By Wilson Cherry

Working with individuals who have developmental and intellectual disabilities has proven to be a very rewarding and meaningful experience over the last 40 years for me. 

One of the issues I have encountered recently has been enlightening our local, state and federal government officials as to the need to provide greater support for individuals with intellectual disabilities or developmental disabilities (ID/DD), as well as their caregivers. It is imperative that with the volume of incidents we are encountering someone must be responsible and held accountable.

Many people with emotional, mental and physical impairments face and live in a world where prejudice, stereotypes and negative stigmas are pervasive because of the lack of knowledge throughout our general populations to their impairments. Individuals who have some self-induced problems as a result of substance abuse, situational anxiety and depression often gather more attention because of unethical or unlawful behaviors. Crime in our communities, particularly among our youth, is perpetrated at an alarming rate. Lack of parental guidance, leadership and supervision has led to a massive explosion of violent criminal offenses. 

Here at Rowan Vocational Opportunities Inc., we strive to identify, as well as prioritize methods, interventions and best practices to promote belonging and inclusion through developing and enhancing consumer life skills, as well as employment and job readiness skills by mentoring, modeling and training individuals in a safe therapeutic environment. Our ongoing task is to encourage, support, teach and train their support teams, along with them to develop positive goals, plans and strategies to best cope with their individual circumstances and vulnerabilities. Many are confronted with mental health issues, along with their diagnosed impairments. These methods, policies and practices are designed to inspire, motivate and train our consumers to develop self-reliance and independence as they perform to the best of their ability.

As trained caregivers and practitioners, we must accept that individuals with ID/DD have desires, emotions, feelings and needs just like everyone else. Sometimes many individuals with ID/DD see and experience things from a different perspective.

Being committed to providing quality staff development and training in compliance with laws, policies and regulations mandated by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is an ongoing process. Helping both our consumers and staff with tools to manage conflicts and interpersonal relationships are exemplified on a daily basis. In conjunction with a major part of our Vision Statement, “We are committed to empowering people with disabilities to be active, independent, and self-sufficient positive contributors to our society.”

We truly appreciate all of our recent donors, supporters, businesses and individuals who helped with our recent expansion. It is our goal every day to provide the highest quality production and service delivery to our consumers, staff and vendors in the Greater Salisbury Rowan Community in which we work and live in.

We are truly appreciative and extend our heartfelt gratitude for the community’s continued support.

Wilson Cherry is the director of community affairs at Rowan Vocational Opportunities.