On Tuesday, August 13 the third Mainstreaming on Main Street Community Association (MoMS-CA) roundtable gathering was held here in Milwaukee. I wasn’t really surprised to find myself alone at the table as a number of people had told me in advance of various scheduling conflicts and prior commitments. I simply reflected on the fact I facilitate another group that started very much like this one but is now at a point where the group is outgrowing the gathering space where we meet.
While I was waiting for people to show up I got to talking with Vaughn. He is partially disabled and trying to get himself back on his feet. He is just the type of person the MoMS-CA is intended to serve. Vaughn is currently working, is seeking a position that will allow him to support himself better, wants to go to school for an associate’s degree in machine shop operations, and really wants to operate a web site for on line chess tournaments.
I was very interested in how Vaughn balances his aspirations with the various challenges of making his way in the world. He has a vocational rehabilitation counselor who is trying to help him find work that he can do productively. The counselor has his own ideas of what would be best for Vaughn and allocates resources accordingly while also juggling a significant case load of other clients. Vaughn is also researching his idea for a chess tournament web site with the goal of starting as a side project and knowing he would need to act in collaboration with others.
Vaughn is the picture of a man caught between the dreams he has and the realities of the world. It was ironic to find myself reading The Start-up of You by Ben Casnocha and Reid Hoffman later in the day and finding the strategy being followed by Vaughn is very similar to what is recommended by a very successful entrepreneur.
My goal with the MoMS-CA is to acknowledge the Vaughn’s of the disability world as whole people and look at how we have to confront the same issues everyone else has. The explore is how we put disability into context of the many other barriers faced by anyone who has ever tried to step beyond their current status in life.
I knew when I started this group it would be a slow build and require patience and persistence. I also knew from past experience as a facilitator that the key to the success of any roundtable group is being present to the group. Tom Thibodeau of Viterbo University reminds us periodically that the agenda is in the room. Yesterday Vaughn reminded me that the wisdom is in the room. I am confident the roundtable will become a practice field opportunity for persons with disabilities to share their aspirations and learn from each other.
The next MoMS-CA roundtable will take place on Tuesday, August 27 at Troop Café, 3430 W Wisconsin Ave. The roundtable is open to all persons with disabilities who are interested in becoming more actively engaged in the use of their skills and abilities in community and economic life.
Book recommendation:
Hoffman, Reid and Casnocha, Ben. 2012. The Start-up of You. Crown Business, Random House, Inc., New York.
Dan Lococo, Barrier Knocker Downer
414.333.5846
Dan.lococo@gmail.com
Bio & Blog: http://wp.me/P16SG0-2
Mainstreaming on Main Street
Purpose: Bridging the gap between dependence and interdependence, doing for and doing with, charity and justice
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Mainstreaming on Main Street 
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