close to one-sixth of the total electorate.”

Fortunately, accessible voting does exist and is required by law. Charles Clark, a core family member at L’Arche GWDC, has been active as an advocate and a voter for many years. In his experience he’s always encountered accessible polling places: “that’s the law,” he explained. “Everybody has the right to vote… You discriminate against them, you get in trouble with the law, it’s on the law books.” Organizations and campaigns like the American Association for People with Disabilities REV UP campaign, Crip the Vote, and Easterseals work to end voter suppression, eliminate barriers to voting, and encourage people with disabilities to know their rights and cast a vote.

Asking “what’s your voting plan?” has become part of the “new normal” of 2020. For people with disabilities, including core members at L’Arche, having a voting plan has always been a necessity.

Prior to 2020, many people didn’t have to think of a “voting plan.” They just showed up to vote. “People with disabilities have always had to think about it,” explained Caitlin Smith, Director of Human Resources at L’Arche GWDC.

These questions that people are being encouraged to think about in 2020 – when you will vote, how you will get there – “L’Arche members think about every time an election comes around,” says Eva-Elizabeth Chisholm, Human Services Leader at GWDC. Making those voting plans and discussing them at L’Arche is a normal part of community life.

For the most part, L’Arche finds that our local polling places are accessible. But Caitlin explains that it’s “one thing for a voting process to be accessible and another thing for a person with disabilities to feel like they really belong there.” Other people at the polls might look askance at someone with a visible disability voting and might even question their ability to vote. “Voting as an inalienable right is one thing but voting and feeling like ‘I belong here, I am a person who can vote’…I think is something that in general society takes for granted.”

Core members have varied interactions with voting.

Joseph, a core member in DC, recently registered to vote. He said it was “a little bit” hard to register to vote. When asked if he thinks voting is important he said “Yes. It’s what I wanna do.”

Another core member at L’Arche voted in the last several presidential and local elections but had his right to vote taken away when his guardianship was transferred. L’Arche is now supporting him and his guardian in restoring the right to vote if they choose to do so.

Kelly has voted before and plans to again. She thought the presidential debate was important for getting to know the candidates and she watched both the presidential and the vice-presidential debate.

Lauren, Kelly, and Eric after voting in 2018

Mike was inspired to vote by his mom: “Mother said it was important and I believe her.” He first voted in 1969. The candidate’s speeches are important to him in choosing who to vote for.

Charles also learned about the importance of voting from his family – he had an uncle who was a congressman and another who was a judge. He reads about all the issues when voting, and specifically mentioned the job market, the Justice Department, and climate change as issues that are important to him. He’s passionate about politics: “So people have the right to vote for whoever they want to, you know.” He watches the news every evening. And what’s the most important thing about a candidate to him? “I look for sincerity and telling the truth,” he explained.

Ensuring that people with disabilities have the right to vote is no small matter. Many government policies directly impact their lives, including subminimum wage laws, marriage equality for people receiving disability benefits, and emergency funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporting people with intellectual disabilities to vote requires we “presume competence” says Eva-Elizabeth. That means presuming that even if they communicate or understand differently than the “norm” that communicating and understanding is still valid. We must presume people with disabilities are competent to make their own decisions when it comes to voting. A challenge in supporting people with intellectual disabilities to vote is to do so without making a decision for them.

Right now, L’Arche leaders are working with the core member and guardian mentioned at the beginning of this article to restore voting rights. To do so they must come up with the means of communicating the voting choices and supporting decision making in an unbiased way. “That’s one of the biggest things that people are worried about… is this the person’s choice?” says Eva-Elizabeth.

The right to freely choose who to vote for isn’t one to be taken lightly. At L’Arche GWDC, we’re busy putting our voting plans into motion! How about you?

This blog was originally published on October 21, 2020 on the L’Arche website.