Crew's Voice
As most of you know, my name is Christy Reinhardt. I have two beautiful boys. Cross is 12 and Crew is 11. Crew is autistic. I have spent my life thus far trying to advocate, protect and raise my children so that they may both thrive and be happy. Sounds easy, right? What you may not know is that the truth is the answer to that is both yes and no.
The idea itself is simple— all children deserve the chance and or the opportunity to partake in life and all is has to offer. They deserve to be happy and to find a purpose. What I think helps accomplish this is was taught growing up: Treat others the way that you would like to be treated yourself. Such a simple and pure idea. I believe that people are innately good. The hard part is that we were ill prepared in dealing with the growing number of autistic and special needs children. The problems or issues grew faster than the solutions, and things became an unintentional mess. We live in a world that has become disingenuous due to fear. We have forgotten that admitting, “We don’t know” is a sign of confident knowledge. Driven by my love for Crew, I set out to change the way people looked at and interacted with special needs children. How could anyone understand them if they were never around these wonderful children? Yet another simple idea.
Life is a two way street. Schools and the communities need to employ creativity, honesty and empathy when addressing the needs of children with special needs and their families. In turn, the families of the special needs children need to let their guard down, let go of the entitlement and be encouraged to participate. I started an organization called Crew’s Voice seven years ago. I wanted to create a safe place where both of my children and all of their friends were able to play and interact with each other. I wanted a place where parents could go for support. Crew’s Voice, with its new office in downtown Pawling, New York, has been celebrating special kids and embracing special needs ever since.
The central concept of Crew’s Voice is that you take special needs children and pair them up with “buddies,” or other children in the community. Then you create experiences through sports, holiday parties, field trips and other enjoyable activities, in which children are completely integrated. What happens next is completely natural. Special needs and typically developing children form a true friendship and understanding of each another. It is that simple.
Crew’s Voice helps to create and foster relationships. The relationships create empathy and the empathy builds a community. There is an incredible sense of love and family that exists between the volunteers and the children of Crew’s Voice. The magic is when a herd of middle schoolers run up to a kid from the program at Hannaford’s and begin fist pumping and hugging each other. The lessons are brought home to a family that over dinner decides everyone needs to be more like Hannah because Hannah, with all of her challenges, doesn’t just say thank you; she always says, “Thank you SO much.” There are a million examples how these amazing children enrich our lives.
Listen, I am a mother of a child with special needs who believes he deserves the same opportunities and experiences as any other kid. I recognize and embrace the quirks and limitations of these children, and modify the rules or environment accordingly. Here is an example that I like to draw on. We know that all children and adults benefit from exercise and physical activity. So consider if you have a child with special needs who gravitates toward electronics and is unable to participate in the town’s sports programs. What Crew’s Voice does is offer these children an alternative program where we tweak the rules and expectations while being able to provide kids with an environment where the children learn about team concepts and remain physically active. Everyone gets a shot at it!
The programs provided by Crew’s Voice are all voluntary. And as with every event hosted by the organization, it is a no judge and no pressure situation. Crew’s Voice hosts these events for participating children and their families. Programming includes flag football, basketball, therapeutic yoga, Challenger Crew baseball, Renegades game night, a Halloween party, a Christmas party, a day at Brewster cinema, splash down, a parent’s day out where our volunteers provide respite for the parents by babysitting for a couple of hours at our town recreation center.
As the children with special needs continue to grow, we would like to incorporate life skills into our model. We have created a garden where the children may come cultivate and maintain their own plants and vegetables. We remain committed to our families as well, providing support and resources as they continue to deal with the hurdles that exist. I am so proud of what we do and I am humbled by the love and support that our friends and community continue to provide.