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Community Challenge #1: The Ability Commons05.28.08 |
Project Name: The Ability Commons (Click to read original proposal)
Description
Imagine a paralyzed 23-year-old lying in his family's back bedroom, yearning for contact with age peers in similar situations. SL offers people with serious physical and cognitive disabilities opportunities to socialize and get information, often through one or more of the over 70 SL health support groups.
Some support groups are in-world entities of RL organizations, with means to finance identifiable "homes." These well-supported groups flourish and grow. Smaller support groups struggle to exist and promote their presence, and often fail to thrive. As many as half of identified SL health support groups may fall into this category.
The Health Support Coalition and partners propose an "Ability Commons", similar to the Nonprofit Commons, that provides a home presence for smaller and emerging SL health support groups. The Commons will also provide shared meeting spaces and enable these smaller groups to network and offer mutual support.
We believe that community is the goal of Second Life, and intend to use SL's networking capabilities to reach beyond RL limitations of geography and health, enhancing awareness within - and beyond - the SL community of support for people with disabilities.
What is the scope of your endeavor and what would you most like to accomplish?
Ability Commons will be a one-stop island “home” for smaller and emerging support groups. In addition to those groups identified through their membership in the Coalition, it is likely that many non-Coalition health support groups will participate. Therefore, with room for expansion as new support groups emerge, this island will be designed for approximately 40 small groups. It will be landscaped as a series of structures connected by paved level pathways, similar to the NonProfit Commons. These structures will be variously-styled, accessible storefronts. Centrally located headquarters for the administrative groups, shared small- and medium-sized meeting rooms, and an accessible auditorium will complete the space. Administrative organizations will assist the support groups in forming and planning for maintenance, and will collaborate with them to offer scheduled presentations and provide validated information.
The proposed Ability Commons will enable new health support groups and strengthen smaller existing ones. Support groups provide valuable services to members such as:
• Peer support among those who share similar conditions.
• Encouragement to stay in SL and participate in virtual reality. (Research-supported benefits documented in published studies are summarized at http://www.virtualability.org)
• Opportunities to socialize and share information.
• A voice within the larger SL community.
"Final Impressions from Ability Commons/Health Support Coalition"
The Community Challenge completed its activity and we asked Ability Commons/Health Support Coalition to reflect on their work.
They have built space for 22 partners and have room to grown on Ability Commons Island. The huts allow for individual groups to hold small meetings and there is a large accessible auditorium as well. All buildings were created with donated labor and materials, as was the terraforming, landscaping, and sculpture for the center of the island.
In September 2008, the Health Support Coalition sponsored a discussion about abasiophilia (devoteeism) with Dr. Grascious Streeter (a RL psychologist who regularly lectures on mental illness in SL).
Evidenced by the deep commitment of the Health Support Coalition, they will continue to support their member groups through peer-to-peer communication about the leaders who are members.