For anyone who was unable to attend the event, we're posting below the short speech Mary gave in accepting the award. In her remarks she touched on some of the history of Sonoma Developmental Center, which we think helps to put the important work that PHA continues to do on behalf of SDC residents in perspective.
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| Ireland by Jan Farthing on flickr |
Thank you all so much for this honor -- I love these plaques and will cherish it the rest of my life. I can’t think of anything I would rather be honored for than for my involvement with PHA and the wonderful people I have worked with and the dedicated staff I have known, loved and admired throughout the years.
I would just like to say a few words about my feelings about Sonoma Developmental Center. First of all: I think SDC is unique and special. There was good reason why two women -- two parents -- established the Sonoma Developmental Center over one hundred years ago so that their developmentally disabled children and others who are developmentally disabled could have a place to live out their lives in a safe and charming environment. And I want to mention, when it was first established, it was a private home, but then these families saw the tremendous need that existed and they were overwhelmed with requests for assistance, so they approached the legislators and lobbied and in time got the governments involved so that these services became part of the system and this vulnerable population were rightfully represented and they would have a steady flow of funds to continue to serve those who needed these services. This type of facility with all the needed services centralized established continuity, licensing requirements and regulations and stringent oversight and quality assurance – and that is what was needed at the time and is still needed today.
We thank those families for choosing the beautiful setting at Sonoma Developmental Center. It is an absolutely beautiful campus and as someone who visited it once commented “this is a place of healing”.
Jack London often rode his horses near the grounds of the center. I would like to read something he wrote years ago as it describes the residents and why we love them so much. “one of the finest compliments to the SDC is that -- while it is an institution, it isn’t just an institution – it is the town of Eldridge -- a community of individual people who were born with developmental disabilities which require their living under the care of professionals. Each citizen is an individual with his or her own identity and is treated as such, it is here that we see the very essence of people’s ability to adapt to their environment and live lives of fulfillment. They have made the most of their lives considering the enormous challenges they face every day and with a dedicated staff have created a community of love and a strong devotion to each other.” That’s the Sonoma Developmental Center we all know and appreciate.
I thank God every day of my life that my son had the benefit of this love and care during his lifetime and I miss him and miss visiting the facility where he lived every day of my life. I want the same for all the families like ours who need peace of mind in knowing that their developmentally disabled loved one is in good hands and in a safe place.
The current trend goes against all this logic -- having a steady flow of funds -- well with privatizing these services, this will change and being cared for by professionals, this also will end when they are removed from SDC -- moves which have left many severely disabled people without the services they need for their very survival. But let me tell you, we are more determined than ever to not permit the deterioration or undoing of these services that families put into place throughout the years for the past 100 years. During my tenure as president of PHA, I have never had a request from a family to move their loved one out of SDC, but I have had hundreds from people trying to get them back in.
We can’t deny their disabilities that would annul their right to our compassion, special treatment and assistance they need if they are to live secure and fulfilling lives -- it robs them of the respect they deserve for the tremendous effort they must exert to achieve small accomplishments that comes easily to the rest of us.
It has been said that our developmentally disabled citizens are not here to learn -- they are here to teach -- and that is so true -- as all of us who have had the good fortune to know them well have experienced. They don’t need to learn a thing -- they are perfect -- we are the ones who need to learn and most of us have -- they teach us by the example of patience and love and innocence and perseverance that they exhibit every day of their lives -- they are full of love and acceptance and their presence and their example does something for us that is sometimes difficult to explain, but it is very real and we all know it’s there. They change who we are and they enrich our lives.
We are all part of one human family -- this planet is our home and it's their home and we cannot be indifferent to the fate of our disabled citizens -- as President Kennedy once said, “they are victims of fate, don’t let them be victims of our neglect”. We must always remember that investment in appropriate compassionate care for our developmentally disabled citizens needs to be a priority -- a matter of moral responsibility and is ultimately a contribution to a more just, compassionate and peaceful world. Our national values tell us that the moral measure of our efforts is how we respond to the “Least among us.”
I look forward to the day when every family -- those who have a developmentally disabled child and those who do not are equally involved and engaged in securing the special services our developmentally disabled citizens need and to the day when all legislators have it on the top of their list of priorities. Then and only then can we be on an even playing field -- that is what needs to happen, this is our goal.
Thank you all again for this honor -- I will cherish it all my life and I accept it for all of us who have worked so hard as PHA members.
--Mary O'Riordan
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