This month the program is “Delving into Disabilities”. What is the reality of a person living with a physical disability?
Successes, challenges, and barriers will be presented as we walk through a day in the life of an individual living with vision loss during this Zoom event. What issues (employment, transportation, vaccinations, voting) are effectively being addressed in our state for all persons with a disability? What accommodations need to be made? It’s time for more awareness and action.
Please register for this program here: https://bit.ly/3lsph5P
In partnership with the Diversity Action Team of Rock County, the YWCA of Rock County, the Beloit NAACP Branch #3251, Hedberg Public Library, UW-Madison, Division of Extension Rock County, Social Justice Edgerton, and Janesville League of Women Voters.
For more information on Youth Action Steps see the resources below.
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- Self educate: Disability is a broad experience. Even one area of life will have many paths and resources to learn about. For example, here are some opportunities to learn about transitions after high school.
- Mary Kampa is the statewide Post School Outcomes Coordinator that focuses on further education and competitive employment for youth with disabilities.
- The Cutting Edge Program at Edgewood College focuses specifically on the college experience and employability skills/internships for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
- UW Whitewater has specific programs for autistic students and has long been a leader in physical accessibility, attracting a fair number of students who are wheelchair users. Additionally, they have programming for the transition to college in their Opening Horizon’s Conference. They have also recently started (or are starting) a program similar to the Cutting Edge, called LIFE, again specifically designed for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
- UW Milwaukee’s Accessibility Resource Center is well-regarded for their programming and services for deaf/hard of hearing students.
- Finally, there may also be some students with disabilities that go into apprenticeships that are supported by Department of Vocational Rehab (DVR)
- Self educate: Disability is a broad experience. Even one area of life will have many paths and resources to learn about. For example, here are some opportunities to learn about transitions after high school.
- Act: Become a disability ally and understand the ways the relationship can go off track. This includes educating yourself about ‘ableism’ in many aspects of our lives such as employment, transportation and voting.
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- https://dignityandrespect.org/disabling-ableism/
- Employment: Negative attitudes from society and employers have bias and stereotypes that go unchecked, include the belief that disability may equate to being “less than.” There are many populations of disability that are under-employed, meaning they have specific training or degrees, but are doing minimum wage jobs. Further funding of inclusion and diversity training that includes participation from represented disabilities should be considered. Job Accommodation Network a great resource for thinking broadly about how specific disability experiences can be accommodated. Remote work changed this to an extent but the change isn’t lasting. A recent article speaks to the experiences of UW students facing this reality.
- Transportation – Lack of city planning (or funding) of transportation is hard for people with disability to get around. In turn, this impacts their ability to find employment and education. It may also limit where they are able to live, (ie. living close to a bus route in a city, or in an area that has access to transportation options like Uber or Lyft). Additionally, it means that sometimes there are additional costs for access, like paying for grocery delivery or hiring an Uber. The lack of transportation impacts psychological fears for the individual as well. There have been studies that have shown that depression and anxiety can be significantly higher for people who have vision loss/blindness because they feel as they don’t have full independence – especially if they have not had orientation and mobility training. Some action steps: Grants for Pedestrian Signals, Streamline Agency Services, Specialized Transit, Increase Mass Transit, Funding for DMV Customer Service Centers
- Voting: Voting is tricky because of the long process and need to have transportation to attain all the paperwork and of the day voting. Such barriers include prior negative experiences at the polling place and lack of accessible voting equipment: Even though state law requires it, there are barriers to getting the machines deployed for people with disabilities to vote. To assure all voters with disabilities fulfill the right to vote privately, securely, and independently, Wisconsin needs a ballot which can be electronically sent to the voter. The voter can then complete the ballot using appropriate assistive technology and electronically securely submit the ballot to the municipal clerk. The call for a fully electronic voting process that complies with the ADA Title II has been adopted by many states. For example, West Virginia, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey and Delaware offer accessible absentee voting.
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- Share your Voice: Youth occupy formal and informal leadership roles and in different settings have a variety of opportunities to invite others to participate. It is important to see life from a different position than where you sit every time you plan an activity or choose a resource to share. Ask yourself and others-
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- What are the impacts of this particular decision?
- Who will benefit from or be burdened by the particular decision?
- Are there strategies to reduce the unintended consequences?
