Photo By Scott Sturkol | The therapy team of Jancee Doemel and Brutus the Mini Pig give their presentation Oct....... read more read more
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Fort McCoy held its 2024 National Disability Employment Awareness Month observance Oct. 15 in building 905 at Fort McCoy with the therapy team of Jancee Doemel and Brutus the Mini Pig as the main presenters.
Doemel and Brutus have been regular attendees in the past at Fort McCoy events, including for unit functions as well as Fort McCoy’s Armed Forces Day Open House every year.
Senior Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist Jaime Herrera with the Army Reserve Equal Employment Opportunity Office at Fort McCoy opened the event discussing the importance of the observance.
“National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) recognizes the contributions by those with disabilities who make our nation great,” Herrera said. “Led by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office (DOL) of Disability Employment Policy, NDEAM reaffirms the Department of Defense’s commitment to recruit and advance disabled individuals throughout its workforce. The DOL has chosen the theme, ‘Access to Good Jobs for All.’
“People with disabilities are part of a diverse group that includes people with sensory, physical, and mental conditions,” Herrera said. “Disabilities cross the lines of age, ethnicity, sex, race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Almost everyone is likely to experience some form of disability — temporary or permanent — at some point in their life.”
The Library of Congress at https://www.loc.gov/accessibility/disability-employment-awareness-month states how the monthly observance has become an important way to highlight stories of those who overcome disabilities.
“In October, Americans observe National Disability Employment Awareness Month by paying tribute to the accomplishments of the men and women with disabilities whose work helps keep the nation’s economy strong and by reaffirming their commitment to ensure equal opportunity for all citizens,” the website states. “This effort to educate the public about the issues related to disability and employment began in 1945, when Congress enacted Public Law 176, declaring the first week of October each year as National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week. In 1962, the word ‘physically’ was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. Some 25 years later, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to National Disability Employment Awareness Month.”
Herrera also accurately reviewed the special guests in his introduction of Doemel and Brutus.
“She has been a part of the Fort McCoy community for 20 years,” Herrera said. “She began her employment with the AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange Service. Years later she would be hired on as a temporary fill with the (Fort McCoy) Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security. And … in 2011 became an official Department of Defense civilian with an installation tenant — the Defense Logistics Agency.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with her over the years and even served with her husband, retired Lt. Col. Jim Doemel, when I was on active duty with the 181st Multi-Functional Training Brigade,” Herrera said. “The therapy team of Jancee and Brutus provide a unique combination of entertainment and education to people of all ages and abilities. Brutus performs a multitude of entertaining skills while Jancee educates and tells factual stories about pigs. Therapy animals like Brutus provide a source of comfort, a pleasant distraction, and create a talking point to spark engagement increasing social interactions and lightening the mood.”
In her presentation with Brutus, Doemel had Brutus perform a multitude of tricks, and more. At the same time, she discussed the difference between service animals, emotional support animals, and therapy animals like Brutus.
“Service animals can only be dogs,” Doemel said. “And service animals are actually not considered to be a pet. They’re considered to be a working animal. And when you see a service animal out and about, you know, it’s important to realize and recognize that they are working. They are providing a service for someone with a disability, and they should not be approached to pet or anything like that. It’s important to recognize that.
“Emotional support animals, which have become kind of more (common) in the public over … I’d say the last five to 10 years, especially with people trying to get random unique animals on airplanes, … has now made it so they've really kind of regulated things,” Doemel said. “But the emotional support animal is not covered by the ADA (American Disabilities Association) like the service animals are. It’s actually a prescription from a medical professional for somebody that requires an emotional support animal, or ESA, to help them with a mental or disability, or not a disability necessarily, but just to help them.
“So that leads us to therapy animals,” Doemel said. “Therapy animals can be any type of animal. Most of the time you’ll see dogs. Brutus and I, we’re not your typical therapy team. Usually when you think of a therapy animal or therapy team, you may think of a dog or a cat or a rabbit, and they sit with people and people pet them, and it's just very, very relaxed. But Brutus and I … we are a little bit different.”
Doemel explained what she means by “different.”
“We provide a little bit of entertainment and a little bit of education because there's a lot of misconceptions about pigs,” Doemel said. “But there’s lots of different things that therapy animals can provide. There’s actually different types of therapy. Brutus and I, we’re … kind of on the casual side. (This) would fall into animal-assisted activities where it’s not documented. There’s other animal-assisted or animal-therapy teams that work in professional settings, such as physical therapy. If you think sometimes, you’re in physical therapy and if you have a shoulder injury, you’re having to do certain motion, you might be more willing to throw a ball to an animal rather than working for a human physical therapist.”
Brutus and Doemel entertained the attendees for nearly an hour, and in the process also perhaps gave everyone a broader understanding of how animals are helpful with therapy, especially for people with disabilities.
“One thing I would say, a lot of feedback that we get, especially from nursing homes, is that they’re amazed at how many people actually come out to see Brutus, and that he’s probably one of the most popular attractions,” Doemel said. “Most people, I think, are curious if it’s actually going to be a real pig that comes out. So, once they realize it’s a real pig and then they understand what we do, it's a little bit different than what they're used to seeing. They may not be comfortable with your typical therapy team with a dog and a handler. So, they’re generally pretty excited and interested to hear what we have to say.”
Once October is over, the U.S. Department of Labor said people should continue the spirit of National Disability Employment Awareness Month year-round in their article “It’s not over in October” at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/ndeam/year-round.
“National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) activities don’t have to end in October,” the article states. “NDEAM also offers an opportunity to launch year-round activities that highlight the importance of including disability in all of your organization's diversity endeavors. Doing so delivers numerous internal and external benefits to employers.
Ten ways to foster the NDEAM spirit year-round, per the article.
— Gather ideas from your corporate disability employee resource group.
— Use NDEAM to kick-off an ongoing disability awareness initiative.
— Host a disability mentoring day.
— Sponsor a “Lunch and Learn” series about disability issues.
— Provide volunteer opportunities to your employees.
— Display posters promoting disability inclusion.
— Offer American sign language training classes to your employees.
— Interview people with disabilities.
— Host a Disability 101 event for employees.
— Incorporate disability into your onboarding processes.
Doemel and Brutus were presented with a special appreciation plaque from the Fort McCoy Garrison command team for their support of the observance. Deputy Garrison Commander Lt. Col. Mike Corkum presented the plaque. Herrera also thanked the attendees for participating as well.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on DVIDS at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/FMPAO, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
(Greg Mason with the Fort McCoy Multimedia-Visual Information Office assisted with this article.)
| Date Taken: | 10.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2024 18:09 |
| Story ID: | 483484 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 11 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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