Published by IL NET / ILRU NetWork Quarterly
October 2001
Our crisis, our community and our challenge
by
Richard Petty, Program Director
We were working on what was going to be the next issue of ILRU NetWork when terrorists violated our nation on Sept. 11. Like so many other things, that newsletter was instantly rendered insignificant compared to the events unfolding around us. To call the impact on our country and fellow citizens “tragic” is a gross understatement. But we struggle to find the word that accurately reflects the shock, pain, sadness, outrage, fear—myriad emotions—we have all experienced in recent days.
Like most other Americans, the majority of us in the independent living community experience these events from a distance. There are some, however, who are literally digging out of the rubble and living the hellish nightmare the terrorists left behind.
We hurt for Colleen Fraser’s family, friends and associates who are missing her and, at the same time, still working to advance her vision for independence