28° and Clear
Image
At a MassAbility pop-up event outside Government Center on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, passersby were encourage to write messages tackling stigma.
Alison Kuznitz/SHNS
Omar Orellana paused his grocery run on a damp, dreary Tuesday morning to scrawl a hopeful message on an interactive display outside Government Center: "I am enough."
He triple-underlined "enough" and added three smiley faces to blue construction paper, adding it to other messages taped to a large cube, including "Boston is no home for stigma!" and "I am capable." MassAbility, formerly the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, solicited messages for the display as part of its rebranding campaign and quest to root out stigma affecting the disability community.
"So I'm saying I'm enough with all of my flaws and quirks," Orellana, who works in mental health advocacy, said. "It's definitely important that more people should feel really confident in their skin and overall happy."
MassAbility's cube, on display through Tuesday afternoon, says, "We have the ability to leave stigma behind." Passersby were encouraged to write their own messages. They could also fill out postcards with "greetings from a future without stigma."
Gov. Maura Healey signed legislation renaming the agency in September, with the aim of tackling stigma and boosting employment opportunities for the disability community. MassAbility provides career training programs, assistive technology, and home services to help people live independently.
Dana Anderson, director of client partnerships at Argus, said her branding agency is working with MassAbility on its new campaign. Tuesday's kickoff will be followed by multimedia advertising, she said.
"This activation is meant to disrupt the space and invite people to engage with us and talk about their experiences with disability stigma and how we can all move forward in a stigma-free world," Anderson said.
Georgia Brown, a teacher from Australia who's visiting Boston, penned the message, "The world is better when we embrace differences." Brown said she's worked with students who have disabilities.
"It's a lot better in classrooms when you kind of try to adjust for those kids and teach," she said. "They're still learning the same stuff, but they're learning it at a level that is suitable to them, and it keeps them socially aligned with their peers."
Cindy Walker, MassAbility's digital communications coordinator, said the agency is planning another immersive event in the spring, as officials work to better engage with youth and Asian-American communities to promote disability acceptance.
"We want people to know we're a partner for them -- we're an ally," Walker said. "And we are them. We are people living and thriving with disabilities."
