ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608090099
SECTION: DISCOVER ROANOKE VALLEY PAGE: 17 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN ADAMS STAFF WRITER
If Steve Surratt could shout one proclamation from a mountain top, it would be: ``Treat the disabled as you would anyone else.''
As a rehabilitation counselor with Virginia's Department of Rehabilitative Services, Surratt follows that credo as he helps people overcome obstacles to their independence.
``Our goal is to help people get the things they need: incomes, jobs, and proper equipment if they need it,'' he says.
But sometimes what they need most is understanding from others. Surratt says he hears too many stories about bias, rudeness and simple misunderstanding. ``People are still discriminated against in subtle ways,'' he says, even if they are managing just fine.
He gives an example of a well-meaning passer-by who offered to help a disabled woman load her wheelchair into her car, even though she said she preferred to do it herself. But the man insisted.
``So he bangs her wheelchair all up and bends it trying to get it in the trunk. That's her thousand-dollar wheelchair.''
More education needs to be done, he says, and fortunately there are many agencies in the Roanoke Valley - including a generous church community - trying to do just that. All area services work together to provide comprehensive help.
Before coming to DRS in May, Surratt was a counselor at Blue Ridge Community Services, Roanoke Valley and Lewis Gale Psychiatric Center (now Pavilion), and an emergency child care worker at Virginia Baptist Children's Home. He also worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital as an intern while attending Roanoke College, an experience that convinced him he wanted to be a counselor.
He credits his former professor George Kish and his introductory psychology class with changing his life: Afterward, Surratt changed his major from accounting to psychology. He's followed that path ever since.
Besides deepening his experience, his different jobs have saved him from ``compassion fatigue.'' ``That's how you give better service to people,'' he says.
The Salem native, 37, also keeps his work separate from home, where he lives with his wife, Evie, and their children Ross, Brienne and Cory.
A sense of humor helps, too. An avid Star Trek fan, Surratt displays a model of the Starship Enterprise on his desk. He also has a calculator-size Star Trek ``scanner'' in his drawer for humor emergencies. He'll whip it out, point it at his puzzled clients, press the button that makes it hum like a cicada, and announce, ``Okay, you're all right now.'' Then he'll send them on their way. It always makes them laugh, he says.
Over the years, he's learned a valuable lesson from his clients. ``There's really no difference between people,'' he says.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Surrattby CNB