Ms. Wheelchair RI Promotes Plan to Help Disabled During Disasters
BY: CHRIS HOGAN
Whether it is going camping with her family, white-water rafting or traveling to Thayer Street in Providence for a cup of coffee, Warwick resident Dawn Kelly has done great things despite the physical restrictions of her disability. Kelly is Ms. Wheelchair Rhode Island 2011.
Kelly, 31, suffers from congenital myopathy, which is a form of muscle dystrophy and genetic disorder that occurs during birth or in infancy according to ninds.nih.gov. It results in difficulty of breathing and feeding, which may be a long-term problem. Other side effects include vision problems with eye movement, droopy eyelids and sometimes blindness.
On April 15, she competed in the wheelchair competition at the Warwick Public Library along with Victoria Letourneau, who finished as the first runner-up and Anna Liebenow, the second runner-up. Each participant needed to read a two-minute platform on what they would do to help people in the state with disabilities. Kelly, who had some public speaking background, presented a speech on assuring that emergency and disaster planning include people with special health care needs. She used the Japan earthquake incident as a prime example of how her topic could be applied.
Overall, Kelly said she received positive comments from the judges.
“From the feedback I received, I was [a] very positive person regarding my disability and regarding how I feel about the rights and equalities for others with disabilities,” Kelly said. “I have some background helping others get what they need to live a fully functional life to the best of their abilities.”
During the first week of August, she will be in Grand Rapids, Mich. to compete in the Ms. Wheelchair America 2012 Pageant along with other delegates from each state in order to see who will become the national spokeswomen to promote the organization along with their platforms. Each representative will have to read their two-minute speech and answer some questions the judges may have before they pick a winner. Kelly said she has to raise $1,850 for her trip despite her airline ticket being a separate expense.
She said that this event is different from your typical beauty pageant.
“The competitions aren’t beauty contests because in a traditional beauty contest they look at the whole person and by what they look like and knock points down for imperfection,” she said. “In terms of people with disabilities, we don’t focus on the outer beauty but the inner beauty and they look at what makes the person the best person to promote our organization and things like personality, experience and compassion.”
Throughout her life, Kelly said her parents, Colleen and William Kelly, have been instrumental in helping her.
“The biggest thing they taught me was when they first found out I was disabled [by] my blindness and developmental delays; they were obviously devastated like any parent would be, but they decided to raise me like I didn’t have a disability in a way but they accepted it,” Kelly said. “They got me what I needed but they never said I couldn’t do something.”
In order to get around, Kelly uses the assistance of her 3-year-old black lab Marius, a trained guided walking dog.
Kristen Connors, the president and coordinator of Ms. Wheelchair RI, said Kelly was a very upbeat person after the way she offered herself at the competition.
“She had a lot of overall knowledge of her disability both mentally and emotionally, which was impressive,” Connors said. “She was enthusiastic and showed signs of being a leader.”
In her spare time, Kelly enjoys outdoor activities, reading about women in history and enjoys art and culture. Kelly graduated from Cranston East High School in 1998 and CCRI in 2003 with an associate’s degree in Human Services. A plan of hers is to go back to school, preferably at Rhode Island College, and pursue a degree in women’s studies. Her dream job would be to work at Brown University in their Archaeological Department.
Melissa Emery, Kelly’s best friend for the past 16 years, said Kelly is a very driven person.
“She is the type of person who once she puts her mind to a direct goal, she will do what she needs to meet that expectation,” Emery said.
As of June 5, according to the Ms. Wheelchair Rhode Island Facebook page, they have raised $700 to cover Kelly’s expenses. If anyone would like to donate to help accommodate for the trip, contact Kristen Connors at 401-484-3981 or email her at knconn@aol.com.
Kelly reiterates that without her parents’ support, she would not be where she is today.
“They gave me a sense of independence, a drive for life and do have a no attitude in which I never really had,” she said. “They told me to live life to the fullest and that’s how I do it.”
