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Community for the disABLED
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Job Opportunities for Disabled American Veterans
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Maggie Roman Community Event
COMMUNITY RALLIES TO HELP SOMEONE IN NEED Maggie Roman is determined. This 24 year-old wants to become a Recreational Therapist, a professional who helps people with disabilities achieve independence and integrate into society by treating their physical, mental, and emotional needs. She’s found the right degree. "I’ve always wanted to help people," she says. In order to accomplish her career goals, she is taking courses at a junior college. After that, she’ll need to take two more years of Recreational Therapy classes at a local university. Then she’ll start a 480-hour internship, taking care of patients, completing case studies, and planning programs. And finally, she’ll need to take a grueling certification exam. The curriculum sounds daunting, but Maggie is not worried about it. Her challenge is transportation to the university, the only local school that offers this degree. Maggie can’t just hop in a car and drive. When she was nineteen, she was in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the chest down and with limited mobility in her hands. Since then, she’s had to rely on friends and family to drive her to school in an old, unreliable van converted for someone else, not for her specific disability. The university that offers this degree is forty five miles away from Maggie’s home. In order for Maggie to drive herself, she needs to be evaluated by health professionals who will determine what controls she needs. Then she needs $50,000 to for the van and the conversion. That’s what Maggie wants to do. She wants to be independent, wants to be able to drive herself to work and school, and wants to pursue a career caring for others. The accident that took away Maggie’s ability to drive happened one week before she was scheduled to take college placement exams. She was excited about going to college, the first generation in her family to attend. Her parents had moved to the United States from Mexico when they were in their early twenties. They’ve worked hard to support themselves and their four children, taking jobs as seasonal agricultural and domestic workers, working with a landscape crew at a cemetery, and finally starting their own landscaping business. But ever since Maggie’s dad became ill with diabetes, he’s had to cut back the hours he devotes to his business. Maggie has seen the struggles of her parents and she strives for more, strives to get an education and a secure job. "I want to break the cycle," she says. She was well on her way to doing this when her friend fell asleep at the wheel causing their car to veer off the road and down an embankment. The car rolled several times before striking a tree on the side where Maggie sat. Everyone in the car was hurt, but Maggie’s spinal chord injuries were the worst. She’s had to relearn the most simple of skills, things people take for granted, like getting a drink of water or making a telephone call. Although she’s been through more hardship than most people have, she hasn’t let the accident define who she is. A few months after leaving the hospital, Maggie enrolled in junior college. With the assistance of the college’s Disabled Student Programs and Services and Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, she’s going to school. She also works part time, checking people in at The Wellness Center at school. She smiles when she talks about her job. "I love greeting people and motivating them to work out. Sometimes it takes a while for them to open up to me, but eventually they do!" Maggie’s part time employment is the exception for those with disabilities. The statistics are grim. Only 32% of working-age disabled people work, compared to 81% of the rest of the population. For people in wheelchairs, the number is even worse, with only 22% working. Transportation is cited as one of the major factors in lack of employment, especially for those in wheelchairs who need special conversion vans. Maggie doesn’t want to be part of this unemployment statistic. She wants an education. She wants a career. She’s working hard to get these things. "I was going to do this before the accident. I’m not quitting now." In order to reach this goal, Maggie is working with the assistance of some members of the community to raise money. These people, who call themselves Gratis, aren’t professional fundraisers. They are friends from the community who see a need and are trying to do something to fill it. Their first effort was a fundraising party with a Spanish theme called Tappas Bandaria. 100 guests attended and the party was a huge success, with a Spanish dance show by some local children, a huge spread of Mexican food and drink, Flamenco Guitarists, a D.J, a card reader, and a silent auction. Look at some Event Pictures Here Local businesses and community members donated most of the items and services. Students from the junior college volunteered their time to help serve and clean up, some coming back the next morning to finish the job. Maggie and Gratis were able to raise $20,000 from this party, much more than they ever expected. Gratis continues to meet regularly and come up with other ideas, including requesting matching funds from businesses, to raise the $30,000 balance needed to purchase the van. Maggie’s community college has included her in their foundation, Mira Costa College Foundation, Disabled Student Fund/Maggie Roman Project, and all donations are tax deductible. Maggie and Gratis will continue to work until Maggie is able to fulfill her education and career goals. If anyone would like to help Maggie do this, please email Kelly Scheufler, friend of Maggie’s and Gratis member, at Scheufler@email.msn.com or call 760-436-4096 for more information.
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