Local group erases stigma of disabled residents

In a way, Dashon Forrest is like any other teenager. He likes video games, watching music videos on YouTube and has girlfriends. But 14-year-old Dashon is also different. He suffers from Neurofibromatosis I, a debilitating disorder of the bones, skin, eyes and nervous system. He has glaucoma and occasional seizures. He sees more than 14 doctors a day, is classified as emotionally disturbed and has separation anxiety.

"Teachers said he was mildly retarded and wouldn't learn anything," said Joyce Forrest, his mother.

But the ninth grader at High Road Academy in Lanham, Md., now has a 3.5 grade point average and hopes to attend Howard University. Joyce adopted Dashon when he was four after his problems got too much for her niece to handle .

"I just could not idly watch as Dashon was physically and emotionally neglected," Joyce said. "He was an angel that could not come at a better time."

Joyce, 59, had her own challenges, too. Her sons, Keith and Sean had died a year earlier. Dashon filled the void they had left in her life. Keith, 30, died from a seizure that doctors couldn't determine what triggered it.

"He was at a party on a Spirit Cruise, there were strobe lights that could've caused it," said Joyce.

Her other son, Sean, was only 20 when he was shot and killed in a robbery in 1993. His murder remains unsolved. Joyce has also won two battles against breast cancer. And years ago, a fall left her unable to walk without assistance. After several spinal surgeries, she now walks with a cane.

Now, Dashon and Joyce are each other's rock, with assistance from Quality Trust, an organization which helps nearly 30,000 disabled people in DC. When Joyce falls on hard times, Quality Trust helps pay her bills. But more than anything, the Trust helps the Forrests live like other families.

"We try to be the one place that knows places each family can tap to be strong and thrive," said Trust Executive Director Tina Campanella.

Joyce has moved from being a Trust client to an advocate for others. Her story began in 2006 when she went to apply for food stamps at the Income Maintenance Administration service center on H Street, Northeast. A worker at the office told her she was fat and did not need food stamps.

"I was heart broken and distressed," said Joyce. "I left and did not return."

Quality Trust helped Joyce tell the story of vicious insensitivity from government agencies toward disabled people. Then D.C. City Councilmember Vincent C. Gray caught wind of the news. He was angered.

That year, he introduced the People First Respectful Language Modernization Act of 2006. The Trust helped Joyce testify before the Council. She testified how Dashon was sometimes bullied and harassed and hated going to after school programs. Her testimony led to passage of a law, requiring use of respectful language to disabled people. The Council also mandated more quality services for disabled children.

"We get people the help they need to get a leg up," said Nadine Hathaway, director of development at the Trust.

Sondra and Tyrone Cunningham also received assistance from the Trust for their 37-year-old son, Troy, who at 18 month was diagnosed with autism.

"I will never forget that day," said 65-year-old Sondra, a local retired social studies teacher, recalling the day she learned her son would never learn beyond grade five. "It's devastating and I cannot even tell that story without crying."

While in daycare at the St. John's Community Services in 2002, Troy suffered a seizure, fell and fractured his shoulder. Despite his disabilities, he was transported to the hospital with no worker to explain his injuries.

The Trust is helping Troy attend an adult daycare at the National Children's Center in Southeast. Besides getting help themselves, Troy and other disabled adults volunteer throughout the community Monday through Fridays.

"There needs to be a place where disabled people can live," said Sondra. "You have older people in their 80s who can no longer raise their 40-year-old autistic children, but do so because there is no safe place for their children." For more information visit, www.dcqualitytrust.org.