H*4908 Session 110 (1993-1994)
H*4908 Concurrent Resolution, By P.B. Harris
A Concurrent Resolution to recognize Ms. Louise Ravenel upon her retirement as
Executive Director of the South Carolina Protection and Advocacy System for
the Handicapped, Inc., and to thank her for her tireless efforts on behalf of
South Carolina's very special citizens.
03/15/94 House Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate HJ-7
03/15/94 Senate Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence SJ-29
A CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
TO RECOGNIZE MS. LOUISE RODGERS RAVENEL UPON HER
RETIREMENT AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH
CAROLINA PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM FOR THE
HANDICAPPED, INC., AND TO THANK HER FOR HER TIRELESS
EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF SOUTH CAROLINA'S VERY SPECIAL
CITIZENS.
Whereas, Louise Rodgers Ravenel was born in Annapolis, Maryland, in
1929. Because her father was a career serviceman, the family lived in
many, many places, but she stayed long enough in Charleston to attend
Ashley Hall Preparatory School and the College of Charleston majoring
in chemistry. She also married Arthur Ravenel, now a United States
Congressman, and together they have six children - three daughters and
three sons. After her divorce, she moved to Columbia to lead the South
Carolina Protection and Advocacy System for the Handicapped, Inc.;
and
Whereas, after the birth of her son, William in 1959, with Down's
syndrome, she became very active in the Charleston area in an effort to
get appropriate services for her son and others like him. She led the
effort to establish an Advocacy for Handicapped Citizens group, the first
such group in South Carolina. She helped establish Camp HiHopes, the
only day camp for handicapped persons in the Charleston area; Hope
Center, the primary community service program for retarded persons;
Charleston Rehabilitation Center; and the first classes for both educable
and trainable children with retardation in her school district. She served
as an officer or board member of almost every organization which
advocates on behalf of persons with disabilities in Charleston County;
and
Whereas, in 1969, Ms. Ravenel was appointed by the President as South
Carolina's first member to the President's Committee on Mental
Retardation. She represented a mother's perspective on the committee
and was responsible for reflecting the concerns and knowledge of lay
persons who were actively involved in the grass roots development of
programs for retarded persons. She quickly demonstrated her interest in
and knowledge about lead poisoning prevention and retarded offenders.
Under her leadership, the first National Symposium on the Mentally
Retarded Citizen and the Criminal Justice System was held in early
1975. Because of the success of this symposium, she also was asked to
chair the Second Symposium in 1980; and
Whereas, she was a delegate to the White House Conference on
Children and Youth in 1970 and a member of the board of the National
Association for Retarded Citizens in 1973; and
Whereas, in 1972 the United States Department of Health, Education
and Welfare asked her to serve as a member of the Task Force to
Investigate Conditions at Willowbrook Institution, an institution serving
persons with retardation. She also served as a member of the President's
Commission on Mental Health and as a member of the Liaison Task
Force on Mental Retardation; and
Whereas, Ms. Ravenel has served as a member of an advisory board for
the Mental Health Law Project's Developmental Disabilities Projects
Center in 1979; and
Whereas, she was appointed by the Governor in 1974 to the South
Carolina Developmental Disabilities Council and served as its secretary
and chairperson of the Priorities and Retarded Offenders Committees.
In 1975 she was a member of the Legislative-Governor's Committee on
Mental Health and Mental Retardation which introduced and
coordinated the passage of many important pieces of legislation
designed to benefit persons with disabilities, including the Lead
Poisoning Prevention Act, zoning legislation, and the Bill of Rights for
persons with handicaps. She was a board member of the South Carolina
Association for Retarded Citizens and chaired a number of committees,
including the committee which established Camp Hope, a residential
statewide camp for persons with retardation. The Governor appointed
her in 1976 to the South Carolina Advisory Board to the White House
Conference on Handicapped Individuals; and
Whereas, in 1976-77, Ms. Ravenel became the coordinator of an early
intervention project at the College of Charleston. This project was the
first project in Charleston to serve developmentally disabled, delayed,
and high risk children ages 0-6 years and their families through
home-based and center-based parent training programs; and
Whereas, when Congress passed the Developmental Disabilities and Bill
of Rights Act in 1976, which called for the establishment of a protection
and advocacy system for the handicapped in every state of the union,
Governor Edwards selected the Advocacy for Handicapped Citizens
begun by Ms. Ravenel in Charleston as the program to become that
system. Because the program had to be a statewide effort, the legislature
decided the program would be most effective if it operated out of
Columbia. They also decided that the system would serve all
disabilities, rather than just serving persons with developmental
disabilities. Thus, the South Carolina Protection and Advocacy System
for the Handicapped, Inc., was begun; and
Whereas, during the first year of its operation, the system had a budget
of approximately fifty thousand dollars and four employees. Today the
organization has approximately thirty-five employees and a budget of
approximately one million, two hundred thousand dollars; and
Whereas, most recently, Ms. Ravenel was appointed by the United
States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina to the
review panel overseeing the implementation of the Willie M
consent decree. As a member of the panel she oversees the
implementation of a court order which mandates the implementation of
a continuum of services for "Willie M", violent children, and
youth with severe emotional problems; and
Whereas, since the birth of her son, Ms. Ravenel has been committed to
protecting the rights of individuals with handicaps, pushing for the
development of appropriate programs for them, lobbying for legislative
changes which would enhance their lives, and promoting programs for
the prevention of disability. In the thirty-five years which have passed
since William's birth, she successfully has advocated for the rights of all
South Carolinians with disabilities at every level of government -
national, state, and local; and
Whereas, her advocacy efforts personally and professionally have made
it possible for many individuals with disabilities to move out of the
darkened corners of institutions and into the light of their own
communities. Because of her leadership:
(1) far fewer children are being sent out of State for
"treatment" and a continuum of programs are being
developed close to home to meet the needs of the child and its family;
(2) women with mental disabilities are no longer written off as being
unfit mothers without a discussion of the woman's rights;
(3) the number of institutional beds for persons with disabilities has
been reduced drastically and the number of community homes and
supervised living options have been dramatically increased;
(4) the use of lead paint in homes practically has disappeared which
has eliminated that cause of retardation in most areas of the State; and
(5) the Developmental Disabilities and Bill of Rights Act and the
Americans with Disabilities Act, both of which federally grant rights to
people with disabilities, have been enacted; and
Whereas, she carefully has nurtured the system's growth to ensure that
all people with disabilities have access to its services. One of her most
successful strategies was the establishment of a Minority/Rural Outreach
Project seven years ago which has demonstrated its effectiveness over
and over again; and
Whereas, Ms. Ravenel's soft-styled negotiational strategy has served as
a role model for the advocates who work for the system and for many
young women who seek to follow in her footsteps. As only one can who
has been through the trials, tribulations, and joys of being a mother of a
child with a disability, she constantly works with families, mothers in
particular, who are devastated upon the birth of a child with a disability.
Under her tutelage they quickly learn that the birth is not the end of the
world but rather a beginning of a new and different experience, an
experience that can bring great joy and happiness; and
Whereas, thanks to Ms. Ravenel's efforts, and the many other advocates
she has influenced during the last thirty-five years, a new mother today
is very unlikely to hear this advice from her doctor: Your child has a
disability and you would do best to send him to an institution to live.
Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly recognize Ms. Louise
Rodgers Ravenel upon her retirement as Executive Director of the South
Carolina Protection and Advocacy System for the Handicapped, Inc.,
and thank her for her tireless efforts on behalf of South Carolina's very
special citizens.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Ms.
Ravenel in the balcony of the South Carolina House of Representatives
at an appropriate time to be determined by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
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