Veterans help Shake-A-Leg Miami navigate the pandemic

Nestled between Miami City Hall and a slew of luxury condos sits Shake-A-Leg Miami, a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for people with physical and mental challenges to get out on the water.

At Shake-A-Leg, a group of U.S. military veterans has volunteered to lead a vocational boat-building program to equip students with the skills and confidence necessary to seek employment as they enter adulthood.

The students meet in the workshop five days a week from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are given tasks such as sanding slabs of wood, organizing the toolbox, and cleaning.

Francis “Winky” Weinke, one of the veterans leading the boat-building instruction, has never actually built a boat before. “I’m learning as much as the kids are,” he said.

Weinke, along with Simon “Si” Bloom, Michael “Mike” Rubin and Larry Leitner, spend their days putting together the boat in the historic former Coast Guard hangar that has been repurposed as the program’s workshop.

“I want to show them that there is a life even though you have a disability,” said Weinke, who is disabled himself. “We try to get them to be a little better each day.”

The students are part of Project BRIDGE (Building Recreational Independence and Developing Gateways to Employment), an initiative between Miami-Dade Public Schools and Shake-A-Leg Miami that provides students who have mild to moderate cognitive disabilities with specialized instruction in the marine sciences, boating and recreation.

The two-year program uses a curriculum that combines experiential work with pragmatic life skills. The academic portion of the curriculum teaches students transition skills such as real-life math, resumé-building, and filling out job applications. The work experience portion focuses on basic boat repair and teaches boat-painting, sanding, and general entry-level work skills that relate to marine facilities.

Kelly East is an instructor for Project BRIDGE and has worked as a special education teacher for 28 years.

“It’s not just the employment — it’s how much they mature as young adults,” East said. “We are really encouraged by the growth that we see in their maturity, their independence, and the fact that they have so much more confidence.”

Funding hit by pandemic

Shake-A-Leg has established a working relationship with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, as well as the City of Miami, for over 20 years, and special education institutions across the county also have their students attend Shake-A-Leg programs. Through the city, Shake-A-Leg has been able to develop and maintain the facilities and programs that are available today.

Due to COVID-19, Shake-A-Leg has suffered a loss in funding — nearly 40% less of what the program receives in a typical year due to the inability to fund-raise. “We equate the whole COVID experience to the paralysis that I went through after an injury,” said Harry Horgan, the co-founder and CEO of the nonprofit.

Shake-A-Leg received grants from the Batchelor Foundation and the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation, and it continues to seek charitable investments from the philanthropic community in order to continue to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

The organization has also started a boat donation program: Students in Project BRIDGE fix up the donated vessels, which are then sold to members of the community. The sales help generate funds to support the program.

And Shake-A-Leg maintains programs for children, adults, families and disabled veterans.

‘SOOTHING EFFECT’

Marie Whitehurst is the mother of Thomas, 28, who has autism and is nonverbal. She noticed that he had taken an interest in sailing when he began to engage with different organizations on Facebook. Thomas had participated in Shake-A-Leg programs in the past through his schools, and Whitehurst decided to take him to one of their Family Days, where families spend time sailing on the water.

“He was thrilled. You can tell he was so happy, he feels very tranquil on the water, it has a soothing effect,” said Whitehurst. “Thomas, because of his autism, does have a lot of anxiety; the world is a confusing place to him. So this is just a really wonderful opportunity for him to just be out on the open sea, and just feel the wind. They were very supportive here, and they wanted me to bring Thomas to start coming regularly.”

Every day, Shake-A-Leg welcomes returning members as well as visitors and new participants.

“Isolation for people with disabilities has always been a reality and, in COVID, has made it even more difficult. What we’ve focused on is that we have a facility that’s the gateway to the Bay, and we believe that there’s healing and rejuvenating qualities in the Bay,” Horgan said.

“We as an organization, and the services that we provide, are needed more than ever. And that’s where we’re looking at with our outreach efforts — to get as many people with disabilities on the water as possible to share the magic that happens and hopefully inspire them to get back into the mainstream of life through this COVID challenge,” he said.

Free programs for disabled veterans

Shake-A-Leg has supported disabled veterans in South Florida for decades and continues to run free programs aimed to serve soldiers and their families. A few of their programs include fishing, sailing, and rowing.

Lorenzo Latson works as a security detail at the Miami VA Healthcare system, and he adjusts his work schedule to ensure he can make it to the veterans’ fishing excursion on Wednesdays.

“It’s a family. We come here, we share everything that we have with each other. I look forward to this day every week. It’s away from all the craziness at the VA,” Latson said. “We have each other’s back. Who’s going to look after a veteran better than another veteran?”

Since its founding, Shake-A-Leg has expanded its outreach to include not only those with disabilities, but also low-income individuals and at-risk youth. The organization is aware of the limited opportunity for people in the community to access Biscayne Bay, especially in a real estate climate that prioritizes the privatization of oceanfront property.

In an effort to create an inclusive environment, those in financial need do not pay to participate in Shake-A-Leg activities. Shake-A-Leg is also working toward creating opportunities to virtually engage with the organization.

Shake-A-Leg accepts donations on its website: https://www.shakealegmiami.org/get-involved/donate/donate-now/

This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 9:26 PM.