There is considerable buzz in disability advocacy circles about the
work that the Burton Blatt Institute of Syracuse University is doing in their
Centers of Innovation on Disability. The Centers enable persons with a
disability to explore the opportunities of entrepreneurship and assist them
with startup businesses. Because
Disaboom believes that entrepreneurship is the key to living forward for many
persons with disabilities, we asked Gary Shaheen, Senior Vice President of the
Institute to share his vision. This is the second article in that series.
“Social entrepreneurship is not a new thing, there are examples dating back to the ‘80s. But our problem has always been we’re caught in the wrong paradigm of ‘cure and care.’ Folks with disabilities don’t want that. Yes, they want security, but the folks that we are talking to want a hand-up, they just don’t want their feet dropped out from under them while they are trying to get ther
“I’m hopeful that the time is right for a paradigm shift. But I am sobered by the fact that even though national unemployment rates go up and down, unemployment rates for people with disabilities stay at the same high level. We’ve not really put much of a dent in it. Any time is a hard time for people with disabilities to get into the market, but what we are learning is that employment can be a key to recovery. Some research has shown that it is actually more disabling and debilitating to be without work than employed and have the stress of a work environment.
“I can’t tell you how many times I have heard, ‘I had a business once, and it failed. I don’t have a disability so how can somebody with a disability manage their own business because most of them fail?’ It’s like the old pogo thing, we’ve met the enemy and they is us. That’s what we have to change. If the White House is interested in entrepreneurship for everyone, then we have the opportunity to make a change. Then we get all the players around the table to say, ‘How can we make a change?’ ‘How can we mainstream?’ ‘How can we help more folks to at least explore the possibility of entrepreneurship in their life?’
“I think there are forces to consider: As the population ages, we’re encountering more limitations and those are all growth industries. To what extent can those who are having first- hand experience living with those disabilities, take that knowledge and combine it with business enterprise development to have a good career.
“One thing we’ve learned here at Syracuse University in working with Veterans with disabilities is that there is the whole set of disabilities that the Vets are returning home with and having to live with. Those folks who would have died on the battle field not too long ago are coming back home with disabilities that won’t kill them but are certainly changing the way they manage their world. To what extent can the burgeoning field of prosthetics and the cognitive emotional disabilities that Vets are experiencing produce business opportunity for people with disabilities?
“But this cuts to the cord of what we need to do: We have to change our perception of what it means to have a disability. Take the world-class sprinter, Aimee Mullins. She shows how someone who has a disability, in this case no legs below the knees can turn that disability around to be an asset. I think that is the next frontier for us. Ultimately, how do we do a better job for folks with disabilities and those interested in supporting them? To show them that they can turn that disability into an asset.”
Gary E. Shaheen, M.P.A. is a nationally recognized expert in the field of mental health rehabilitation, homelessness and systems change. For over twenty- six years in both the public and private sector he has been instrumental in shaping policy and programs at both the state and federal levels that help people with mental illnesses, co-occurring substance abuse disorders and those who are homeless fully integrate into their communities. He has worked with HUD, SAMHSA, U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies on increasing employment for these populations throughout the United States and its Territories.
The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) [Video], located at Syracuse University, will build the premier organization to advance civic, economic, and social participation of persons with disabilities in a global society by creating a collaborative environment—with entrepreneurial innovation and best business practices—to foster public-private dialogue, and create the capacity to transform policy, systems, and people through inclusive education, the workforce, and communities.
