Institute For The Future

Tell it to someone who cares: Ruby's Bequest is live!

 

From "Caring from a Distance" to "Making the System Work (Better)," we have begun tapping the wisdom of crowds to gather stories of people's experiences of caring and caregiving at Ruby's Bequest. Here's a glimpse at some of the early stories coming in from people like you!

 

Caring from a Distance: Rhythms of Contact & Caring

It's the smallest of efforts, really, to pick up the phone every night at about the same time and give them a quick call. We usually curl up on the bed so we can relax as we talk, and most nights it's five or ten minutes of "Nothing new here." Some nights, though, something in the news or some problem with the roof or the porch light or computer (Mom is a whiz) sets the conversation on a longer course. The best nights are when my husband is in his "stand-up comic" mood and has us all in stitches. Sure, some nights we're tired, and every once in a while we miss a beat and skip the call. But it's become as much a part of our daily routine as brushing our teeth before we go to bed.

 

 

Stories from the Trenches: My Story

I have had the privilege to work with students with disabilities as a teacher's assistant in the St. Paul, MN Schools, teaching the 3 R's and bit of independence. That experience allowed me to be Transition Coordinator with the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living. During that period in my life I wrote several independent living skills teaching manuals for the St. Paul Dept. of Education. I also was awarded the very first Governor's Victory Award in Minnesota for overcoming disability. Winners from each State received their award at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

 

 

Everyone Cares for Someone: Seamless Integrated Care

PWD [people with disabilities] have begun to emerge from a cacophony of medical and social restraints to begin to chart their own destiny’s. In many ways this ‘rebellion’ was similar to how Boomers ‘rebelled’ in the 60s, making the statement that “Hey, this ain’t cool…I want change”. Boomers then leveraged their size and power to create that change in the 70s and 80s in they begin filtering through the economy. In the 90s, Boomer became leaders and created change to reflect their value and desires. PWD have gone through their ‘60s’, and are emerging to start to put ‘rubber to the road’ in terms of an infrastructure that can adjust to them, making it easier to thrive.

 

 

To take part, go to Ruby's Bequest or click here to simply learn more: IFTF Ruby's Bequest