[acb-hsp] ACB-HSP President Message

[Baracco, Andrew W]

hi Carmella,

 

I echo many of your sentiments.  From my historical recall, and a mention in the book "People of Vision" which is the written history of ACB, this group started out as a networking group for social workers.  The group kind of fizzled out, and was restarted by Jessie Rayl, who is an LPC, and decided to widen the scope to cover all human service professionals.  The up side of doing this is hopefully to increase membership, as focusing on one group like social workers limits possible participation.  The down side of doing this is that by trying to appeal to many, you end up not really appealing to anyone.  A similar thing happened when the Federal employees affiliate expanded to cover employees of all levels of government. It didn't work for them, and it doesn't appear to be working for HSP.  At present, many of the members of HSP seem to  be therapists in private practice. I am a vocational rehab counselor who works for the Government.  Often I find that there is little in this group that I can identify with, and once when I gave a presentation on what I do, a well thought out presentation, by the way, it seemed to go over like a lead balloon.  

 

I also identify with the resentment and frustration that comes with joining a group, and almost immediately being thrust into a leadership role.  I am not a leader by any stretch of the imagination, but I am a target for feelings of guilt, both from within and without, and guilt is no reason to assume a leadership position.  

 

The activities that you mentioned are all things that we have discussed and said that we wanted to work on.  But what we discovered is that it takes people who are willing to work to make these things happen, and we have gotten caught up in just trying to exist.  The one thing that this group has done well is to put together interesting and informative presentation at our national ACB conventions.  In fact, some of them have been the most interesting and educational presentations that I have witnessed anywhere.  We have also had some fun social events as well.  But what I have often wondered is that with all of the blind persons in and out of ACB who work in human services, why we have such a hard time building membership.  We should be the size of GDUI. One thing that GDUI has going for it is that it focuses on one thing, namely, the guide dog.  Perhaps one thing that we can look at is a way to focus on a few things that are interesting to those in these professions, and target our efforts in that direction. Many organizations are goal directed at the beginning, and as time goes on, they focus more and more on just trying to exist, and lose sight of the goals that they had in the beginning, and the reasons why they formed in the first place.

 

Andy

 

From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of Carmella D Broome
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 12:57 PM
To: Discussion list for ACB human service professionals
Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] ACB-HSP President Message

 

I'm  rather enjoying observing the group process around all this.  The dialogue is, shall we say, quite animated.  Since I'm not involved or invested, I can  observe it with detached curiosity and consider what each person is saying and  analyze  the situation and so on.   Not all of you have that luxury.  Others may not have the interest.

 

Obviously, there are strong feelings and  wounded feelings and frustration. I appreciate everyone's  I messages and   clearly there  are issues that need to be hashed out.    Validation done.  I have done my due dilligence as  a counselor.  All of your thoughts and feelings are important.  You all come to the discussion with unique perspectives,life experiences, and  strengths, and   have chosen to take the time to  share your feedback.    Good job to each of you. Good job  to me for  being affirming and   all that stuff.   

 

My question becomes, why does  ACB HSP need to exist? what can an org specifically for blind people involved in a very wide range of   professions that are human services 

related do for me as a member?  Why should I pay money to join that   organization?   So what that we all happen to be blind? I can get what I need from  my colleagues who are blind on this list  or others for free without having to   invest more than a minimum of time or other resources.    What's the point  other than that we  all are blind and work in vaguely similar professions?    If I put time and energy into such an organization, why would I be doing that?    Do I really want to  travel to different places to hang out with   people who happen to also be blind and do some work that is vaguely similar to mine?  Not really.    

 

What's the vision?  What are the specific goals? If I got involved, what would I be trying to help the organization accomplish? I'm not talking about broad mission statements. I'm talking specifics.  How is it relevant to me personally?  Why is there a need for such an organization?  Is it for support, for advocacy, for   professional development, or what?  Is it really needed?  Does it do something unique enough to justify its existence?    

 

Are we going to advocate for more accessibility to   journals and  other  publications put out by   sighted orgs for those in human services professions so that  people who are blind and in  whichever  profession can have greater access?    Are we  going to  put efforts towards making sure licensure exam preparation materials and exams themselves are available in accessible formats and administered fairly?  Are we going to be a presence at national conferences put on by   the national orgs for   various HS professionals to offer workshops on how to be more  culturally sensitive around blindness related issues or to help them understand that  there are blind people working successfully in their fields?  Are we going to offer CEUs for members and non members?    What are we offering?  Why should I want to be involved?

 

If its just that we are all blind and interested in similar work, that's just not enough incentive for me. I've got plenty of other personal and professional concerns to  take up my time with. I'm challenging those of you who really do want this and see the need to    give me your pitch  in specifics to  bring  what appears to be much needed  clarity here.   

 

I'm not a member of any  blindness organizations at this time.  I've never found   those memberships to be of particular interest or help to me. Sometimes, as in  previously in my life at various points, I've  joined one  out of some hope that it would be  more productive or out of some sense of "should," but I  don't wind up sticking with it because I just can't  drum up enough enthusiasm to last very long.  I've been asked to be on Boards or  to take positions of leadership, and have  agreed, but then  resented feeling obligated to do something I really am not that interested in and don't really have time for.  

 

I only have so much time  and only so much money (not much of either) and  have to choose how to best invest my resources. This is true for everyone else.  I believe God asks me to be a good steward of what I'm given.    If I take on  volunteer work, it is something  I can absolutely do on my own time when I have  the time and the energy to devote to it. I proof books for BookShare  when I  have time now, because there are no meetings, no group projects, and no time constraints.  That's why I chose to do that. 

 

Far as money and time.  There are so many orgs I could join, and   I find it more helpful to me to join   organizations more in line with my professional interests, such as the  American Mental Health Counselors   or the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists and their state affiliates. These allow for networking, information, trainings, and other   benefits that are relevant to me personally and professionally.  

 

I appreciate the sharing of resources and dialogue that  go on   thanks to lists like this one.  Technology  allows  people with particular interests to come together virtually in ways they  could never do  in person and I find that very rewarding. I've gotten to know  a few people personally  through  this list and similar ones.  We get to  know each other because  we click a certain way or have other things in common.  Those closer relationships are  important to me.  Having access to a larger group personally is a great thing.   To me, its practical and supportive, so  the bases are covered. Its  nice to know other people are out there trying to do what I'm doing every day, which is  to  work and  live productively and  to  work around  blindness and pursue interests and ambitions.  I  appreciate the similarities such as  higher education and intelligence. What else do I need?  For me, personally,  there might not be anything else, other than a virtual community.  That's enough for me at this point unless someone can explain to me what else  I need that I don't  realize I need or why I should  want to  get involved.  

 

I'm putting this out there  for those of you who  say you want this affiliate.  Clarify  your vision and  nail down some goals  so people see what  you have to offer  that is truly of value and relevance to them.  That's  what makes people  want to be a part of something. 

 

 

Carmella Broome EdS LPC LMFT
Crossroads Counseling Center, Lexington SC
http://CounselorCarmella.WordPress.com
Author of Carmella's Quest:  Taking On College Sight Unseen (Red Letter Press 2009)
http://CarmellasQuest.LiveJournal.com

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