Local man skydives for 70th birthday, continues to advocate for people with disabilities

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) - A local man with an intellectual, developmental disability checks a box off his bucket list for his 70th birthday.

It is something he may not have been able to do without support and advocacy from others.

“Superman! Up, up, and away! That's what I say!” TJ Monroe said.

For TJ Monroe’s 70th birthday, he had a very specific wish in mind.

“When I was 69, I talked to Adam, and Adam said, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘I want to jump out of a plane when I turn 70.’ And Adam said, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I want to jump out of a plane,’” Monroe said.

Adam Martin is Monroe’s home manager.

Monroe lives in a home through Graceworks Lutheran Services, an organization which helps people maintain a safe and self-sufficient lifestyle through affordable apartment housing for low-income elderly and disabled individuals in a comforting family atmosphere.

But getting to this home was anything but easy for Monroe.

As a young child, Monroe lived in an institution in Connecticut.

“I was labeled with mental retardation for a long time, and I had a number I mean, my number was 3328 and my sister had 3329 in a state institution,” Monroe said.

That term has been eliminated from official language.

Monroe says that for most of his life, “they said I will not get anywhere where I wanted to go.”

That only gave him the spark to get into advocacy, and help others gain a voice for themselves.

Throughout his life, TJ encountered many obstacles, but he always found an ally to help him succeed.

“Sometimes you have to knock on the door and the door don't open and I'm a bulldozer, so I knock down the door,” Monroe said. “I think other people can do the same thing, but they need support.”

That support now comes from a handful of organizations.

“We work very closely with our partners from the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and through their help, we were able to move into our home here and, man, since TJ hit the ground running here and just hasn't stopped,” Martin said.

Monroe certainly felt like Superman when he went skydiving, but that only scratches the surface of what he plans to accomplish.

“I want to get back involved into scuba diving,” Monroe said. “I want to get more involved with people, and I want to be a senator.”

With the right help and advocates, there is nothing he cannot accomplish.

“Don't let someone say you can't do it,” Monroe said. “’Can't’ is not in the dictionary in my book.”