ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Along with several other designations, March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (DDAM), and with its mission focused on individuals with developmental disabilities, Mosaic in Southwest Kansas observes the month on an annual basis.

The theme for this year’s DDAM is “Belonging Matters, and Mosaic Senior Community Relations Manager Vickie Harshbarger said that theme amplifies the importance of welcoming people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other diverse needs in all aspects of community life.

“At Mosaic, we really want to personalize services, and that requires us to ask the person what kind of activities they enjoy, where they want to live,” she said. “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month makes it so we can inform the public of those wants and desires of people with disabilities. They want to be able to live in an integrated environment where they’re not marginalized or on the outskirts of the community. They want to be involved.”

Harshbarger said Mosaic clients utilize libraries such as Liberal Memorial Library much during day services.

“We have one gentleman who wants to improve his computer skills, so he spends the time at the library on the computer learning more about how to search the Web for the items he may want to purchase,” she said. “It’s just one of the things to develop people to where they are more independent and also be able to enjoy the community around them.”

Harshbarger said Mosaic’s mission centers on advocating for people’s possibilities in life.

“With that, this really does open different ways for us to be able to do that,” she said. “We partner with business to employ our folks. We also partner with activities to be done in the community.”

As a non-profit organization, Mosaic seeks sponsorships from community businesses and to get more involved with church families.

“There are many of the churches around town that have open doors for our folks to be able to attend and understand they may not stay completely quiet during a church service,” she said. “They welcome that instead of saying, ‘You can’t come because you’re loud at an inappropriate time.’ It’s seeking to understand and openness for people to understand even though people with a disability may not be the same, that’s okay because that actually enriches our lives to have that openness and understanding of other people. It really does make a stronger community.”

As part of DDAM, Mosaic did mayoral proclamations in both Liberal and Garden City, and Harshbarger said a group from the area agency likewise went to Topeka for an Advocacy Day to allow clients and staff to speak directly to lawmakers about issues that concern them, which she said is always a fun trip.

“We have about 20 people signed up,” she said.

Next week, Mosaic has a lunch and learn event scheduled in Dodge City to talk about the agency’s partnership with Arrowhead West and introducing the Mosaic at Home model in that area.

As a whole, Harshbarger said Mosaic officials try to bring as much awareness as possible to the needs of those with developmental disabilities, and she said DDAM is helpful with that objective.

“We are very fortunate to live in such a wonderful community that does embrace the population we serve, and that has always been really good about being able to reach out to the city and have the mayor do a proclamation and bring that awareness to the forefront,” she said.

As for the rest of 2026, Harshbarger said Mosaic in Southwest Kansas is simply looking to further its mission of providing independent services.

“We’re going to continue to grow Mosaic at Home,” she said. “We’re definitely looking for people in Liberal to become those host home providers for someone. In addition to that, we are also going to be doing a lot of downsizing our footprint in Garden City as well and getting those day services to more without walls like they are in Liberal and continue to work with people to help them achieve their best lives.”

As for what she hopes people get out of DDAM, Harshbarger said she simply hopes people take a minute to understand Mosaic is a community of diverse people and that inclusion does matter.

“When you feel you belong in your community and you’re a part of it, it gives you that feeling you are included and you are accepted,” she said. “That’s where we do want people to take that minute to think about how belonging matters to them, and belonging matters to everyone.”