“Hot wheels” is part of Julie Farrar’s e-mail address, a nod to the wheelchair that carries her through a long day as a mother to three young daughters, a job as a policy analyst, and her work as a graduate student, volunteer and activist.
Because of her family and her work, and the condition that confines her to a wheelchair — sacral agenesis, a congenital disorder of the lower spinal column and pelvis — Farrar has a lot more on her plate than most able-bodied people.
Yet her own exasperating experiences as someone with disabilities leave her convinced that active community volunteer work is indispensable.
Volunteering, she says, informs her comprehension of the community and leads to insights into herself and others, including her eldest daughter’s sense of social justice. She sees other volunteers, and the clients she helps, undergo an epiphany when they’re assisted or supervised by a woman in a wheelchair. The experience explodes stereotypes on both sides.
“It’s especially important for people with disabilities to get involved with volunteering, and have a sense of purpose,” Farrar says.
“One thing about us is that we can become so disenfranchised that we don’t have a lot of true relationships. We have a lot of paid relationships — social workers, advocates, aids. But people who direct your life can become a buffer between you and getting involved in the community. It’s so important to feel like you’re contributing.”
So she serves on Arc of Denver’s executive committee, is an ardent activist for the disability advocate group ADAPT, and teaches diversity-awareness classes for the University of Health Sciences Center/JFK Partners. The latter, she hopes, will teach physicians to think a bit more like their patients.
Because her disability is rare, Farrar spent many hours of her childhood as a naked, humiliated prop while medical school professors poked and prodded her distinguishing characteristics for the benefit of onlooking medical students. Those vivid memories propel her dedication to service and define her relationships.
“I really think that everybody should be a volunteer in some capacity,” Farrar says. “It teaches us how interconnected and interdependent we are, and how much we have in common with each other.
“One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Let me show you how you can best assist me.’ I believe in working hand-in-hand, not in handouts.”
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com
