Change Begins with Us

When I first read this story, I didn’t quite understand the meaning. It wasn’t until I began my graduate degree in social work that I realized the true meaning behind this story. I decided to choose social work as my career because I want to make a change in the world. A lot of my friends and family members would say things like “Nicole it’s impossible to change the WHOLE world,” and back then, I would argue. I have realized that it is truly impossible to do this difficult task alone. I believe that if large groups of people have the same passions as I do, it is possible to make a huge difference.

The Public Conversations for Change Forum was a truly inspiring example of coming together and leveraging our resources to make a difference. A diverse group of people invested in the Staten Island community came together and became one regardless of everyone’s differences. We all have one goal in common and that goal is to improve the lives of persons with developmental disabilities. This made me think of the Starfish Story because even though there are millions of people with developmental disabilities and we want to reach those million, we must first begin in our own community.

Blog post Written by Nicole Molinell– Member of the Rivera Fund Leadership Cohort, MSW graduate student at the College of Staten Island and intern at Person Centered Services