S1-Ep16_Jaquelyn_Thornton

Disabled Lives Matter

Disabled Lives Matter

Season 1, Episode 16

Co-Hosts: Nadine Vogel & Norma Stanley

Guest: Jacquelyn Thornton

Intro: [Music playing in background] Disabled Lives Matter… here we go!

Voiceover: Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of the disabled lives matter podcast with co-hosts Nadine Vogel and Norma Stanley... yay!

Nadine Vogel: Hi and welcome to today's episode of disabled lives matter. I’m Nadine Vogel your co-host of this most important podcast and movement, and I am with my friend and partner in crime Norma Stanley.

NORMA STANLEY: hi everybody how you doing today.

Nadine Vogel: Norma you and I have so much fun doing these it's almost like it's not really work right.

NORMA STANLEY: I love it, I really am having a good time.

Nadine Vogel: I know and obviously not only part of it, but really all of it not, that we're not fun people, but because of our guests like the one we have today right Jacqueline Thornton so Jacqueline I, first of all welcome to the show.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Well, thank you for having me it's a pleasure being here.

Nadine Vogel: Absolutely. So, it's my understanding that you are the executive director for two sparrow’s village. I’m wondering if you could just, I know it's a nonprofit, but I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about what it does and why, and all that.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Absolutely so two sparrows’ village was founded back on May 1 actually 2017 so we've made our fourth year. And primarily really to find solutions for co-housing opportunities, neuro diversity, and housing options for individuals that are differently abled. So rather they are intellectually disabled or if they are on the autism spectrum, we wanted to create housing and home for individuals and community for lack of a better way of saying it is really to make sure folks could have Community as they age.

Nadine Vogel: That's really important. So, I'm assuming than the impetus behind it, is that you found that that just doesn't exist today.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Absolutely or let's say few and far between less than 300 in our nation.

Nadine Vogel: And where are you actually located along with the organization.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Sure, we're located in Union city, we also are hopeful to develop a 33-acre plot of land, if you will it's kind of a campground right now and it's owned by Professor shepherd Lutheran church in Fayetteville, and so we hope to be.

NORMA STANLEY: Georgia.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Georgia.

Nadine Vogel: We should be clear of Georgia, right. Nobody will know what state you're doing this from good. You said that there's only 300 in the country.

Jacquelyn Thornton: About 300 countries that are registered.

Nadine Vogel: wow, wow you know, I have to say as special needs parents, although my daughter lives independently. That scares me a bit thinking that you know if she couldn't live independently, if that limited in terms of what's out there and available like you said it's registered that you know you can count on for quality right.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Yes.

Nadine Vogel: So, did you just wake up one morning and be like this is what we gotta do we're like where did that incredible vision come from to do something like this.

Jacquelyn Thornton: So, it really came from I’ll give you just our own personal journey I’m a parent our son is 20 he's almost 21. He's in college in Leesburg Florida, but when he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder which was then termed Asperger’s said you know, we thought about what about his life, you know lifeline when we are no longer able to house him and care for him and support him in his journey through life. You know what next and that's what our founder Jennifer literally woke up one night her daughter is Abby and just a beautiful young woman young lady she's like she's still a kid she's 12 years old, just made 12 years old, but the reality is that you know she woke up with this inspired audible voice from God she says, and it was Matthew 10 29 31. That says take I look after the sparrows you know aren't you worth more than that, and not to worry about Abby and her future that you are to create this new housing Community called two sparrows’ village as simple as that. And it was those parents and a few thought leaders and advocates as anything happens, we know that it's the talented view that put their heads together and said we got to get this done.

Nadine Vogel: Oh my gosh. So, Norma you know you're a special needs mom you have an adult daughter that has intellectual disabilities, I mean, how do you feel about thos what's your perspective on this.

NORMA STANLEY: Well, I absolutely love the idea of it has cause what I understand about the two sparrows villages, it’s not just for the intellectual, the challenge or disabled continuants but aging constituents also so it's a possibility, as I age and as my daughter ages we can put something together. I don’t know what of mine, you know as I get older if anything happens to me, you know my daughter can't call the cops or the ambulance or anything like that so how do I, I'm a single mom and how do I do that how you know, so I definitely want to learn more about two sparrows village and what they offer, because I know that a lot of families just like me out there about the future of the child, as well as themselves as they age.

Nadine Vogel: Right now, now, in turn, let me ask this in terms of the aging population versus you know the disabled non aging population are they all together, is it separate, how does that work, what kind of support services and the same for both, different.

Jacquelyn Thornton: It's so beautiful because Christian city, which is where we are going to actually open in the fall two sparrows village cottage at Christian city. It's already a what we would consider a life plan Community supporting older adults, but they also have a village, the children's village for children that are waiting to be adopted. Right or may not ever be adopted, but they're living there in this wonderful community that support it and it just is quite natural for those IDD population. and their parents and families, to be able to live in a community that already understands. We need Community lifelong right. And the supportive services are really I think the hallmark of how we differ from other communities in that we will have adult day we will have activities, both morning and afternoon and evening. Opportunities for volunteerism at Christian city, they serve already over 1000 people live there. It’s 500 acres and it's a planned Community just would not even believe all the myriad of resources so like what they often would say is cradled to grave there's even a hospice center on site, everything in between. It's community living at its best and now they're opening their arms to families like mine, you know and like yours Norma.

Nadine Vogel: Yeah so, in terms of activities can you give us an example and lets you know let's go back a little bit, specifically the housing and you know programs of two sparrows Village so for those on the neuro diverse spectrum and those with intellectual disability, what kind of activities are we talking about.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Yeah, we're talking about truly enrichment activities, so we've already partnered with a local photographer who is going to take text on a journey of self-discovery through photography. And at the end of that we will partner with like the woodruff Center for the arts, to be able to display and having Community neighborhood parks and those laminated we are living, you know, in the age of covert so we know that was there aren't these opportunities to go to the museum like they used to be so we're going to create the museum actually in the communities that are in the surrounding areas. And it's not to spotlight the individual and their diagnosis right we don't go around saying hey you're the one with cardiac disease and you're the one, hey disabled person with diabetes, no, we don't do that right. So, it's really to show and shine that individual’s on the spectrum or with intellectual or any disability can still live life to the fullest. Can still contribute greatly and it's all about right reciprocity I think is our model is we have something to give our Community and the Community has something to give to us.

Nadine Vogel: I love it. Norma, this is this is amazing isn't it.

NORMA STANLEY: Yeah, I really love the idea, because I know too many families, you know. There's a group home, and then there’s group homes and you know, I’m hesitant, you know I know family who has people that they loved ones in group homes and not all of them, they just don’t have the understanding of what it is that we may want for our loved ones who may be sitting there, and a lot of them just don't pay attention to detail that I would like to see if my child never did something like that. So, I like the idea of what you guys are doing is to two sparrows’ village where you know, let a family member feel comfortable if they have to go out of town or take a vacation there's an opportunity for someone to take care of their child or an adult to be there still needs some caregiving. That's something that you guys offer to or will be offering.

Jacquelyn Thornton: So that is really where you would tap into the Assisted Living model that exists at Christian study what two sparrows is trying to create is Community independent living for all right, and what we're hoping to be able to achieve is to help individuals to see their own potential. Right, so our real focus is really around Community integration, abundant life, and I really mean abundant life right their full potential and inclusivity. Its seeing the joy of living with people who truly care about you and who celebrate your life and know that you have something to contribute right.

Nadine Vogel: I love that. I absolutely love that Jacqueline and I do have a question, because based on what Norma asked and what you just mentioned so. If someone's civil, is there a difference, or what is the difference between two sparrow’s village and some group, a group home and an independent living Center, what would you say.

Jacquelyn Thornton: I would say we are that independent living community that has supportive services that you haven't yet imagined.

Nadine Vogel: I love it. So, it's really like the best of both right it's coming together. That's really cool I mean I you know I know that you haven't been around all that long but I’m already thinking okay so you're going to have one of these in every state in every major city I’m already making you guys raise the roof, because I think it’s, oh my god, I get goosebumps you know as I hear you talking about it because I just know the importance and I know so many families whose kids are on waiting lists and they're, the parents are aging, and they may not have family and they're really stressing and struggling with what to do, especially after they're gone, but even while they're alive to be able to your point, you know, see the see the quality of life that their children can actually live, and I think this issue of full Community integration is key. One of the things we talked about is you know seamless integration, like in the workforce in the workplace. And how we bring people with disabilities into that so we're going to go on commercial break but when we come back I would love, if you can touch on that I’d love to touch on so how do we integrate you know employment into this and is it integrated and somehow so stay tuned for our listeners Norma and I and Jacqueline will back in just a minute.

Voiceover: And now, time for a commercial break.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Voiceover: And now, back to our show.

Nadine Vogel: Hello everyone, this is Nadine Vogel and Norma Stanley, and we are welcoming you back to the second half of today's episode of disabled lives matter. We are speaking with Jacqueline Thornton executive director of two sparrow’s village. And this has been a really, really important conversation, because this is about living, this is about quality of life right, I mean there can’t be anything more important than that. But Jacqueline when we talk about quality of life, you know employment is important, is an important piece of you know people identify something their own value or self-worth right getting paid for job well done. And I think companies, sometimes forget that individuals with disabilities, including those on the spectrum can be those employees, so you talked earlier about full Community integration so, can you tell us how employment factors into that.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Absolutely, so the beauty of having an actual concierge on the premises and two sparrow’s villages to help individuals navigate their opportunities that are in their surrounding areas. And where we're located is really a city Center both with all types of jobs, including Amazon and Coca Cola has location that's near probably within five miles of location and what we want to do is also to integrate individuals on the campus of Christian city into job opportunities. So, when that thing goes up in the Community, we all have an opportunity to vie for it okay. Also, it gives an opportunity for training, vocational training and talent development by having those opportunities on the grounds of your community to be able to walk live and play in your community is really important. One of the opportunities that we've been exploring, and we've already started vetting out the space is extending the garden that exists at Christian city to actually have hydroponic fishing farm so that individuals can learn that particular really phenomenal to me what scientifically speaking. A way of creating a job for yourself, creating entrepreneurship for yourself, being a bell what you grow and in being able to educate the Community. Local schools around hydroponic fish farming right, so there are all these opportunities that we see that are going to actually. become born out of two sparrows’ village, because they were things that you know Christian city was thinking about, but no-one really actualized it right. So here with all these big ideas, because we know that workforce is so critically important what we want to have is a sustainable model right, sustainable model, you cannot just house we want to teach people how to fish, we want to teach people to be able to sustain themselves, and we want to teach adulting right. You know, and all of that comes with it, you know continuing education.

Nadine Vogel: Yes, I was just gonna ask about that Jacqueline you know so when you talk about adulting right is, you know continued education does it include you know life skills, you know how to balance, a checkbook had I like to do all that as well.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Absolutely and that's under our adult day program. So even if folks have a job, maybe they're only working part time oftentimes that's what's happening, that they still have enrichment beyond that and we will be teaching what we call financial resiliency will be using the model that arp actually has in place and teaching young adults and older adults, how to make financing how to plan life now on so absolutely.

Nadine Vogel: I gotta tell you need to go into colleges and teach college students. They come out they don’t have a clue.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Yeah. It's surprising, but yeah, my neighbor next door came home, one day, and his daughter was distraught she's an attorney and she was like what’s up check is like all this missing money. Good. I said all that Medicare.

Nadine Vogel: Absolutely I get it, you know my younger daughter graduated college in December, so I really get it.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Yeah. It’s like what did they teach you.

Nadine Vogel: They teach education, but I think they forget beyond the academic sometimes just the practical life skills that we all need to have, communication even communication these days, because everything is, you know how many characters on Twitter right or let me show you an image to show you what I’m talking about. Obviously, I’m old and that just confused the f*** out of me.

Jacquelyn Thornton: You’re aging and everyone’s doing it, it’s a verb, just embrace it.

Nadine Vogel: Making me crazy but let me ask this because the fact that we are trying to build this independence right, for these individuals how involved are or should be the parents, you know, because you don't want, you’re trying to probably eliminate the helicopter parent right. And that's always hard and, especially, you have a child with disabilities that's even more difficult so how do you do that, or how do you create that balance.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Sure, you know family's important we call the part of the they are part of the care partner team and essential right there is essential players in in the development of any individual human being. So, what we provide is a monthly get together with all of the care partners, as well as the residents, we would call friends. Friends of two sparrows that live with us, and we have conversation about how things are going, what are the patients are we meeting you know those smart goals for each individual and are we in fact creating community, and do people feel at home. We know that there will be a lot of anxiety and separation anxiety and just like we did when they were in kindergarten right growing up. And the same thing happens in adulthood, and we want folks to feel that they can be a part of every one of the individuals lives. But, yet they do you have to step back and let them make some of the choices and decisions for themselves. Part of what we are inspiring the individuals, especially with now zoom and other video platforms, you can always tap in you know you have facetime if you know you can always tap into see how your loved ones doing. But we are so, having great deal of support will be working with the Clark Atlanta university school of social work and their interns and that will be you know, helping the parents to kind of give up some that social service, you know management that they've been doing managing the life of that young person. Give them some autonomy to do that with a coach right. And they best of it is asking the parents to participate in some of these really fantastic events that we’ll be having. It really is supposed to be Community driven will have a fire pit in the middle and the quadrangle of the Community connecting the communities what's beautiful is that Christian city is trying to connect all of their neighborhoods through a continuous path. And help visuals to come together there'll be fitness exercise experiences and even if the adult parent I mean the parent can't you know be there in live in living color they can tap in you know virtually and organize and we can see one another and participate with one another, so there are many ways I know it's tough right sending a kid off to college, you know my first was there were a lot of you know just missing that role as a parent. I don't think that ever really goes away like my mother we're on vacation right now, but she just made me a sandwich before.

Nadine Vogel: Once a mom always a mom.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Right, so that that doesn't go away, and we don't want it to go away. But what we do need to do as parents is to be able to step back to allow for as much independence and growth as possible because one day, you know as Norma said we won't be there. Right, that's the reality of this. We won't be there and we must teach them how to fend for themselves how to. Understand that they are choices matter and how to be vocal about it.

Nadine Vogel: Right, be their own self advocates.

NORMA STANLEY: What are you getting from the Community as people learn about what you're doing, are they embracing this are they excited about it.

Jacquelyn Thornton: There is always a lot of excitement until the doors open like what did we agree to what did we sign up for. Integration is hard in any Community you think about HOA and neighborhoods when someone new moves into the Community there's a lot of chatter right some of its good chatter and some of its not so much right. Until they get to meet the human beings that walk through those thresholds, and they then become so supportive and encouraging and they want to be a part of their experience right and so that's what we look forward to. So, we're doing a lot of letting folks know hey we're coming hey we're coming and here's what we're contributing. And I asked what's helped the Community at Christian city, as well as in other municipalities that want a two sparrows’ village to come into their Community they get to see the vibrant lives, these are not individuals who are disabled, they are differently abled.

Nadine Vogel: What's interesting in hearing about this, you know and how you describe everything, and I actually visualize you know, a college campus right. I mean that’s kind of what it sounds like, and you have the center campus where everybody comes together, and you have the social and it's kind of interesting hearing about it because it, it sounds like a really cool place to be right. And I think that one of the challenges with other I’ll say programs that have tried to be like what you're doing the typical group home let's say right or even independent living Center sounds so much more clinical. Where this, right Norma, like this doesn’t, this just sounds like okay I'm gonna call it like a social being we're gonna get together and eat we're gonna go to the movies. And I think it goes back to everything you said, the very beginning Jacqueline, which is that you're building a community. A fully integrated inclusive community, and you know it's interesting because that's what you started with but I’m ending with that because that's in fact what you've done. Yes, it's amazing to me, so let me ask this if folks want to get in touch with you and for because they have a child that they'd like to inquire about that. They themselves would like to volunteer, you know give money whatever or they're listening to this and they're saying okay, I live in how do I create one, how do I put a team together to create your own use you guys as a model, how do they go about doing that.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Well, first of all let's go to our website at www.two sparrows village.org. or give me a ring 404-883-1841. I love to talk with anyone about those any of those options that you just shared, you know we are available and others are in the Community that supported us and we definitely want to reciprocate.

Nadine Vogel: Well, I think you know this clearly shows and Norma, I know you're going to agree, you know disabled lives matter. And you have really illustrated that in what you're doing because you're not creating something separate and special and different and limited. It’s integrated and when it's integrated it really shows that you're focused on inclusivity. And that people's lives, whether they have disability or not, that they do matter and that their quality-of-life matters, and so I just personally as special needs mom want to thank you for everything that you're doing. Because it touches my heart and it's something that's just oh my gosh so incredibly important nor.

NORMA STANLEY: Actually, I’m getting ready, I'm going to be doing a tour when I come back from out of town so I’m looking forward to seeing what it looks like, you know in person.

Nadine Vogel: Norma you know what, Norma in an upcoming episode, you need to share once you've gone on the tour, need you to share with our listeners what that tour was like. And what your experience was.

NORMA STANLEY: Absolutely.

Nadine Vogel: Because this is just this is amazing to keep talking about it.

Jacquelyn Thornton: I’ll have to chime in and say Norma, you get an opportunity to see the studs that they call walls, but they're not quite there yet.

NORMA STANLEY: It’s okay, I’ll be back when everything is up to.

Nadine Vogel: Yeah, you know what you can do, once you do that bring your camera maybe we can figure out how to video at some point to show our listeners. Well Jacklyn we are, we are out of time, but oh my gosh thank you again so very much and for every one of our listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode of disabled lives matter, Norma.

NORMA STANLEY: Thank you so much, thank you for being here and yes, disabled lives matter and be blessed.

Nadine Vogel: And we'll you see you on another episode.

Jacquelyn Thornton: Bye now.

Closing comment: [Music playing in background.] Thank you for listening to this week's episode of disabled lives matter. We look forward to seeing you next Thursday. Have a great week!

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