ABOUT ABILITY AWARENESS

MISSION

The Mission of ABILITY Awareness is to build a world of inclusion for people with health conditions or disabilities through housing, employment, education, media and volunteer opportunities.

WHAT WE DO

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has identified people with disabilities as one of the primary populations experiencing worst-case housing needs.

In response, ABILITY Awareness created the ABILITY House program. Serving as a resource to Habitat for Humanity affiliates and other nonprofit organizations throughout the country, the goals of the ABILITY House program are three-fold:

1. to engage people with disabilities in volunteer services, demonstrating their skills and talents and helping them become included as active community members;
2. to help provide affordable, accessible housing for families with disabilities; and
3. to increase public awareness of the benefits of making all new housing visitable (able to be visited by people with the full range of mobility levels, through inclusion of simple design features like a no-step entrance and doors/hallways wide enough to accommodate passage by someone using a wheelchair, and a bathroom on the first floor).

When ABILITY Awareness partners with other nonprofit organizations, we work with them to help integrate volunteers with disabilities into their volunteer programs.  We conduct disability awareness training workshops, assist in outreach efforts, and help identify the minor accommodations a volunteer may need to successfully carry out his/her volunteer duties and/or the homeowner may need to live a safer, and more independent life.

In 2005, ABILITY Awareness was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) specifically to provide volunteer opportunities to individuals with disabilities. This grant finally allowed ABILITY Awareness to hire a professional staff to help grow the organization.  To satisfy our CNCS grant requirements, we are committed to building 25 houses over a 3-year period, involving hundreds of volunteers throughout the county.

WHY WE DO IT

1. To reduce poverty - ABILITY Awareness helps reduce poverty through homeownership, thereby helping prevent people with disabilities from falling further into poverty or isolation due to current and newly acquired disabilities.

1. To build inclusive, healthy communities - A "community" is where life takes place, it's anywhere people feel "at home." Unfortunately, far too many people with disabilities feel isolated and out of touch with their communities. Community involvement offers many health benefits specific to older adults and people with disabilities.

·         Data from a 2000 National Health Interview Survey shows that community participation is important for general life satisfaction which leads to a greater sense of health and well-being.

·         A University of Michigan study showed that people live longer because they volunteer.  The study suggests that the meaning and purpose that volunteering provides may have “protective effects” on health.

·         Volunteering can improve self-esteem, reduce heart rates and blood pressure, increase endorphin production, enhance immune systems, buffer the impact of stress, reduce the occurrence of depression, contribute to maintaining intellectual strengths. and combat social isolation (Research summary: Graff, L. (1991). Volunteer for the Health of It, Etobicoke, Ontario: Volunteer Ontario.)

·         Studies report that engaging in regular volunteer work increases life expectancy because social interaction improves quality of life.
 

1. To support “visitability” for all new home construction, not just homes built for people with disabilities - A twin problem to the affordability of housing for people with disabilities is the accessibility of current housing.

·         Ninety-eight percent of all housing in this country is designed for able-bodied people, despite the fact that almost 80 percent of Americans will have special housing needs at some point in their lifetimes.

·         By the year 2030, 71.5 million Baby Boomers will be over the age of 65 and demanding products, services, and environments that address their age-related physical changes.

OUR MAIN FUNDING SOURCE

In 2005, ABILITY Awareness was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) specifically to provide volunteer opportunities to individuals with disabilities. This grant allows ABILITY Awareness to work with other organizations to help rebuild communities through volunteer participation of an often overlooked pool of talented workers and  to assist in improving the health and quality of life of the most vulnerable people in our society.

 OUR FOUNDING AND SUSTAINING SPONSOR

ABILITY Magazine is the premier publication addressing issues surrounding the 54 million Americans with disabilities, using celebrity interviews and in-depth articles to explore health, wellness and human potential. 

It is important to note that while ABILITY Magazine and ABILITY Awareness share the same founder and have similar names, they are two separate legal entities – ABILITY Awareness is the nonprofit and ABILITY Magazine is a for-profit company owned by Chet Cooper.