Guy Caruso, Institute on Disabilities Western Coordinator, received one of two individual Community Hero awards at the CLASS 2024 Community Heroes Awards Dinner on October 9 in Pittsburgh. CLASS — Community Living and Support Services — is known in the Pittsburgh region for residential and community-based services and programs serving the disability community.
CLASS annually recognizes humanitarians for their advocacy for inclusive, equitable communities. The dinner was emceed this year by Pittsburgh Action News 4 co-anchor and sports director Andrew Stockley.
A Lifelong Advocate
CLASS's newsletter describes Guy as "a lifelong advocate for individuals with disabilities, [who] has dedicated his career to promoting inclusion, empowerment, and quality of life through his work in education, research, and advocacy. His extensive experience and expertise have had a significant impact on the field of disability services both nationally and internationally."
Past and present collaborators commented on Guy’s contributions to the disability field in a video produced by CLASS. In the video, Sally Gould-Taylor, executive director of the Institute remarked, “Everything that Guy does in his work with the disabled community, he thinks about inclusion first and foremost. He always places disabled people, families, and professionals at the center of the work that he does.”
It's about Relationships
Reflecting on his career, Guy recently said, "This has never been a job. It's about relationships. It’s about spending time getting to know people, breaking bread, working on projects, sometimes with no idea where it's going to lead. Before you know it, you see some commonalities and those commonalities lead somewhere. It’s all about trying to do things that impact people's lives in a positive way. It’s a passion." He continued, "I always use this line from Ed Roberts, who created the Independent Living movement. Ed said disability is an equal opportunity club, and anybody can join on any given day. I'm trying to help people who want to live life as citizens like anybody else. And when my time comes to need assistance and help, I hope people allow me to maintain my dignity and respect and choice, and how I want to live my life."