ABILITY House - Volunteering

I'm Dr. Gillian Friedman, managing health
editor of Ability Magazine, a leading

publication addressing health, disability
and human potential.

And I'm Max Gail, a subscriber and
sometimes contributor to Ability Magazine.

I also volunteer as a director for Ability
Awareness, a non-profit organisation that

is partnered with Habit for Humanity to
build accessible homes and to build

awareness of the value of volunteering for
people with disabilities.

And I've been a volunteer on the Ability
House project a number of times, going

back to the first one in Birmingham,
Alabama back in 1999.

Today there are 56 million people with
mental or physical disabilities in America

The Department of Housing and Urban
Development has identified people with

disabilities, one of the principle
populations experiencing worst-case

housing needs. Ability Awareness and
Habitat for Humanity address this need

through the Ability House project.

Now there are two features that make the
Ability House project really unique, the

first is that the program endorses
universal design - that's the strategy for

building environments that can be visited
by people of all ages and all abilities.

And the second, it specifically involves
volunteers with disabilities in all phases

of construction. You know, to see or work
with people with disabilities actually

building a house, well that'll wipe out
all the stereotypes and myths you might

have about people with disabilities.
And it helps those volunteers to explore

and to demonstrate their abilities.

The adage "it's better to give than to
receive" is born out in health studies,

showing that emotional wellbeing, physical
health and mental sharpness improve when

people join activities where they can give
and receive encouragement and learn new

skills.

I'll test to that. Anyway, the following
presentation was shot at an Ability house

built in Baltimore, Mariyln. This was
documented by the Good Life television

network for an episode of their series
'Volunteers for the Sake of Others'.

I think you'll enjoy it.

So many people wonder how a blind person
can build a house or how a person who uses

a wheelchair can come and build a house.

Volunteers, many with disabilities and
little knowledge of construction have set

out to try and build a house in just
8 days.

Most of them have never done any kind of
construction.

NARRATOR: Will wet weather dampen their
spirits?

We would rather have better weather but
we've got a schedule to keep.

NARRATOR: It will take all of the
volunteers working together to complete

this house in time.

Everyone can come out and pick up a hammer
and we're all on equal ground.

Welcome to Good Life TV Network's
'Volunteers for the Sake of Others'.

I'm Doris McMillan.
People with disabilities are often

marginalised by society. An impairment is
often seen as a major obstacle to living a

normal life. Ability Awareness, a
non-profit organisation combats this

misconception by recruiting people who
have disabilities to help construct homes,

often for people who themselves have a
disability.

This time-honoured tradition of
volunteering allows those with

disabilities to help someone in need.

The Ability house project is a hallmark
program of Ability Awareness and was

basically started to increase awareness
around the issues surrounding people with

disabilities, to really bring people with
disabilities out and show the community

their true skills and their talents, and

their potential as volunteers, as mentors
and as employees.

Volunteering benefits the provider of
service, perhaps as much as it does the

recipient of service, and so when you have
someone who is commonly thought of as in

need, there is a therapeutic benefit to
be derived when those individuals can in

fact be the providers of service.

Here, Ability teams with the local chapter
of Habitat for Humanity to build a house

with a few special features.

The Ability House is accessibly designed
home, built for someone with a disability

by volunteers, many of whom also have
disabilities.

VOLUNTEER: Ready? One, two, three!

The concept of universal design which
means people who have physical impairments

are able to get in and out of it with no
barriers and so I think this is a

worthwhile project.

It's a big stigma that blind people have
to sit and they can't do things and we see

a lot of people that come through our
program that have had people take care of

them their whole lives and there's no
reason for that really.

So often people with disabilities, they
aren't looked to as volunteers and every

single person has his or her individual
level of ability, and so it's just really

a matter of finding out what that is and
utilising them to their fullest potential.

MAN: Here now, feel that, see what we're
gonna do?

Red hats, experienced volunteers, work on
securing the roof while a group of blind

volunteers help with the house's exterior.

I was given four individuals, and I took
them aside, gave them a quick lesson on

how to operate a screw gun, all I had to
do was point to where the screw needed to

go in, I'd say "follow my finger", they'd
find my fingertip, put the screw there and

screw it in.

Something really clicked with Fred. He was
there working with the volunteers

patiently working with each one. He was
giving of himself and he really sensed

what this is all about.

I was totally amazed and impressed.
To call them disabled is no longer

adequate. They are definitely able-bodied
with a minor inconvenience.

Tom Owens has been blind since the age of
11, but involved in carpentry all his life.

Technically I've been doing this stuff
since I was about 3. I started working

with my father when I was 3 years old,
everybody in my family has some kind of

trade type skill. And Romney's a great
partner. (Laughs) She likes high places.

I think these guys are doing a great job,