Celebrating Disability Pride Month through outreach

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — One Stateline organization is celebrating Disability Pride Month with a mural created by staff members and clients as a way to show the inclusiveness of Winnebago, Ogle, and Boone counties, and one man is sharing his story with the country.

For the past nine years, July has been declared Disability Pride Month, marking the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Arc is an organization that provides essential support, advocacy, and resources to individuals with disabilities of all kinds. It hosts daily art classes, and one of the most recent projects was to create a mural that represents disability inclusivity. Board President, Adam Musfelt, described the meaning behind the mural.

“Red is for physical disability, white is for invisible or undiagnosed disabilities, gold is for neurodivergent disabilities, blue is for psychiatric disabilities and green is for sensory disabilities,” Musfelt said. “The butterfly represents transformation, the sunflower represents this kind of universal representation of unseen disabilities, and the people on the mural represent the inclusivity and the diversity of our community.”

Musfelt has been with the organization for over ten years and said he’s proud to be a part of something that is so accepting of others. He also mentioned how amazing his clients are.

“Oh, they’re awesome, and they all have so many talents,” Musfelt said. “It’s just an honor to be able to be a part of an organization that’s resourcing them and helping them out. To be their friend is a really a blessing.”

On the other side of town, the city of Belvidere welcomed a guest who’s on a national journey to spread disability awareness. Troy Smith is a father of a 21-year-old with disabilities who needs 100% of her parents’ time and care. Smith said as he’s gotten older, it’s become more difficult to give his daughter what she needs, but he realized that there wasn’t anywhere else for her to go.

“I came up with the idea of a community where adults with all sorts of disabilities would be able to spend their years after their parents or their family can no longer take care of them,” Smith said.”

He took this idea and nationalized it because he said he knows there are other parents across the country that are in a similar situation as him. Smith and his wife then created the Walking with Grace House , where they are fundraising in hopes to create livable communities for disabled adults in every state. While on his journey, Smith researched cities in Illinois, and found himself in Belvidere.

“I wanted to go to a local community, outside of bigger cities, because I know that’s where the real people are,” Smith said. “Belvidere, as much as I can see out there, is a great community and I would love it if this happened to be the right town in the right state.”

Smith will continue his journey across the U.S. with the goal of spreading the word to enough people.

Musfelt encouraged Smith’s idea and provided advice for those who wish to get involved in these types of organizations.

“Give opportunities to have activities to work, to play, to get together with one another, and just be inclusive and helpful and welcoming to folks that are different than you.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports.