[Colorado-Talk] FW: Discrimination against volunteers

[juliazanon at comcast.net]

Thank you so much for sharing this Christine. There is so much that is wrong
with the way you were treatedand stories like yours have to be taken
seriously to cause change.    

 

 

From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of
Christine Menges via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2025 4:27 PM
To: 'NFB of Colorado Discussion List' <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: christinemenges at comcast.net
Subject: [Colorado-Talk] FW: Discrimination against volunteers

 

Here is an email I sent big brothers big sisters.

 

From: christinemenges at comcast.net <mailto:christinemenges at comcast.net>
<christinemenges at comcast.net <mailto:christinemenges at comcast.net> > 
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2025 4:18 PM
To: 'info at bbbsa.org' <info at bbbsa.org <mailto:info at bbbsa.org> >
Subject: Discrimination against volunteers

 

To whom it may concern:

                Last November, I applied to be a big sister. During the
process I disclosed that I am blind. There was a question on the application
to see if I had a driver's license to which I answered no. At no point
during the process did it state that an applicant would be disqualified due
to lacking a license. Despite spending hours trying I was not able to set up
my finger printing appointment due to accessibility issues on the website. I
was appreciative when Nicole Erich emailed me and asked me about setting up
the appointment. I explained my situation and she said she would be more
than happy to set it up. We agreed on November 20, 2024. I took off two
hours of work and paid for an Uber to get to the appointment. When I
arrived, I was told that the finger printing system was down and someone
"should" have contacted me. No one had contacted me so although I was
disappointed, I rescheduled for December 2024. Again, I took off two hours
of work and paid for an Uber to go to the appointment.

At first, everything seemed normal with Javan offering to assist me to fill
out a paper form which requested personally identifying information. Then he
received a call and stepped out of the office. I initially thought it was
due to privacy concerns for another volunteer but minutes later he brought
the phone back in with his manager on speaker. The manager informed me that
I could not qualify due to my potential use of ride share. I was informed
that insurance wouldn't cover ride share but they could "find me something
else to do." This, finding me something else to do, was disingenuous because
they never fingerprinted me. 

                First, I was very open about the blindness so if they were
going to discriminate against me because they couldn't imagine being in
charge of a child as a blind person, they should have done so immediately
without wasting my $200.00 I spent taking time off work and getting Ubers
back and forth twice.  I expected to be judged the same way as any other
volunteer from the application and the results of the fingerprinting. I
would have been open to questions about my blindness I thought that the
final decision of whether        safety concerns should be left to the
parent. I didn't think every parent would be comfortable with the match but
from experience I knew some would. After all, I have successfully raised
four sighted children safely. For an organization that touts inclusivity
there appears to be a lot of work to be done.

Secondly, I did not appreciate the callous and indifferent way they treated
my time as a volunteer. If they didn't mean to fingerprint me there was no
need for me to come.

                Additionally, , I do not believe the ride sharing issue was
the true cause of my denial. There are other types of transportation which
do not include ride sharing, which they declined to explore. If your
employees are going to discriminate, they should do so openly. It could be
posted on the website, "don't apply if you are blind as BBBS doesn't see any
potential in blind mentors." I was summarily thrown away, without any
attempt to assess my strengths,  despite my experiences as a foster child
and parent. I believe this was due to someone's perception of what they
thought it would be like to be blind. Apparently, I had no potential. They
did not question anything; they made a snap decision.. I feel that BBBS
disrespected me as a person and showed little regard for my time. 

Naturally, I was very emotionally upset about the situation and so I reached
out to both my sighted and blind friends for feedback. My sighted friends
all believed that I was capable of caring for a child. They understood that
some people may have concerns but that the concerns should have been
addressed honestly and openly. Much to my dismay, my blind friends described
similar treatment from BBBS. I understand it is difficult for someone who
has been sighted their entire life to comprehend how I could care for a
child as a blind person. I would have submitted to supervised visits or
meeting in a specified public place to show my "worth" but was never given
the opportunity.

By denying a blind person from volunteering, you have denied a person with a
wealth of hard knocks experiences from encouraging a little. I am especially
sad for any blind littles who could have greatly benefited. Research has
shown that blind children who are exposed to successful blind professionals
tend to do better in their daily living skills and careers due to knowing
what is possible and having that person they can turn to for advice. When I
applied, I truly thought this concept was what BBBS stood for. I am very
disappointed to find otherwise.

                The blind community is quite large in the Denver area due to
a training school in Littleton.  While BBBS can continue to discriminate,
using whatever cover excuse they want,  we will work to inform the metro
area of the hypocrisy of BBBS. After all, the doners have a right to know
the type of work being done by BBBS employees whose salaries they fund. 

 

Sincerely,

Christine Menges

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