Beneficiary Spotlight

America, I have a disability.

I have a disability,

           but don’t penalize my human rights.

I have a disability,

           but don’t corral my constitutional freedoms.

 

America, I have a disability.

I have a disability,

           but don’t put sanctions on my dignity.

I have a disability,

           but don’t amputate my civil rights.

I have a disability,

           but don’t immobilize my public spirit;

           I am a registered voter.

 

America, I have a disability.

I have a disability,

           But don’t impound my selfhood.

I have a disability,

           But don’t kidnap my possibility.

I have a disability,

           but don’t trash or limit my fate.

 

America, I have a disability,

           BUT DON’T DISABLE ME.

 

By Katie Savage

A District of Columbia Resident &

A Self-Advocate

SHARED HORIZONS BENEFICIARY BIOGRAPHY: 

RONALD SATTERTHWAITE

Ronald Satterthwaite, 52, lives in a community residential facility in Washington D.C.; “I’m into music; I write lyrics. I wish I could make money from this music, if I could work again.  My handicap is that I can’t focus on completing a task.  I do have therapy, once every two months, to work things like that. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia 20 years ago.

 

“Employment has always been an issue – I’ve had a series jobs,  everything from dishwashing to selling health insurance, even stock trading. I’ve been a manager at McDonald’s and CVS.  It’s frustrating- there’s a job I want to do right now, but I’m not able to study for it.   It’s been very difficult. Right now I’m a songwriter. I have two CDs on the market that I have written song lyrics for.

 

“I spent some time in college – I attended the College of   William and Mary in Williamsburg ... I have a bachelor of science degree from Christopher Newport College in Newport News. Virginia. I have been in the Air Force where I served for four years and was stationed in Guam and Las Vegas.

 

“I started seeing a therapist in college.   I didn’t seek any help when I was in the Air Force. I was ok for a while then. It started again toward the end of my term. I was 29 years old. I was with a (treatment) program for a while, it didn’t do much- I’m not able sit through a program all day long.

 

“Most days I get up and have my coffee and sit around until afternoon and watch the soaps, work on my music for a while and watch TV in the evening.  

 

“I’m single, I have two sisters and a brother and both my parents are still alive.  I’m the estranged one in the family, partially because of this (schizophrenia) and for other reasons. I got an inheritance from my godmother and my family wasn’t paying me the money she left me. 

Two attorneys from Catholic Charities found Shared Horizons for me, and they have managed the money well for me.  Shared Horizons pays my bills, not much else they can other than that, but they are good at what they do.

 

I have a charge card and if I need checks, Yolanda (Mazyck) will write them and pay for what I need. I live in a community residential facility – it’s a house and there are five people here beside myself and we have a 10 o’clock curfew. I have a roommate and someone cooks for us.  I also have SSI.’’

 

By Frances Grandy Taylor

fgtaylor@yahoo.com