October 20, 2025 • 30 mins
This week’s show featured Dunham House executive director John Folsom previewing this forthcoming assisted living community for wounded combat veterans. Then, National Down Syndrome Society CEO Kandi Pickard talked about the significance of October as Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Community Matters, a weekly public affairs program to
inform and entertain you with some of the great people, organizations,
and events in and around Omaha. Now here's the host
of the program from news radio eleven ten kfab It's
Scott for Heats.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much for being a part of our
program this week. It is a pleasure to welcome back
on the show. The executive director of Dunham House of Omaha,
retired Marine Corp Colonel John Folsom, is here on Community
Matters and John, it's good to have you back on
the program.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I appreciate thanks very much.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Please, for those who are not familiar, tell me about
the Dunham House.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Well, Dunham House.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Is a facility that we're building basically a sixtieth in Craig.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Now.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
The new street coming in off of sixtieth to the
west toward Delamaha Country Club would be Jason Dunham Drive,
named for Corporal Jason Dunham, United States Marine Corps who
is who died of wounds and was awarded the Medal
of Honor for for saving his fellow marines UH in
Iraq in two thousand and four.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
What we're hoping to do and what we're actually under construction.
But the but the idea is that, well, we have
we have severely wounded combat veterans. I mean severely wounded.
I mean, you know, polytrauma, missing limbs, a lot of
traumatic brain injury.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Uh uh.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
And these are youngsters, I call him youngsters. I'm seventy
two years old. So these these these these you know,
they're their forty So they're you know, they're young enough
to to my sons and daughters. But they're at home.
They're at home right now with mom and dad. And
and so I was struck because I visited Bethesda Naval
Hospital a number of years ago and I met one
of these young men who was in the form the
(01:47):
Army second Infantry Division, and he was brain damaged to
his brain damage because of an ied and he's got
his mother or sister. They're at the hospital. I just
couldn't help. But wonder what will happen when mom no
longer able to take care of her son. Where's he
going to go? And the answer is he's going to
go like where Bert Crumb is. We'll talk about him
(02:07):
in a minute. I suppose uh is is in a home.
And and I thought we could do better by by
placing combat wounded veterans who have a similar background, a
similar life story together in a in a small house
type setting. This is thirty veterans as opposed to somebody
(02:30):
being sent to a regular assistant living center with you know,
two hundred people for inner people, most of whom will
not have shared his experience in combat, so he doesn't
have that center of attention or center of just the
center centering aspects of of of life. He'll uh here
(02:53):
at Dunham House, he'll have twenty one other combat veterans
that he shares the common common bond.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
This is under construction, hoping to be open next fall,
right late summer.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Yeah, we're looking. We're looking because of the importance of it.
September eleventh, twenty twenty six, twenty fifth anniversary of the
attacks in New York City in Washington, DC, and so
we think this will be an appropriate.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Time north central northeast Omaha, near Omaha Country Club. And
it's going to be a beautiful campus. I'm looking at
some of the plans for it right now. But let's
address what I'm sure that you've run into trying to
get all of this together. Some people might say like, well,
we have the VA and other options. As you mentioned,
we've got regular assisted living medical facilities. The people that
(03:41):
you're talking about can be And why do we need
a place specifically for combat veterans of an assisted living
community here in Omaha? They could just go to the VIA, right.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, the VIA doesn't do this.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
That's one of the v does not have any provisions
for long term care of this caliber. And again it
goes actually what I said a few minutes ago. I
could sure I could take somebody who's missing both of
his legs. I could take somebody who's severely uh severe.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Traumatic brain injury.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
You're right, I could put them with that what I
want to call the general population of a of what
we would all recognize as an assistant living center.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
The question then is why would you want to do that? Why?
Why why don't I take.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Somebody who has who has a shared experience, who has
an experience that very few people will will understand. Most
most Americans, thank god, have not gone to combat. Most
most Americans have not served our country, uh, whether it's
combat or not. So so the frame of reference for
this young man or this young woman is, is there.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Who's he, who's he who's he housed with.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
I'm not saying these people and assistant living centers are bad,
but they're just not.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
They're just not. You know, it's just I think that
you know part of it. Let me let me. I'm
wandering off, but let me.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Here's here's what I'm then you're on the right show.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Here's what I'm looking at.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
I believe that we have done We as the United
States of America, have done an incredible job with putting
broken bodies back together. My first tour in Iraq, I
had the privilege of working out of Campcrean Village surgically.
(05:29):
I was at the time running the Metavac helicopters out
of that part of Iraq, and I worked very very
closely with the doctors and corman who took combat wounded
in and helped put them back together. I have seen
the work done at Balboa, I've seen the work done
at Walter Reed, I've seen the work done at Bethesda.
(05:52):
We've done a great job, and we've saved lives. We've
saved lives that would have been lost during the Vietnam
era because we have advances of medical technology, and we
have certainly have advances in helicopter transportation where I can
fly at Blackhawk helicopter one hundred and forty nints per
hour as opposed to ninety nine. Hughey, I mean, we're
saving lives medically. What we can't do very well is
(06:20):
heal those spiritual wounds. That's what we can't do. We
cannot heal the spiritual wounds. And my vision is that
Dunham House will help heal those wounds that medicine cannot.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
It seems like when you're in the military, you are
part of a bank that might be you're part of
that team, and you all have a shared experience which
is unique that someone. Let's say you're in as we've
been talking about here, a regular assisted living community, and
your next door neighbor there in the community is someone
from the background, like radio for example. Okay, And so
(06:59):
a bad day for me at work is we might
have two programs on the air at the exact same time,
an unforgivable offense. It's the worst thing that could possibly happen,
so in some cases, worse than dead air. So I'm
telling him about my problems at work. He's like, yeah,
we ran into a problem. There was an I e
D bomb and that's how I ended up here and
(07:19):
some of my friends were killed. Well, that shared experience
is not so shared. You get into that band of
brothers where people know what your wounds are, physical, mental,
spiritual as you're talking about, and that is part of
helping people heal. And that's why it's so important to
be together as a community. Am I on the right thing?
Speaker 4 (07:38):
You're precisely the right track? I mean, that's that's that's
the quintessence of it. We were doing this and again
it just hear me out. We hope to heal the
wounds that medicine cannot. And again, this is assistant this
is assistant living. So we're assisting we have we have
young men and women right now who can't dress themselves
because of traumatic brain injuries.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
They can't dress.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Themselves, they can't feed themselves, they can't go to the
toilet by themselves. They they their minds are there, I
mean they're there's there, there, there's but their bodies aren't.
Aren't reacting. You know, that connection between body and mind
has been broken. And and so our objective is we're
going to let them live in dignity and as a
matter of fact. Uh, you know this is this is
(08:23):
you know, like thirty combat win the veterans and we're
there to serve them. So this is we're gonna treat
this as their residents. In other words, they are gonna
run the show. As matter of fact, We're going to
have a you know, the residents will decide. They're going
to decide what what they're gonna eat, They're gonna decide
what they want to do. They's they're they're going to
run the facility because it's going to be their home.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Now, we'll support that with staffing.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
But as far as making them feel as though they're
not in an institution that they are at home. And
if if somebody wakes up three o'clock in the morning
is hungry, then somebody's not going to tell him, hey,
you know, you know breakfast is at eight, go back
to sleep. Somebody had better be on the floor getting
that young guy something need at three o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Talking here with the executive director of Dunham House online
at Dunham House dot org. That's d U n h
A M. Dunham House dot org. Retired Marine Corps Colonel
John Folsom with us here on community matters. That's his name.
Now you mentioned a moment ago that I know you
want to come back to and Burt Crumb. Burt Crumb, yep,
tell me about mister Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
This is.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Mister Crumb is dying.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
He's he is in his eighties, grew up in the
Omaha Boys' Home. Graduated from Tech High School I think
it was nineteen sixty six, joined.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
The Marine Corps, got married at nineteen.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Went up to Vietnam and and Operation Kingfisher up in
the Quantree Province, which is a very very heavily contested
part of Vietnam, way up north by the DMZ that ICRPS,
Marine and I Corps had. Was wounded twice twenty third
of September nineteen sixty seventies, wounded by shrapnel. Then in
the twenty fifth of September nineteen sixty seven, he takes
(10:21):
almost a direct hit by a murdar round fragmentation wounds
throughout his body as his his traumatic brain injury, as
is in many of the cases. Sad to say, his
wife divorced him, she splits the program and he retire
medically retired as a lance corporal and lived on his
(10:44):
living out his life in the Veterans Home in Norfolk, Nebraska.
And and somebody him or his attorney or somebody saw
an article about Dunham House and said this is this
is it.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
And and.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Had mister Crumb been around, had we been around when
he was combat wounded, he would have been a perfect
candidate to come live with us. I've got be heading
out to California. I'm going to a memorial service for
a man named George Ross. George is the father of
(11:21):
Jason Ross. You look Jason up, Jason's all over, you know,
look at any search engine for staff stars and Jason Ross.
Jason Marine Corps, EOD Tech. Had his legs blown off
into his pelvis. He can't even sit in a wheelchair.
His wife left him. He left him with two daughters.
(11:42):
She split the program, so, you know, so he's on
his own. Mother and father are taking care of him.
He lives in Fallbrook, California right now. I've known Jason
for years, a very very pleasant young man, and you
never know that he was really that badly wounded by
his attitude.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
His father just died of a stroke a few months ago.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
His mother's you know, what am I gonna do with Jason,
And even though Jason's a California He's He's indicated we
have a conversation. He wants to come to Omaha, leave
the California lifestyle he's got in Fallbrook near San Diego,
and come to Oma. Why because he knows that he
cannot rely on his mother forever to take care of him,
to get him in and out of bed, to do
(12:21):
the things he requires that he can't do himself.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And he doesn't want that life for her.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
No, he doesn't, and I don't think not at all.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That's that's another reason why Dunham House can be such
a valuable resource because a lot of these guys, they
they they they're used to relying on their fellow members
of the military, but when it comes to family members,
close friends, they're not looking. They don't want to be
a charity case. You're right, So this this is a
tremendous opportunity.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Now.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
I know here in the time together we could share
several examples of this. But I want people to know
if they're encouraged by what you're doing for these wounded
combat veterans and they want to help you here as
you're coming in the final home stretch, and bringing Dunham
House to fruition. What can people do here today to help, Well,
it's always come.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
You know, let's let's face facts and cut to the
chases and say it comes.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Down to money.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
You need money.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
Money, Money is everything. And and you know, we have
people who volunteer. We people have reached out to us,
they can I come by and help out and we'll
work through that part of the program. But everything, unfortunately
comes down to cold, hard cash. And this is phase one.
Phase two envision will be a higher level of care,
(13:36):
skilled care, probably because we expect, you know, somebody's really
wounded that badly, life takes on a different trajectory and
and things happen more quickly than they would have had
that individual not been wounded, and so we expect people
(13:57):
to transition into a skilled nursing here. We don't want
you know, this is up to the residents of course,
but we don't wantnybody to leave. If they come here,
they like what they have, we want them to stay well.
To keep them here if they're transitioning to skilled care,
we have to have a skilled care facility. So that's
Phase two is to get that built at some point. Well,
(14:17):
it's going to take another ten million dollars, so just money.
And I think Omaha, Omaha is a great city and
we have a lot of what I call quiet money here.
And I suspect that once people understand what we're doing
with Dunham House, that individuals, corporations, foundations will will seek
to help us expand our mission and sustain the mission
(14:39):
we've got now.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I hope you have as many people contacting you via
Dunhamhouse dot org to ask how they can help in
that regard financially. If they're so inclined to be able
to do that, you'll probably ask. Some people also reach
out and say, either for me or for someone I know,
this would be a perfect place for me or a
friend of mine to lo of. What is the process
(15:02):
like for being a resident at Dunham House.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Well, we're taking applications now and we don't know how
many people to expect to apply. We think it will
be hundreds, if not more.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
What is this campus built to be able to accommodate
thirty thirty?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
So we have thirty, so it's a small number. I
guess My vision is that is that if this model
works and we can prove it it works, then there
may be other cities around the country that would say,
we look, we'd like to have something like this, and
we you know, we're breaking the ground on the on
(15:39):
how to do it, how to build it, what needs
to be done, and have other cities perhaps build their own,
and we certainly would assist those folks and.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Getting off the ground we do have.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
Getting back to the original question about applicants, we're putting
a team together, team of professionals who will who will
screen the applications and do our level best to select
those people who would benefit the most from what we're offering.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
You have room for thirty That means that someone will
be thirty one right on that list. That's got that's
got to be crushing.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
It is.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
And again, wait for Elon Musk to call me. Hey, Elon,
here's my show. Hey four zero you know four zero two,
four nine zero seven, eight seventy five, give me a call, Elon. Uh,
put up a billion dollars and we'll go to town.
That's all it's going to take. It's only Elon Musk
for example, and say hey, this is all this is.
I can get into this and do it. That's what
(16:40):
it takes. Just money, hate to say it, but that's
the coin of the realm. And uh, you know, a
dollar's worth, you know, better than ten dollars to talk,
you know.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
So right, Yeah, and if you're not right now the
leader of your own space program, and you can't give
a billion dollars, certainly anything you can provide, Yes, you
can put that to good use.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Yes, absolutely, we're very very frugal. We're very efficient with
what we're doing and promise people that were good stewards
of whatever gifts we receive.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
You will find the Dunham House online at Dunham House
dot org assisted living facility coming to Omaha next year,
specifically for combat wounded veterans. The executive director of Dunham
House is a retired Marine Corps Colonel John Folsom. John,
thank you so much for your service to our nation.
Thank you for your service to your fellow members of
(17:34):
the military and specifically these combat wounded veterans. Thank you
very much for telling us about it on Community matters. Oh,
I appreciate the opportunity and thank you for being with
us on community matters. October is National Down Syndrome Awareness month.
For more on this topic, here's iHeartRadio's many munhos. Talking
with the special guest Candy Pickard.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
She's CEO and President of the National Down Syndrome Society MDSS.
Can I appreciate the time, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Happy to be here.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
So let's start off with that.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
I think a lot of people might think they know
what Down syndrome is when they see it, But what
is Down syndrome?
Speaker 5 (18:10):
So Down syndrome is a genetic disorder.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
It's the people with Down syndrome have a third copy
of the twenty first chromosome, which creates Down syndrome. It
is something that can be diagnosed prenatally, and it's also
something that some people don't get those prenatal tests done
ahead of time and can be diagnosed post Natalie, which
was my case when I have my son with Down syndrome.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
Well let me get into that a little bit. How
has your familial experience with your son affected your work
at the National Down Syndrome Society.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
Well, thank you for asking.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
So, my son Mason is now thirteen. I have been
with NDSS for ten years, have celebrated ten years this year,
and I think having Mason, I did not have that
prenatal diagnosis as I kind of alluded to, and he
was my fourth and final child as I like to say,
But Mason really.
Speaker 5 (19:05):
Shifted my career.
Speaker 7 (19:08):
To be very honest, I think that I was always
involved in in kind of operations and admin work and
did a lot of different type of operational pieces, but
after having Mason, I just wanted to get involved with
our local community and help support the Down syndrom community,
which led me to an opportunity at NDSS and.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
It's just been a it's been a privilege for me.
Speaker 7 (19:31):
To be able to serve this community but also walk
alongside a lot of folks who have advocated for us
for many, many years to have the rights that we do.
Speaker 6 (19:39):
Now, you're in an interesting situation because obviously you're living
it with Mason, but also your job, which obviously is
more than a job because of Mason. What do you
think are some of the biggest misconceptions that people still have,
even in this day and age, about Down syndrome and
more importantly people with Down syndrome.
Speaker 7 (20:00):
Absolutely, I always share this story, Nanna because and it's
a personal story to me, but I think it speaks
to how far we've come. Is when I after I
had Mason. I remember telling my grandmother at the time,
who was in her nineties has now passed, but I
told her that Mason had Down syndrome, and she had
all kinds of questions and one of the first things
she asked me was was Mason.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Have to go to an institution?
Speaker 7 (20:21):
And this was thirteen years ago and that was all
she knew. So when we talk about these misconceptions, I
think that's one of them, is that folks still don't
always necessarily see that individuals with Down center are truly
making meaningful contributions to society. And that shifted a lot
over the last you know, you know, fifty plus years.
(20:43):
Is we're looking at you know, medical interventions, we're looking
at education shifts, we're talking about integration into communities. All
of that is just showcasing, you know what, individuals with
Down syndrome can do their own talents and goals just
like anyone else.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
Pologize in advance if some of the questions are insensitive.
We hear a lot these days about autism, right, and
there's all sorts of places where someone could be on
the spectrum. Are there are there different levels of Down
syndrome or is it you have Down syndrome, and this
(21:21):
is what your life is going to be like.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
And what you were like.
Speaker 7 (21:24):
No, I think it's a great question, and I appreciate
asking the question. I think that just like typical individuals,
right like, we all have different abilities, and I think
individuals with down center are very much in that same
same piece. There are cognitive delays right with individuals with
Down syndrome. Now, there is another type of Down syndrome
(21:44):
called mosaic Down syndrome, which they have less cognitive delays
than they do with tritell ME twenty one.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
So there are some.
Speaker 7 (21:51):
Differences in that I don't believe, and I'm not a doctor,
so I can't medically speak to this, But I don't
believe that there's an actual spectrum like there is within
the autism community. But I think when we look at
individuals with downsent room, there are dual diagnosis as well.
So there's individuals with downsyndroom who have autism, there's individuals
with down center who have other you know, diagnoses that
(22:13):
you know can sometimes either create more challenges or create
just different you know, health needs that that our community
might have.
Speaker 6 (22:21):
You mentioned, it's a genetic disorder. Do we do we
know what causes the disorder.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
That's a very good question.
Speaker 7 (22:27):
I'm probably not the most equipped person to answer that,
but I think it's a splitting of a chromoson if
I'm if I'm not mistaken, off the top of my
head without having all the details in front of me,
I think it's not something that's genetic, you know. I
think that it is a genetic kind of disorder, but
it's not something that's passed down.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
There's a lot of unique stories to where you have.
Speaker 7 (22:46):
Individuals or mothers and fathers that may have a set
of twins and one has Down syndrome and one doesn't
have Down syndrome, right, And there's also stories out there
about twins of two individuals with Down center, which is
more rare. And then you even get to the point
many where you have you know, two separate burths that
have you know, they have individuals at downsent, and so
(23:06):
I think there's still a lot of research being done
in that space to truly understand these correlations and connections you.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Mentioned about your grandmother and all of the questions. It
does feel though like we've come a long way. I remember,
I'm old, but I remember when I was growing up
in the seventies and eighties, we kind of had a
different a different view of people with Down syndrome. And
now you see them and many of them, I don't
(23:34):
know they're completely self sufficient, but they're productive adults in
our society, and we have a different view about exactly
what it means to have Down syndrome that we might
have thirty or forty years ago.
Speaker 7 (23:47):
Absolutely absolutely, And I think that's NDSS was funded by
a mom who wanted more for her daughter with Down
Center Man. This was in nineteen seventy nine, and I
think that from the beginning of NDSS as founding, we
really wanted to shift that conversation from what people with
Down syndrome can't do to what it takes to help
them thrive. And I think that that's all very different
(24:09):
and unique to each family. But I think that one
of the bigger things that has happened over the last
few decades is around inclusion. And I think that we've
seen inclusion in workplaces, We've seen inclusion in schools and
in society. And I think that you know, when you
get to know somebody with Down syndrome, will it will
change your life and it will change it for the
(24:31):
better to where you start to presume competence and also
look at what supports this person would need to really
thrive in their society.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
A couple more minutes here with Candy Pickard, CEO and
President of the National Down Syndrome Society, how how do
you envision Mason living in five, ten, fifteen years, because
the needs do change as they become adults.
Speaker 7 (24:59):
Absolutely, And I think you know, obviously Mason's unique, and
he has his own strengths and weaknesses, and I always
compared to my other three children that I have.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
But I think you know right now.
Speaker 7 (25:09):
If I was to ask Mason what he wants to
be when he grows up, you know, he wants.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
To be a musician and writes all into music. We start,
we start guitar lessons tonight. Many. We're very excited about him.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
What music does he like?
Speaker 6 (25:21):
What musicians does he like?
Speaker 7 (25:22):
Oh jeez, well, we have this privileged many of working
very closely with Mark Tremonti, who is who is an
amazing guitar player and a founder of Creed and all
these fames, and he has a daughter with Down syndromean
So Mason has been on a creed and ultra grate
kind of path over the last you know, a few
years since we've gotten to know Mark.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
So when he goes to guitar lessons, he wants to.
Speaker 7 (25:45):
Play like Mark Tremonti, which it might take him a
little bit of time to get there and to do that, but.
Speaker 5 (25:50):
He's inspired him right to do more. But I think,
you know, when I look at the future for Mason,
I mean as I want with all my other kids, I.
Speaker 7 (25:57):
Just want productive members of society, right I want Mason
to be able to fill his goals and his dreams.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
Of whatever that might be. Right now. He wants to
be on stage and be a performer.
Speaker 6 (26:09):
That's awesome.
Speaker 7 (26:10):
And so I think that when I look at that
as my job as a mom, and even as you know,
the leader of NDSS is how do we how do
we make our dreams for our loved ones with down
syndrome come true? And there's always different ways for our
community to be involved and to be part of these
these stories, and each and everyone and each you want,
every one of your listeners has an opportunity to be part.
Speaker 5 (26:32):
Of those stories and that inclusive behavior.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
Can I tell you something just listening to you I
I don't know the work that you do for the
National Down Syndrome Society, but your answer that you just
gave me to that question, the joy which you spoke
about your son, Mason, and the fact that you compare
Mason to your three other kids, I think that alone,
(26:57):
listening to you dispels any misconceptions or myths people might
have about the abilities of someone with Down syndrome. It
was it made me smile from the inside out.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
It was beautiful.
Speaker 5 (27:10):
Oh well, thank you.
Speaker 7 (27:12):
I mean, I think that's that's a piece that I
always you know, when somebody gets a diagnosis of Down
center and the first thing that I always say, and
that I encourage everybody to say, is congratulations. I mean,
it's a baby, and it is a baby who is
going to bring so much joy to your life. And
there could be different experiences that you have within that,
(27:32):
but I can you know, I can guarantee that when
our community gets together, there is when you talk about joy,
there's so much joy in the Down Syndroom community.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 6 (27:41):
October, as I mentioned, is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
What does this month mean for you, not only obviously
as a parent, but in your job. What do you
hope this month brings in terms of awareness.
Speaker 7 (27:56):
Yeah, I mean for us, it's it is about awareness.
But I think it's just taking the opportunity to either
get involved in your local community with a Down syndrome
association that's locally, get involved with us nationally. We do
a lot of work in policy and health and awareness.
I think it is just for us about just get
(28:17):
to know somebody with Down syndrome, or take even the
extra step and maybe you hire somebody with Down syndrome
in your in your you know, in your place of employment,
or you consider doing an internship, or.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Just give somebody an opportunity to have a conversation.
Speaker 7 (28:31):
It's just as simple as that, because I guarantee you
that if you hire somebody with Down cinder, for example,
it will be your most loyal employee that you ever find.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
Like, there is a story just very quickly.
Speaker 7 (28:43):
I know your time is limited, but there's a young
man who who had a death in his family most
recently and you know, they said he had to take
some time off from his job to do that, and
he said.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
You know, I don't my job needs me.
Speaker 7 (28:56):
And after the passing of this very close loved one
of him, he showed up to work, you know a
few hours later and wanted to you know, show up
for his employees and for his employer to be able
to follow through with what.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
He needed, even though it was very clear to him
he did not need to go to work.
Speaker 7 (29:13):
And I think that that just speaks to people with
Down syndrome, like show up for each other, but they
also show up for us and in really special ways.
But I think we could learn a lot from them
on how we show up for each other, you know,
in our communities.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
The website, by the way, is NDSS dot org. Candy Pickard, CEO,
President of the National Down Syndrome Society, thank you for
your time, thank you for what you're doing and and
the true joy you clearly bring to the job.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
I really appreciate it. Best of luck.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Thank you so much, Benny.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
This has been Community Matters, a weekly public affairs special
on KAT one O three, Omaha's Greatest Hits, ninety nine
point nine, kg R News Radio, eleven ten KFAB, Country's
Greatest Hits ninety three three The Wolf, and ninety six
one Kiss FM. Thank you so much for listening, and
enjoy the rest of your day.
This is Community Matters, a weekly public affairs program to
inform and entertain you with some of the great people, organizations,
and events in and around Omaha. Now here's the host
of the program from news radio eleven ten kfab It's
Scott for Heats.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much for being a part of our
program this week. It is a pleasure to welcome back
on the show. The executive director of Dunham House of Omaha,
retired Marine Corp Colonel John Folsom, is here on Community
Matters and John, it's good to have you back on
the program.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I appreciate thanks very much.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Please, for those who are not familiar, tell me about
the Dunham House.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Well, Dunham House.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Is a facility that we're building basically a sixtieth in Craig.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Now.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
The new street coming in off of sixtieth to the
west toward Delamaha Country Club would be Jason Dunham Drive,
named for Corporal Jason Dunham, United States Marine Corps who
is who died of wounds and was awarded the Medal
of Honor for for saving his fellow marines UH in
Iraq in two thousand and four.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
What we're hoping to do and what we're actually under construction.
But the but the idea is that, well, we have
we have severely wounded combat veterans. I mean severely wounded.
I mean, you know, polytrauma, missing limbs, a lot of
traumatic brain injury.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Uh uh.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
And these are youngsters, I call him youngsters. I'm seventy
two years old. So these these these these you know,
they're their forty So they're you know, they're young enough
to to my sons and daughters. But they're at home.
They're at home right now with mom and dad. And
and so I was struck because I visited Bethesda Naval
Hospital a number of years ago and I met one
of these young men who was in the form the
(01:47):
Army second Infantry Division, and he was brain damaged to
his brain damage because of an ied and he's got
his mother or sister. They're at the hospital. I just
couldn't help. But wonder what will happen when mom no
longer able to take care of her son. Where's he
going to go? And the answer is he's going to
go like where Bert Crumb is. We'll talk about him
(02:07):
in a minute. I suppose uh is is in a home.
And and I thought we could do better by by
placing combat wounded veterans who have a similar background, a
similar life story together in a in a small house
type setting. This is thirty veterans as opposed to somebody
(02:30):
being sent to a regular assistant living center with you know,
two hundred people for inner people, most of whom will
not have shared his experience in combat, so he doesn't
have that center of attention or center of just the
center centering aspects of of of life. He'll uh here
(02:53):
at Dunham House, he'll have twenty one other combat veterans
that he shares the common common bond.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
This is under construction, hoping to be open next fall,
right late summer.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Yeah, we're looking. We're looking because of the importance of it.
September eleventh, twenty twenty six, twenty fifth anniversary of the
attacks in New York City in Washington, DC, and so
we think this will be an appropriate.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Time north central northeast Omaha, near Omaha Country Club. And
it's going to be a beautiful campus. I'm looking at
some of the plans for it right now. But let's
address what I'm sure that you've run into trying to
get all of this together. Some people might say like, well,
we have the VA and other options. As you mentioned,
we've got regular assisted living medical facilities. The people that
(03:41):
you're talking about can be And why do we need
a place specifically for combat veterans of an assisted living
community here in Omaha? They could just go to the VIA, right.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, the VIA doesn't do this.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
That's one of the v does not have any provisions
for long term care of this caliber. And again it
goes actually what I said a few minutes ago. I
could sure I could take somebody who's missing both of
his legs. I could take somebody who's severely uh severe.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Traumatic brain injury.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
You're right, I could put them with that what I
want to call the general population of a of what
we would all recognize as an assistant living center.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
The question then is why would you want to do that? Why?
Why why don't I take.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Somebody who has who has a shared experience, who has
an experience that very few people will will understand. Most
most Americans, thank god, have not gone to combat. Most
most Americans have not served our country, uh, whether it's
combat or not. So so the frame of reference for
this young man or this young woman is, is there.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Who's he, who's he who's he housed with.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
I'm not saying these people and assistant living centers are bad,
but they're just not.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
They're just not. You know, it's just I think that
you know part of it. Let me let me. I'm
wandering off, but let me.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Here's here's what I'm then you're on the right show.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Here's what I'm looking at.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
I believe that we have done We as the United
States of America, have done an incredible job with putting
broken bodies back together. My first tour in Iraq, I
had the privilege of working out of Campcrean Village surgically.
(05:29):
I was at the time running the Metavac helicopters out
of that part of Iraq, and I worked very very
closely with the doctors and corman who took combat wounded
in and helped put them back together. I have seen
the work done at Balboa, I've seen the work done
at Walter Reed, I've seen the work done at Bethesda.
(05:52):
We've done a great job, and we've saved lives. We've
saved lives that would have been lost during the Vietnam
era because we have advances of medical technology, and we
have certainly have advances in helicopter transportation where I can
fly at Blackhawk helicopter one hundred and forty nints per
hour as opposed to ninety nine. Hughey, I mean, we're
saving lives medically. What we can't do very well is
(06:20):
heal those spiritual wounds. That's what we can't do. We
cannot heal the spiritual wounds. And my vision is that
Dunham House will help heal those wounds that medicine cannot.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
It seems like when you're in the military, you are
part of a bank that might be you're part of
that team, and you all have a shared experience which
is unique that someone. Let's say you're in as we've
been talking about here, a regular assisted living community, and
your next door neighbor there in the community is someone
from the background, like radio for example. Okay, And so
(06:59):
a bad day for me at work is we might
have two programs on the air at the exact same time,
an unforgivable offense. It's the worst thing that could possibly happen,
so in some cases, worse than dead air. So I'm
telling him about my problems at work. He's like, yeah,
we ran into a problem. There was an I e
D bomb and that's how I ended up here and
(07:19):
some of my friends were killed. Well, that shared experience
is not so shared. You get into that band of
brothers where people know what your wounds are, physical, mental,
spiritual as you're talking about, and that is part of
helping people heal. And that's why it's so important to
be together as a community. Am I on the right thing?
Speaker 4 (07:38):
You're precisely the right track? I mean, that's that's that's
the quintessence of it. We were doing this and again
it just hear me out. We hope to heal the
wounds that medicine cannot. And again, this is assistant this
is assistant living. So we're assisting we have we have
young men and women right now who can't dress themselves
because of traumatic brain injuries.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
They can't dress.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Themselves, they can't feed themselves, they can't go to the
toilet by themselves. They they their minds are there, I
mean they're there's there, there, there's but their bodies aren't.
Aren't reacting. You know, that connection between body and mind
has been broken. And and so our objective is we're
going to let them live in dignity and as a
matter of fact. Uh, you know this is this is
(08:23):
you know, like thirty combat win the veterans and we're
there to serve them. So this is we're gonna treat
this as their residents. In other words, they are gonna
run the show. As matter of fact, We're going to
have a you know, the residents will decide. They're going
to decide what what they're gonna eat, They're gonna decide
what they want to do. They's they're they're going to
run the facility because it's going to be their home.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Now, we'll support that with staffing.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
But as far as making them feel as though they're
not in an institution that they are at home. And
if if somebody wakes up three o'clock in the morning
is hungry, then somebody's not going to tell him, hey,
you know, you know breakfast is at eight, go back
to sleep. Somebody had better be on the floor getting
that young guy something need at three o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Talking here with the executive director of Dunham House online
at Dunham House dot org. That's d U n h
A M. Dunham House dot org. Retired Marine Corps Colonel
John Folsom with us here on community matters. That's his name.
Now you mentioned a moment ago that I know you
want to come back to and Burt Crumb. Burt Crumb, yep,
tell me about mister Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
This is.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Mister Crumb is dying.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
He's he is in his eighties, grew up in the
Omaha Boys' Home. Graduated from Tech High School I think
it was nineteen sixty six, joined.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
The Marine Corps, got married at nineteen.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Went up to Vietnam and and Operation Kingfisher up in
the Quantree Province, which is a very very heavily contested
part of Vietnam, way up north by the DMZ that ICRPS,
Marine and I Corps had. Was wounded twice twenty third
of September nineteen sixty seventies, wounded by shrapnel. Then in
the twenty fifth of September nineteen sixty seven, he takes
(10:21):
almost a direct hit by a murdar round fragmentation wounds
throughout his body as his his traumatic brain injury, as
is in many of the cases. Sad to say, his
wife divorced him, she splits the program and he retire
medically retired as a lance corporal and lived on his
(10:44):
living out his life in the Veterans Home in Norfolk, Nebraska.
And and somebody him or his attorney or somebody saw
an article about Dunham House and said this is this
is it.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
And and.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Had mister Crumb been around, had we been around when
he was combat wounded, he would have been a perfect
candidate to come live with us. I've got be heading
out to California. I'm going to a memorial service for
a man named George Ross. George is the father of
(11:21):
Jason Ross. You look Jason up, Jason's all over, you know,
look at any search engine for staff stars and Jason Ross.
Jason Marine Corps, EOD Tech. Had his legs blown off
into his pelvis. He can't even sit in a wheelchair.
His wife left him. He left him with two daughters.
(11:42):
She split the program, so, you know, so he's on
his own. Mother and father are taking care of him.
He lives in Fallbrook, California right now. I've known Jason
for years, a very very pleasant young man, and you
never know that he was really that badly wounded by
his attitude.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
His father just died of a stroke a few months ago.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
His mother's you know, what am I gonna do with Jason,
And even though Jason's a California He's He's indicated we
have a conversation. He wants to come to Omaha, leave
the California lifestyle he's got in Fallbrook near San Diego,
and come to Oma. Why because he knows that he
cannot rely on his mother forever to take care of him,
to get him in and out of bed, to do
(12:21):
the things he requires that he can't do himself.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And he doesn't want that life for her.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
No, he doesn't, and I don't think not at all.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That's that's another reason why Dunham House can be such
a valuable resource because a lot of these guys, they
they they they're used to relying on their fellow members
of the military, but when it comes to family members,
close friends, they're not looking. They don't want to be
a charity case. You're right, So this this is a
tremendous opportunity.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Now.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
I know here in the time together we could share
several examples of this. But I want people to know
if they're encouraged by what you're doing for these wounded
combat veterans and they want to help you here as
you're coming in the final home stretch, and bringing Dunham
House to fruition. What can people do here today to help, Well,
it's always come.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
You know, let's let's face facts and cut to the
chases and say it comes.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Down to money.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
You need money.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
Money, Money is everything. And and you know, we have
people who volunteer. We people have reached out to us,
they can I come by and help out and we'll
work through that part of the program. But everything, unfortunately
comes down to cold, hard cash. And this is phase one.
Phase two envision will be a higher level of care,
(13:36):
skilled care, probably because we expect, you know, somebody's really
wounded that badly, life takes on a different trajectory and
and things happen more quickly than they would have had
that individual not been wounded, and so we expect people
(13:57):
to transition into a skilled nursing here. We don't want
you know, this is up to the residents of course,
but we don't wantnybody to leave. If they come here,
they like what they have, we want them to stay well.
To keep them here if they're transitioning to skilled care,
we have to have a skilled care facility. So that's
Phase two is to get that built at some point. Well,
(14:17):
it's going to take another ten million dollars, so just money.
And I think Omaha, Omaha is a great city and
we have a lot of what I call quiet money here.
And I suspect that once people understand what we're doing
with Dunham House, that individuals, corporations, foundations will will seek
to help us expand our mission and sustain the mission
(14:39):
we've got now.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I hope you have as many people contacting you via
Dunhamhouse dot org to ask how they can help in
that regard financially. If they're so inclined to be able
to do that, you'll probably ask. Some people also reach
out and say, either for me or for someone I know,
this would be a perfect place for me or a
friend of mine to lo of. What is the process
(15:02):
like for being a resident at Dunham House.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Well, we're taking applications now and we don't know how
many people to expect to apply. We think it will
be hundreds, if not more.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
What is this campus built to be able to accommodate
thirty thirty?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
So we have thirty, so it's a small number. I
guess My vision is that is that if this model
works and we can prove it it works, then there
may be other cities around the country that would say,
we look, we'd like to have something like this, and
we you know, we're breaking the ground on the on
(15:39):
how to do it, how to build it, what needs
to be done, and have other cities perhaps build their own,
and we certainly would assist those folks and.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Getting off the ground we do have.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
Getting back to the original question about applicants, we're putting
a team together, team of professionals who will who will
screen the applications and do our level best to select
those people who would benefit the most from what we're offering.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
You have room for thirty That means that someone will
be thirty one right on that list. That's got that's
got to be crushing.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
It is.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
And again, wait for Elon Musk to call me. Hey, Elon,
here's my show. Hey four zero you know four zero two,
four nine zero seven, eight seventy five, give me a call, Elon. Uh,
put up a billion dollars and we'll go to town.
That's all it's going to take. It's only Elon Musk
for example, and say hey, this is all this is.
I can get into this and do it. That's what
(16:40):
it takes. Just money, hate to say it, but that's
the coin of the realm. And uh, you know, a
dollar's worth, you know, better than ten dollars to talk,
you know.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
So right, Yeah, and if you're not right now the
leader of your own space program, and you can't give
a billion dollars, certainly anything you can provide, Yes, you
can put that to good use.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Yes, absolutely, we're very very frugal. We're very efficient with
what we're doing and promise people that were good stewards
of whatever gifts we receive.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
You will find the Dunham House online at Dunham House
dot org assisted living facility coming to Omaha next year,
specifically for combat wounded veterans. The executive director of Dunham
House is a retired Marine Corps Colonel John Folsom. John,
thank you so much for your service to our nation.
Thank you for your service to your fellow members of
(17:34):
the military and specifically these combat wounded veterans. Thank you
very much for telling us about it on Community matters. Oh,
I appreciate the opportunity and thank you for being with
us on community matters. October is National Down Syndrome Awareness month.
For more on this topic, here's iHeartRadio's many munhos. Talking
with the special guest Candy Pickard.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
She's CEO and President of the National Down Syndrome Society MDSS.
Can I appreciate the time, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Happy to be here.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
So let's start off with that.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
I think a lot of people might think they know
what Down syndrome is when they see it, But what
is Down syndrome?
Speaker 5 (18:10):
So Down syndrome is a genetic disorder.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
It's the people with Down syndrome have a third copy
of the twenty first chromosome, which creates Down syndrome. It
is something that can be diagnosed prenatally, and it's also
something that some people don't get those prenatal tests done
ahead of time and can be diagnosed post Natalie, which
was my case when I have my son with Down syndrome.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
Well let me get into that a little bit. How
has your familial experience with your son affected your work
at the National Down Syndrome Society.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
Well, thank you for asking.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
So, my son Mason is now thirteen. I have been
with NDSS for ten years, have celebrated ten years this year,
and I think having Mason, I did not have that
prenatal diagnosis as I kind of alluded to, and he
was my fourth and final child as I like to say,
But Mason really.
Speaker 5 (19:05):
Shifted my career.
Speaker 7 (19:08):
To be very honest, I think that I was always
involved in in kind of operations and admin work and
did a lot of different type of operational pieces, but
after having Mason, I just wanted to get involved with
our local community and help support the Down syndrom community,
which led me to an opportunity at NDSS and.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
It's just been a it's been a privilege for me.
Speaker 7 (19:31):
To be able to serve this community but also walk
alongside a lot of folks who have advocated for us
for many, many years to have the rights that we do.
Speaker 6 (19:39):
Now, you're in an interesting situation because obviously you're living
it with Mason, but also your job, which obviously is
more than a job because of Mason. What do you
think are some of the biggest misconceptions that people still have,
even in this day and age, about Down syndrome and
more importantly people with Down syndrome.
Speaker 7 (20:00):
Absolutely, I always share this story, Nanna because and it's
a personal story to me, but I think it speaks
to how far we've come. Is when I after I
had Mason. I remember telling my grandmother at the time,
who was in her nineties has now passed, but I
told her that Mason had Down syndrome, and she had
all kinds of questions and one of the first things
she asked me was was Mason.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Have to go to an institution?
Speaker 7 (20:21):
And this was thirteen years ago and that was all
she knew. So when we talk about these misconceptions, I
think that's one of them, is that folks still don't
always necessarily see that individuals with Down center are truly
making meaningful contributions to society. And that shifted a lot
over the last you know, you know, fifty plus years.
(20:43):
Is we're looking at you know, medical interventions, we're looking
at education shifts, we're talking about integration into communities. All
of that is just showcasing, you know what, individuals with
Down syndrome can do their own talents and goals just
like anyone else.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
Pologize in advance if some of the questions are insensitive.
We hear a lot these days about autism, right, and
there's all sorts of places where someone could be on
the spectrum. Are there are there different levels of Down
syndrome or is it you have Down syndrome, and this
(21:21):
is what your life is going to be like.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
And what you were like.
Speaker 7 (21:24):
No, I think it's a great question, and I appreciate
asking the question. I think that just like typical individuals,
right like, we all have different abilities, and I think
individuals with down center are very much in that same
same piece. There are cognitive delays right with individuals with
Down syndrome. Now, there is another type of Down syndrome
(21:44):
called mosaic Down syndrome, which they have less cognitive delays
than they do with tritell ME twenty one.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
So there are some.
Speaker 7 (21:51):
Differences in that I don't believe, and I'm not a doctor,
so I can't medically speak to this, But I don't
believe that there's an actual spectrum like there is within
the autism community. But I think when we look at
individuals with downsent room, there are dual diagnosis as well.
So there's individuals with downsyndroom who have autism, there's individuals
with down center who have other you know, diagnoses that
(22:13):
you know can sometimes either create more challenges or create
just different you know, health needs that that our community
might have.
Speaker 6 (22:21):
You mentioned, it's a genetic disorder. Do we do we
know what causes the disorder.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
That's a very good question.
Speaker 7 (22:27):
I'm probably not the most equipped person to answer that,
but I think it's a splitting of a chromoson if
I'm if I'm not mistaken, off the top of my
head without having all the details in front of me,
I think it's not something that's genetic, you know. I
think that it is a genetic kind of disorder, but
it's not something that's passed down.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
There's a lot of unique stories to where you have.
Speaker 7 (22:46):
Individuals or mothers and fathers that may have a set
of twins and one has Down syndrome and one doesn't
have Down syndrome, right, And there's also stories out there
about twins of two individuals with Down center, which is
more rare. And then you even get to the point
many where you have you know, two separate burths that
have you know, they have individuals at downsent, and so
(23:06):
I think there's still a lot of research being done
in that space to truly understand these correlations and connections you.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Mentioned about your grandmother and all of the questions. It
does feel though like we've come a long way. I remember,
I'm old, but I remember when I was growing up
in the seventies and eighties, we kind of had a
different a different view of people with Down syndrome. And
now you see them and many of them, I don't
(23:34):
know they're completely self sufficient, but they're productive adults in
our society, and we have a different view about exactly
what it means to have Down syndrome that we might
have thirty or forty years ago.
Speaker 7 (23:47):
Absolutely absolutely, And I think that's NDSS was funded by
a mom who wanted more for her daughter with Down
Center Man. This was in nineteen seventy nine, and I
think that from the beginning of NDSS as founding, we
really wanted to shift that conversation from what people with
Down syndrome can't do to what it takes to help
them thrive. And I think that that's all very different
(24:09):
and unique to each family. But I think that one
of the bigger things that has happened over the last
few decades is around inclusion. And I think that we've
seen inclusion in workplaces, We've seen inclusion in schools and
in society. And I think that you know, when you
get to know somebody with Down syndrome, will it will
change your life and it will change it for the
(24:31):
better to where you start to presume competence and also
look at what supports this person would need to really
thrive in their society.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
A couple more minutes here with Candy Pickard, CEO and
President of the National Down Syndrome Society, how how do
you envision Mason living in five, ten, fifteen years, because
the needs do change as they become adults.
Speaker 7 (24:59):
Absolutely, And I think you know, obviously Mason's unique, and
he has his own strengths and weaknesses, and I always
compared to my other three children that I have.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
But I think you know right now.
Speaker 7 (25:09):
If I was to ask Mason what he wants to
be when he grows up, you know, he wants.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
To be a musician and writes all into music. We start,
we start guitar lessons tonight. Many. We're very excited about him.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
What music does he like?
Speaker 6 (25:21):
What musicians does he like?
Speaker 7 (25:22):
Oh jeez, well, we have this privileged many of working
very closely with Mark Tremonti, who is who is an
amazing guitar player and a founder of Creed and all
these fames, and he has a daughter with Down syndromean
So Mason has been on a creed and ultra grate
kind of path over the last you know, a few
years since we've gotten to know Mark.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
So when he goes to guitar lessons, he wants to.
Speaker 7 (25:45):
Play like Mark Tremonti, which it might take him a
little bit of time to get there and to do that, but.
Speaker 5 (25:50):
He's inspired him right to do more. But I think,
you know, when I look at the future for Mason,
I mean as I want with all my other kids, I.
Speaker 7 (25:57):
Just want productive members of society, right I want Mason
to be able to fill his goals and his dreams.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
Of whatever that might be. Right now. He wants to
be on stage and be a performer.
Speaker 6 (26:09):
That's awesome.
Speaker 7 (26:10):
And so I think that when I look at that
as my job as a mom, and even as you know,
the leader of NDSS is how do we how do
we make our dreams for our loved ones with down
syndrome come true? And there's always different ways for our
community to be involved and to be part of these
these stories, and each and everyone and each you want,
every one of your listeners has an opportunity to be part.
Speaker 5 (26:32):
Of those stories and that inclusive behavior.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
Can I tell you something just listening to you I
I don't know the work that you do for the
National Down Syndrome Society, but your answer that you just
gave me to that question, the joy which you spoke
about your son, Mason, and the fact that you compare
Mason to your three other kids, I think that alone,
(26:57):
listening to you dispels any misconceptions or myths people might
have about the abilities of someone with Down syndrome. It
was it made me smile from the inside out.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
It was beautiful.
Speaker 5 (27:10):
Oh well, thank you.
Speaker 7 (27:12):
I mean, I think that's that's a piece that I
always you know, when somebody gets a diagnosis of Down
center and the first thing that I always say, and
that I encourage everybody to say, is congratulations. I mean,
it's a baby, and it is a baby who is
going to bring so much joy to your life. And
there could be different experiences that you have within that,
(27:32):
but I can you know, I can guarantee that when
our community gets together, there is when you talk about joy,
there's so much joy in the Down Syndroom community.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 6 (27:41):
October, as I mentioned, is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
What does this month mean for you, not only obviously
as a parent, but in your job. What do you
hope this month brings in terms of awareness.
Speaker 7 (27:56):
Yeah, I mean for us, it's it is about awareness.
But I think it's just taking the opportunity to either
get involved in your local community with a Down syndrome
association that's locally, get involved with us nationally. We do
a lot of work in policy and health and awareness.
I think it is just for us about just get
(28:17):
to know somebody with Down syndrome, or take even the
extra step and maybe you hire somebody with Down syndrome
in your in your you know, in your place of employment,
or you consider doing an internship, or.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Just give somebody an opportunity to have a conversation.
Speaker 7 (28:31):
It's just as simple as that, because I guarantee you
that if you hire somebody with Down cinder, for example,
it will be your most loyal employee that you ever find.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
Like, there is a story just very quickly.
Speaker 7 (28:43):
I know your time is limited, but there's a young
man who who had a death in his family most
recently and you know, they said he had to take
some time off from his job to do that, and
he said.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
You know, I don't my job needs me.
Speaker 7 (28:56):
And after the passing of this very close loved one
of him, he showed up to work, you know a
few hours later and wanted to you know, show up
for his employees and for his employer to be able
to follow through with what.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
He needed, even though it was very clear to him
he did not need to go to work.
Speaker 7 (29:13):
And I think that that just speaks to people with
Down syndrome, like show up for each other, but they
also show up for us and in really special ways.
But I think we could learn a lot from them
on how we show up for each other, you know,
in our communities.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
The website, by the way, is NDSS dot org. Candy Pickard, CEO,
President of the National Down Syndrome Society, thank you for
your time, thank you for what you're doing and and
the true joy you clearly bring to the job.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
I really appreciate it. Best of luck.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Thank you so much, Benny.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
This has been Community Matters, a weekly public affairs special
on KAT one O three, Omaha's Greatest Hits, ninety nine
point nine, kg R News Radio, eleven ten KFAB, Country's
Greatest Hits ninety three three The Wolf, and ninety six
one Kiss FM. Thank you so much for listening, and
enjoy the rest of your day.
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