inMotion Magazine

Finding Strength 27 By Herb Kolodny ADVOCACY Step Three – I promoted peer visits to my hospital. A group of fellow amputees and myself received peer visitor training and, once again, the one-to-many approach worked. More new amputees are being reached by peer visitors than ever before. Step Four – When I was recruited to start a new support group elsewhere in the state I thought to myself, “These people don’t realize I don’t know what I’m doing.” I turned to others for guidance and when I was promised support, I agreed to do it, even though I had never done anything of the sort before. Today, that new group is nearly two years old and averages between 10 to 15 attendees each month. Step Five – I once contacted the facilitator of another Connecticut support group several miles away about a new amputee. During the conversation, she suggested that the six groups in the state would benefit from a liaison that cross-pollinated between them. I decided to do it. As I crisscrossed the state, I introduced myself as the new, unofficial, self‑appointed liaison. I made sure to always have new information to share. Step Six – A flyer was emailed to me from Partners in Policymaking, a federally funded program run at the state level. Their goal is to train individuals with disabilities, or whose children are, to become legislative advocates. Thoughts of attending a seven-month program and learning how to chase after legislators was not very appealing to me. It sounded too much like work and too far from my main interest. I tossed the flyer. However, a month later, the same flyer was being handed out at one of the support groups. And this time, there was a hand still attached to it. It belonged to Tara Frey, a single mom with two active boys; she was an occupational therapist for children with developmental disabilities. Did I mention she was an amputee, too? How could I argue that I was too busy or that the work was unrelated? I went home, with the flyer, and thought about it. I discussed it with my wife to get her buy-in. I warned her that it would be a lot of work for me. I was right – and I did have to chase after legislators. Step Seven – With the hardest work comes the greatest rewards. It’s been my pleasure to work with dedicated public servants at the state and federal level. I also found a collaborator, a fellow above‑knee Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. ~Robert F. Kennedy