In their own words: A review of Women in Scouting and Scouts with Disabilities

In my newsletter from the National Order of the Arrow Conference, I brought you inside ArrowPride, giving you a sense of the LGBTQ+ affinity space that I helped staff for the week.

But that was only one part of the diversity, equity and inclusion work that took place at NOAC — and only from my narrow perspective. So, I asked the leads of each affinity space to give me their recap of what they witnessed at the conference, and what will stick with them. This week, I’m featuring the Women in Scouting and Scouts with Disabilities spaces. Check back next week for ArrowPride and Scouts of Color.

The responses below have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

Women in Scouting

Emma Wright, youth lead, and Trina Weiland, lead adviser for Women in Scouting:

What was your biggest takeaway from your affinity space last week?

Emma Wright: My biggest takeaway from the Women in Scouting affinity space is always showing kindness and being friendly. One of my goals for our space was to have an area where people feel more than welcome to come hang out and meet new people. Everyone who came into our space was always kind and friendly, which allowed me to reach that goal. Being able to have a space where people felt they were always welcome and where they could be themselves was truly incredible!

Trina Weiland: Scouts wanted those spaces and showed this by the fact that we were constantly busy. And I heard nothing but expressions of gratitude and excitement the entire week from the youth.

Is there a specific moment that will stick with you?

Wright: One day at our affinity space, I had the opportunity to meet several people interested in working and supporting the Admonition Team. There was one specific person that truly inspired me. She began visiting our space towards the beginning of the week, and I was able to become friends with her. She soon told me how she loved the work and purpose of the Admonition Team, and she wanted to be more involved. She continued throughout the week attending any event we had and was always a positive energy in our area. I remember her actions because of her initiative to go out of her way to seek ways to help. Being able to see people from all backgrounds this week being interested in our work was truly impactful.

Weiland: My favorite moment is when a small group of youth  (both men and women) came up and asked how they can repeat our affinity spaces back in their home lodge. We had a long conversation about things to think about and how to start. Then they proceeded to sit down, make friendship bracelets, and made a plan of action for the rest of the time we were open that day. Determination at its finest!

What surprised you the most about how folks interacted with your space?

Wright: The amount of males visiting and hanging out in our space was a surprising aspect of our area. Throughout the week, while we had a large number of people who identify as female in our area, we had several people of all genders hanging out in our area. It was awesome to see that our area made all feel welcome, not only a specific group of people.

Weiland: How guys thought nothing of hanging out and making brackets with their fellow woman scouts. I thought we would predominantly be a space for women, but guys wanted to be in our space just to hang out with their friends. It was nice to see scouts just being scouts, regardless of gender, and enjoying a community space.

What do you hope to do with the momentum from your space/the conference in general?

Wright: I hope the momentum from our space encourages young females to continue pursuing opportunities within Scouting. In several lodges, there may not be very many females, specifically in leadership roles, present. This could possibly discourage females from wanting to serve in leadership positions. I hope the females at NOAC understand there are several females across the U.S. making their own journey within Scouting, and they use that to encourage them to be trailblazers in their own community.

Weiland: I hope we can continue to push this idea of being deliberately welcoming for everyone. My conversations with adults were much more serious about complicated/unwelcoming situations back home. I think we can develop resources to help guide lodges to do better moving forward.

Scouts with Disabilities

Jayden Williams, youth lead, and Eleanor Philips, lead adviser for Scouts with Disabilities:

What was your biggest takeaway from your affinity space last week?

Jayden Williams: My biggest takeaway from the NOAC affinity spaces is that so many new people have expressed their interest in helping their lodges, and even their troops, to be more inclusive to anyone who wants to be involved with scouting.

Eleanor Philips: My biggest takeaway from our room at NOAC is that this area is needed and long overdue. People were coming in all day and expressing their gratitude and thankfulness for finally having a space to go to.

Is there a specific moment that will stick with you?

Williams: There was one scout in particular who felt comfortable enough to share their own disability and a sibling’s to try to find way to help their troop to be more inclusive for both of them, along with others.

Philips: What will remain with me is the times when adults and youth came in and actually started to cry, because they have scouts that they can now help and not be afraid of doing the wrong thing. At one point my grandson was talking with a scout who became emotional when he realized they could do scouts together. This is very impactful and so important in order to make it known that Scouting is for everyone.

What surprised you the most about how folks interacted with your space?

Williams: Honestly, I was expecting to have way more negative interactions than I did. A lot of people are against the idea of accepting everyone into Scouting, so I was expecting way more adverse reactions to the four rooms.

Philips: At Scouts with Disabilities, we had scouts and scouters in our room from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every single day. They were engaged in activities (games, Legos, fidgets, coloring, etc.) as well as asking questions.

What do you hope to do with the momentum from your space/the conference in general?

Williams: I hope that the movement that we all have started will greatly expand throughout the whole country, in and out of Scouting.

Philips: There needs to be a similar room at all conference and Scouting activities. Lodges need to be encouraged to have someone on their team that can carry on the admonition of the OA. We especially need to be staffed the whole day. Scouts do not have scheduled times when they need a quiet, calm place to regulate themselves. The space needs to be open for when the need arises.

Is there anything else you want to share?

Williams: This was probably one of the most eye-opening areas at NOAC and I hope that all the information and acceptance will spread to all of the councils, lodges and troops.

Philips: It was extraordinary to see the impact of how four little rooms (Scouts with Disabilities, ArrowPride, Scouts of Color, Women in Scouting) and a whole lot of dedicated people in a short time could impact the OA and Scouting community. Brainstorming with scouts and scouters on ways they can take back and use the information was amazing.

Did you get a chance to check out the affinity spaces at NOAC? What were your takeaways? Let us know in the comments!