52 Years with the Mass. Self-Advocates

MSA meeting with MBTA officials

by Trevor Meek

BROOKLINE, MA — In 1967 a friend from grad school asked David Wizansky if he’d be interested in working with a group of young men who called themselves “The Mohawks.” The curiously named club was an after school social gathering of teenage boys with special needs from Brookline High. Their all-female counterparts went by the even more cringe-worthy moniker “The Squaws.” The groups operated in similar fashions—they would meet with their professional group leader once a week at a local community center to plan small events and fundraisers. David agreed to meet with The Mohawks and thankfully he was able to convince them to change their name after some dispute. They would eventually join forces with the girls’ group under the much more appealing banner of Massachusetts Self-Advocates. 

David couldn’t have known in 1967 that his chance meeting with these clubs would become the foundation for his life’s work. “There wouldn’t be a Specialized Housing if it weren’t for that small group that came together in Brookline,” David told me one fall afternoon as he reflected on the early years of the MSA, “That’s where it all began.” After 52 years of advising the Massachusetts Self-Advocates, David decided to step down this past spring.

As he documents in the third chapter of his book Identity, Self and the World, David’s earliest work with the Mass. Self-Advocates was focused on restructuring the club’s operations. The role of the group’s leader had traditionally been geared toward directing the group’s agenda. As David writes, “My objective was to reduce my role as leader and assume the role of advisor.” In order to accomplish this, David recommended that the MSA adopt a parliamentary model with elected officials such as President, Treasurer, and Secretary from within the group. “Elections are vital to a sense of empowerment,” David states in Identity, Self and the World, “Members who choose their representatives gain a sense of self-worth. They develop an understanding of their ability to effect change in their circumstances.” 

The MSA in 2017

Once they’d found their footing as a democratized organization, the MSA began focusing on community outreach and consulting. In the course of our discussion, David noticeably perks up when recalling how MSA members would assert themselves in all kinds of different settings and make themselves heard and understood. “They would go into elementary schools, professional group settings; they would speak with groups of nurses and doctors. They would talk about their lives, their disabilities, and answer a lot of questions. The Self-Advocates helped sensitize the community to the needs of people with disabilities in a big way.” Realizing the value of the service they were providing to the community, the MSA would begin charging a fee for their consultation, and over the years they’ve earned thousands of dollars to support their activities.

When asked what he’s most proud of in his half century as the MSA’s advisor David hesitates. After all, there’s a long list to be considered. The MSA was the core group whose work inspired the creation of a statewide conference for self-advocacy (The Mass. Advocates Standing Strong Annual Conference). In the 1980s they were instrumental in lobbying the MBTA to adjust their fares in order to be more accommodating to disabled passengers. In 2007 the MSA pressured the Department of Mental Retardation into changing its name to the Department of Developmental Services. The list goes on. Yet, David says, what he’s most proud of is, “Seeing developmentally disabled folks guiding and supporting each other. They become sponsors and models for one another. A lot of these people have an understanding of the world by figuring it out for themselves, and then pass that along to others who might be struggling. The best mentors for understanding developmental disabilities are those with developmental disabilities themselves. It’s really amazing to watch.”

Veteran Specialized Housing employee Felix Rust has taken over as the MSA’s advisor since David’s retirement. “Felix is great,” David says when asked about his successor. “I had been thinking a lot about [succession] and I heard Felix talk about being an advocate in his personal life. He’s very passionate about advocacy. When I introduced him to the group they liked him immediately.”

At the end of our discussion I ask David what he’ll miss most about being the group’s advisor. He thinks about it for a moment, begins to answer and then catches himself. Finally, he tells me, “It’s been such a huge part of my life. It’s too hard to say what I’ll miss the most because… it’s just such a big part of who I am.”     

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The following is a poem written by SHI resident and Mass. Self Advocate Kendrew Caporal in honor of David Wizansky’s retirement from the M.S.A.

Three Cheers for David and Margot

by Kendrew Caporal

Three cheers for both David and Margot
who have treated us better than cargo.
As David and his spouse
helped develop each house,
is it more organized than Wells Fargo?

They inspired independent living,
to me it’s almost like Thanksgiving.
They sheltered such advocates,
helped by Mothers and Dadvocates,
no other place was worth re-living.

Y’all encouraged me to be poetic
and kept me from something pathetic.
After all that you’ve built,
every bed, home and quilt—
you’ve truly improved each aesthetic.

So here’s to David’s current retirement:
an intro? He needs no such requirement—
such a brilliant advisor,
and fine advertiser,
we’ll all try to match his environment.