Namhee Stokvis is a Westport resident, with 2 children in local schools. “Every member of my family cherishes and enjoys everything and everyone that Westport has offered so far,” she says. Namhee writes:
There are many visible expressions of humanism in Westport, in the broadest sense of the word: people caring for one another.
Countless charities and volunteer efforts support vulnerable neighbors, children, and adults. Kindness, generosity, and civic responsibility are woven into the town’s identity, and that deserves real gratitude.
For neighbors who are economically vulnerable, Westport offers a wide network of support: Near and Far Aid, A Better Chance, Pink Aid, Homes with Hope, the Westport Woman’s Club, the Women’s League of Westport, and many programs run by local churches.
Humanism also shows up in programs for residents with physical and
cognitive disabilities. myTeam Triumph, Challenger Baseball, Wakeman Town Farm, and adaptive programs at the YMCA and Westport Parks & Recreation all depend on dedicated volunteers and staff working to expand access.
Challenger Baseball is a popular town program. (Photos/Beth Cody)
And yet, alongside all of this, there is a striking absence.
Once children with complex disabilities reach 11, Westport has almost nowhere for them to go in the summer, while typically developing children face an overflowing menu of camps.
Families look to other towns, such as Wilton and Fairfield, for appropriate and
supportive programs.
The adaptive programs that do exist are run by committed people but they are often stretched thin, with limited staffing and limited training in children’s
specific needs, which can make participation hard or impossible.
Westport offers an abundance of shows, concerts and community events, yet few are designed so that families of children with disabilities can attend and feel safe.
For most residents, Westport offers richness. Our neighbors with disabilities too often encounter scarcity.
Our schools reflect a similar pattern. After-school programs, clubs and classes are plentiful for typically developing students, but families find few that are designed so students with disabilities can participate and learn meaningfully.
Too often, program development centers on cutting-edge opportunities for students without difficulties, and students with disabilities are treated as an afterthought rather than as a constituency with an equal right to enrichment, growth and belonging.
This is where I call for advanced humanism. Humanism asks, “How can we help?”
Advanced humanism asks, “Who is still left out, and what would it take to include them?”
Advanced humanism moves beyond charity toward equity. It pairs generosity with inclusion, service with structural change, and kindness with the courage to confront gaps in how our community is designed.
Humanism is not complete while some neighbors flourish and others are left without access, opportunity, or safety.
In practice, that could mean summer programs for older children with complex
disabilities, regular sensory-friendly performances at town venues, and placing students with disabilities at the center, alongside their typically developing peers, as the Board of Education and the district shape their education plans.
Westport has the heart for advanced humanism. We see it every day in the volunteers, donors and neighbors who show up for one another.
The next step is a commitment to build a town where every neighbor, regardless of ability, can share in the richness we so proudly celebrate.
We can begin by deepening our curiosity, attention and care, so we can better see who is left out and what is needed to welcome them fully.
That commitment belongs to all of us. Town leaders and the schools can consider the needs of people with disabilities and their families from the very beginning of planning.
Program directors can look for ways to involve people of all abilities in shaping their programs.
And each of us, as residents, can pay attention to who is missing from the places we love and help make room for everyone.
I believe this is possible in Westport.
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