ANOTHER LAWSUIT FOR UBER, INACCESSIBLE SERVICES TO WHEELCHAIR RIDERS IN WASHINGTON D.C.

Investigation reveals higher fares and longer wait times for wheelchair users

WASHINGTON, D.C, – June 28, 2017— Today, the Equal Rights Center (ERC)—a national non-profit civil rights organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.—filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies, Inc., alleging that Uber has designed and operated its transportation service in the District of Columbia in a way that effectively excludes wheelchair users from its basic “UberX” product, and instead, directs them to the limited number of accessible DC taxi cabs through their “TAXI WAV” (wheelchair accessible vehicle) option. The lawsuit also alleges that none of the 30,000 or more vehicles operated by Uber drivers in the District is capable of transporting individuals who use wheelchairs that cannot be folded and stowed in a trunk. As a result, wheelchair users are deprived of the opportunity to ride in Uber-affiliated vehicles, and subjected to substantially longer wait times and higher fares as compared to other Uber customers.

Uber’s failure to ensure a comparable level of service for wheelchair users in the District of Columbia violates Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires companies like Uber to provide “full and equal enjoyment” of Uber’s services. ERC also alleges that Uber has violated the D.C. Human Rights Act, which provides that people with disabilities shall have “an equal opportunity to participate fully in the economic, cultural and intellectual life of the District,” including transportation and tech company services. ERC is represented by the civil rights firm, Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC and Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

ERC conducted a civil rights testing investigation that compared the experience of customers using “UberX”, Uber’s most popular application option, to customers using Uber’s “TAXI WAV” option. Test results revealed that wheelchair users waited an average of eight times longer for an accessible vehicle to arrive and paid as much as twice as much in fares. The investigation also established that, on occasion, no accessible vehicles were available at all.

ERC Executive Director Melvina Ford comments: “Uber is not exempt from anti-discrimination laws. It has a legal obligation to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access its transportation services without excessive costs and wait times. This is a problem we know Uber can fix.”

Michael Allen, a partner at Relman, Dane & Colfax, said: “Uber had the power to design and implement services in the District that connect wheelchair users to employment and educational opportunities, support services and cultural events. It just chose not to do so. By flouting federal and local accessibility laws, Uber deprives wheelchair users of the life-changing benefits of the convenient, affordable, on-demand services that Uber delivers to its customers who don’t use wheelchairs.”

Matthew Handley, Director of Litigation at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, added: “Federal and local disability laws require companies such as Uber to provide full and equal enjoyment of their services to the disability community. Uber’s practices not only deny such enjoyment, but convey to the disability community that its patronage is not wanted.”

source: Equal Rights Center press release

2016 Census Finds Increase in Children with Disability, But More are Still Uncounted

The 2016 Census has revealed an increase in the number of children with disability, up nearly 40,000 since 2011. One explanation is that the census now counts disability differently, which is more in line with the way many children and families view disability. 

article by  Karen R Fisher And Sally Robinson, published in The Conversation | June 28, 2017           

But other children continue to miss out on support because they do not name their needs as "disability". And services don't yet have adequate funding for even the revealed number of children, so other children who require assistance are left out.

A census that counts people who identify as having a disability, as well as those who need support, could help resolve these problems.

Defining disability
Children and young people who need support related to disability has risen from 2 percent to 2.6 percent of children—or 38,309 more children than in 2011. The most striking change is boys with disability aged 5-14 years, who have increased to 4.4 percent of all boys their age. These rates are even higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children—7.4 percent of boys aged 5-14 years and 4.4 percent of all children and young people aged 0-19 years.

The census counts disability as "has need for assistance", which it defines as "profound or severe core activity limitation". The definition was introduced in the 2006 Census to be consistent with international measures and other national surveys, which focus on counting support needs. Before 2006, disability was not counted at all. The continued increase each census since 2006 is probably due to more Australians identifying with the definition or seeing the benefit of identifying as disabled, now that policies to support disability are changing.

Knowing who the definition covers is important. The census count of "need for assistance" is good to inform government planning about high levels of support some people need to participate equally in our communities. Estimating the number of people likely to need a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) package is a current priority. This census counted 562,629 people aged under 65 years – over 100,000 more than the NDIS planning estimates.

Equally important for children is planning access and support in school, playgrounds and other places where children participate in their families and communities. The higher 2016 Census count shows these plans need to expand.

Who isn't counted?
The census question only counts people with high needs, not all people with disability. Unfortunately, the question is not complemented with an identity question about whether you have a disability. This means people with disability who do not need assistance – for example, some people who are blind – are not counted. The World Health Organisation estimates the larger total would be closer to 15 percent of all Australians, rather than the 5.1 percent measured in this census.

This gap means another 10 percent of Australians are not officially counted, yet they too face barriers to participation, including access and attitudes.

Disability advocates consistently express concern that by not asking Australians directly about their disability or impairment, the census fails to count the population of people with disability accurately – it only captures people who need assistance.

Fixing this gap is important for Australia's obligations to all Australians under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The NDIS relies on better access to social and economic life for all people with disability, including people not eligible for NDIS packages.

Not gathering information about this 10 percent of our population is a missed opportunity. It means we simply don't know how many people with disability may benefit from, and contribute to, more accessible communities and new social and economic opportunities. For children, this is critical to having an inclusive community as a foundation.

Views about disability
Counting disability is complicated because it's rarely the way children see themselves. Rather, they speak about what supports them to feel a sense of belonging in their local school and community and what helps them build real friendships and relationships. They also talk about the barriers that make belonging difficult, like loneliness, ill-treatment and lack of support.

Children and young people with disability are often positioned as passive recipients needing assistance through family, friends and services. Research with children and young people themselves, however, shows they want to be recognised for their active contribution to their families and wider networks. Their positive identity is more important to them than their support needs.

One of the interesting changes since the introduction of the NDIS is that families and service providers are now also using the "need for assistance" definition of disability, which is consistent with the inclusive vision from the UN Convention. Their advocacy with this definition means support for young children in Australia has expanded already even though the NDIS is still growing.

Children receiving disability support are now more likely to use it while they are with other children in their community, rather than in separate services. Families' capacity to demand these inclusive services recognises the rights of their children to get the support they need to enjoy their childhood and have the same options as their peers in the future. These trends are also consistent with the insurance approach of the NDIS: that assistance now is an investment for later.

Funding and support
The increase in the numbers of children and young people with disability may reflect families' optimism about having their children's needs met in the new NDIS world. It certainly promises to replace long waiting lists and capped places of previous systems. The census numbers reinforce the higher number of children in the NDIS than expected, which is upsetting NDIS estimates. The NDIS has detailed data about people using the scheme. This will not resolve the question about the total number of people with disabilities though. People receiving NDIS packages are those likely to already be those identified in census data as needing support.

Data collection in schools has also recently improved with the introduction of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for school students with disability. Most children and young people participate in the school system, so these data will inform understanding about adjustments to support students in their education.

Bringing these large data sets together means we can understand the types of supports families need, and where there are service gaps between schools and the NDIS.

Lessons from data need to be discussed alongside the expectations and experiences of children, young people and families to ensure they're getting the support they need. This will help children enjoy the opportunities of childhood, rather than the current disproportionate but necessary focus on dismantling barriers to belonging.
https://theconversation.com/census-shows-increase-in-children-with-disability-but-even-more-are-still-uncounted-80143

To Ensure Equal Protection, the14th Amendment Should Be Used for People with Disabilities

Any American, at any stage of life, could join the nearly one-in-five of our citizens who has a disability. If people with disabilities were a formally recognized minority group, they would constitute the largest minority population in the United States.

article by LINDA KLEIN for the ABA Journal | June 27, 2017                                                             

ABA President Linda Klein.
Photograph courtesy of the Office of the President.

But they are not, and that presents some difficult legal issues. When it comes to employment opportunities, educational equality and access to fair benefits, people with disabilities can lack essential constitutional protections.

Did you know that it is legal to pay you less than minimum wage if you have a disability? And you can be denied a job opportunity if an employer has to make an accommodation that is deemed “unreasonable.”

People with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty and far more likely to be unemployed.

People are not disabled by physical or cognitive impairments. Rather, architectural barriers, societal attitudes and discriminatory policies contribute to the status of those with disabilities.

How our government and we, as a society, address the issues that confront people with disabilities and their families—from transportation, to employment, to education, to full and equal access to services—defines us as a people.

We have made progress in the past 50 years in the area of disability rights. New assistive technologies have made it possible for people with disabilities to use computers, phones, elevators and mass transportation on their own.

And Congress has passed several laws that have protected the rights of those with disabilities, including the Architectural Barriers Act in 1968, the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1970, the Rehabilitation Act in 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975, the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 and the Fair Housing Amendments Act in 1988.

Thanks to these laws, individuals with disabilities have greater access to buildings, public transportation, housing and education. All these laws led up to the crowning legislative achievement: The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990. The ADA prohibits discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations and telecommunications.

In spite of this progress, constitutional limits protecting people with disabilities remain.

The 14th Amendment, and especially its Equal Protection Clause, has been a powerful tool in the battle for civil rights in our courts ever since the 1954 Brown v Board of Education ruling that determined schools segregated by race were unconstitutional. While the 14th Amendment has been used to uphold the rights of women and minorities, it has not proven as effective in the disability rights movement, due mainly to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling more than 30 years ago.

In 1985, the Supreme Court ruled in City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. that a permit for group home for mentally disabled people should be granted. But despite the ruling in favor of the home, the court did not find that the mentally disabled were in a class that was historically subjected to discrimination. Therefore, they were not entitled to a stricter level of review under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

This decision has made it much easier for states to pass laws that discriminate against people with disabilities. States have a lower bar to clear when proving that they have a reasonable and rational excuse for not making accommodations for people with disabilities. Many times, showing the added costs and expenses has proved sufficient for the courts.

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of individuals with disabilities based on statutes. In March of this year, the court ruled 8-0 in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School that a child with disabilities is entitled to more than just a minimal education. But the decision was based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and not the 14th Amendment.

Several disability rights groups recently sued the New York City subway system over its lack of accessibility. Only 117 of the system’s 272 stations, less than 25 percent, are accessible to people who cannot use stairs. But again, no mention of the 14th Amendment in the complaint. Instead, plaintiffs are claiming violation of the New York City Human Rights Law, which recognizes disability as a protected class and offers broader protections.

While the courts have not yet recognized that rights of people with disabilities are fully protected under the 14th Amendment, the American Bar Association supports legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disabilities akin to existing prohibitions on discrimination based on race, sex, national origin and religion. If stronger legislation, such as the New York City Human Rights Law, is not passed more broadly in America, then judicial action is needed to ensure those with disabilities can function as equal, productive members of society.

It’s time for courts to recognize the rights of people with disabilities. Constitutional protections are required if they are to have true equality. We celebrated the 14th Amendment during Law Day on May 1. We would do well to pursue constitutional protections for those with disabilities so truly all can benefit from America’s commitment to freedom and equal opportunity for all.

Linda Klein is the senior managing shareholder at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz and president of the American Bar Association. Follow President Klein on Twitter @LindaKleinLaw or email abapresident@americanbar.org.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/14th_amendment_should_be_used_to_ensure_equal_protection_for_those_with_dis

How to Contact Your Elected Officials in 2017

Use this directory  at USA.gov to find contact information for your elected officials on both the local and national level. Let them know that you are a constituent who is concerned about (your issue) and wish to speak to someone regarding these issues.

Social media is another powerful tool for communicating directly with elected officials; use this verified list of members of Congress on Twitter to instantly voice your opinion about the issues that matter to you.

A full list of US senators on Twitter - 2017 is available on BirdSong Analytics.

The Day Disability Rights Activists ADAPT Stormed Sen. Mitch McConnell's Office

ADAPT, a national disability rights organization, organized a protest to fight back on the health care bill.

Disability rights activists from grassroots group ADAPT staged a "die-in" in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, June 22nd, 2017.

Article by s.e. smith for ROLLING STONE | 06/22/2017                                                                      

As Senate Republicans rolled out the Better Care Reconciliation Act, their health care reform proposal, on Thursday, the halls outside the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were starting to get a little crowded. Sixty disability rights activists from grassroots group ADAPT, many of whom were using wheelchairs, staged a "die-in" to protest steep Medicaid cuts in the bill. They were arrested and removed by Capitol Police, with witnesses saying that some protesters were dropped by police officers dragging them from their chairs.
 

Bruce Darling, an ADAPT organizer who participated in the die-in, tells Rolling Stonethe group took less than a week to coordinate. "It's truly un-American that the Republicans in Congress are trying to steal from disabled Americans to give to wealthy people," he says, describing the impetus behind the protest.

While ADAPT may not be widely known outside the disability community, the group has been fighting for disability autonomy since the 1970s, representing the 20 percent of the U.S. population that lives with a disability. The 43-year-old organization has engaged in thousands of direct actions like this one across the country. In Washington alone this year, protesters were arrested outside the White House in May and dragged from the Capitol Rotunda in March at the behest of House Majority Leader Paul Ryan (R-WI).

This protest comes with high stakes: Both the House and Senate "Trumpcare" bills propose radical changes to the American health care landscape that would hit disabled Americans first, and hardest. Some of the deepest cuts are to Medicaid, the entitlement program developed in 1965 to provide health coverage to low-income Americans. The Affordable Care Act allowed states to opt in to an expansion that brought more Americans into state Medicaid programs, and both the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and BCRA threaten to roll back that expansion.

At the same time that Trumpcare will kick millions people off Medicaid, contributing to a spike in the uninsured rate in America, it’s also promoting block granting as a funding model. Republicans say block grants, in which states receive a bulk disbursement of federal funds to spend on health care, increase flexibility. In one sense, they do: They allow states to decide what they want to stop covering, and to severely limit the availability and nature of Medicaid coverage to residents.

This is worrying for low-income people with complex health care needs – and with 27 percent of disabled people living in poverty, that means a disproportionate number of disabled Americans. ADAPT isn't just concerned about whether disabled Americans will be able to access health care services, however. The group also believes that Medicaid austerity will push disabled people into institutional settings for care. It’s fitting that this protest coincides with the anniversary of 1999's groundbreaking Olmstead v. L.C., the Supreme Court case that affirmed disabled people have a right to live in the community.

The fight for deinstitutionalization has been a core of disability rights activism for decades. Disabled Americans argue that being able to decide where you live should be viewed as an intrinsic civil right. Historically, people with complex needs have been forced into residential facilities by bureaucratic policies that limited coverage for so-called home and community-based services (HCBS). Medicaid, for example, would refuse to provide coverage for aides and other supports in the community, while still paying for nursing home care. People who couldn't afford this care on their own had only one choice: Disappearing into an institution.

"If you have a car accident ... if something happens to you," says Darling, "Do you think it's appropriate for the government to say you shouldn't have the same right to life and liberty?"

Aside from being a question of human rights, this is also a question of cost, something that should appeal to budget-conscious Republicans. According to 2012 analysis by the National Council on Disability, a nonpartisan federal agency, it is substantially less costly to allow disabled people to live in their communities. In some states, it can cost over $300,000 annually to institutionalize a single disabled person – and that person could get community-based care for as little as $21,000.

Disability justice and fiscal conservatism, in this case, have a lot in common. This is also an issue much bigger than disability. Drastic cuts to Medicaid will hit seniors hard as well, and they'll cause drastic changes at many community hospitals. Medicaid funding is also used for activities like supporting education for disabled students, indirectly improving education for all students.

Over coming days, argument over the language in the bill surrounding Medicaid reform may be fierce. Changing the structure of this entitlement program could save the federal government billions of dollars in the short term, but only at great cost to society.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-disability-rights-activists-stormed-mitch-mcconnells-office-w489441

U.S. Access Board Meeting and Webcast (July 12, 2017)

The U.S. Access Board will hold its next meeting on July 12 from 1:30 – 3:00 (ET) at the Board's conference space in downtown Washington, D.C. The public is welcome to attend in person or through a live webcast of the meeting. The meeting agenda includes updates on various Board programs and activities.

A public comment period will be held during the final 15 minutes of the meeting. Those interested in making comments in person or by phone should send an email by July 5 to Rose Bunales at bunales@access-board.gov with "Access Board meeting - Public Comment" in the subject line. Please include your name, organization, state, and topic of your comment in the body of the message.

Further information is posted on the Board's website.

Meeting of the U.S. Access Board    
July 12, 1:30 – 3:00 (ET)
Webcast link: www.access-board.gov/webcast
Access Board Conference Center
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, D.C.
Note: For the comfort of all participants and to promote a fragrance-free environment, attendees are requested not to use perfume, cologne, or other fragrances.

For more on the U.S. Access Board, visit: https://www.access-board.gov/

Fed Court Upholds Ruling Against D.C. Schools on Special-Needs Students

A federal appeals court on Friday (June 23, 2017) ruled that the D.C. government is not doing enough to find and assist young children with special needs who have not yet entered the school system.

article by Joe Heim for The Washington Post | June 23, 2017                                                                 
In a 3-0 ruling, the court upheld an earlier decision that found a “persistent failure” by city officials to provide services for some of the city’s most vulnerable children and their families.

The long-running case began in 2005 when parents of six children, ages 3 to 6, sued the District of Columbia, alleging that the city failed to meet the requirements of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A provision of that law called “Child Find” holds school districts responsible for reaching out and locating young children with disabilities and developmental delays and providing services and programs for them so that they can more easily transition into kindergarten and elementary school.

In 2011, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in DL v. District of Columbia, saying that District officials’ “persistent failure to live up to their statutory obligations, a failure that works a severe and lasting harm on one of society’s most vulnerable populations — disabled preschool children — is deeply troubling to the court.”

Lamberth ordered the city to ensure that at least 8.5 percent of District residents between the age of 3 and 5 receive special-education services. Earlier court findings had shown the city was regularly failing to identify between 98 and 515 children a month with disabilities and had the lowest percentage of special education enrollment in the United States. In the 2014-15 school year, the city provided special education and related services to 6.2 percent of the city’s 3- to 5-year-olds, District officials reported. The early intervention programs in the District are run by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), and the preschool programs are run by the D.C. Public Schools.

Last year, after the case was returned to him, Lamberth again ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, saying “The District’s lack of effective Child Find and transition poli­cies is particularly troubling in light of the intense scrutiny and seemingly constant admonishment it has received over the last decade.”

In its most recent appeal, the D.C. government argued the case was moot because the original named plaintiffs were now over 5 years old and the class action certification of the lawsuit was improper. The District also questioned the federal government’s jurisdiction over how the program was run.

But the court disagreed with the District, saying its position “would eviscerate the very purpose of IDEA” which was intended to make school districts proactive in identifying students with disabilities.

“The District, which has enthusiastically accepted millions of dollars in IDEA funding, now proposes to shift that burden back to the parents,” the court said in the ruling authored by Judge David S. Tatel, who was joined by Judge Thomas B. Griffith and Judge Patricia A. Millett.

In rejecting the District’s argument, the court said: “In the District’s view, it would be up to each and every parent, many of whom are poor, homeless, and perhaps disabled themselves, to somehow determine whether their children are eligible for special education services and then to retain counsel to sue the District to obtain the services to which they are entitled. Given the purpose of IDEA, we cannot imagine a more preposterous argument.”

A spokesman for D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.

The ruling is a victory for children with disabilities, said Judith Sandalow, executive director of the Childrens Law Center. “Fundamentally it clears away a hurdle in the legal battle to get this city to properly identify and provide services to toddlers,” she said. “The earlier we identify the more we can do to make sure that they are still able to learn along with their typically developing peers. The longer we wait, the harder it is to do.”

Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/federal-appeals-court-upholds-ruling-against-dc-on-special-needs-students/2017/06/23/4fa7939e-5836-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html?utm_term=.9c5607901e70

ADA Class Action Suit says Brookstone Website Is Not ADA Compliant

June 22, 2017 - Brookstone was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the retailer’s website is not accessible to blind customers in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Lead plaintiff, New York resident Victor Andrews, alleges in his class action lawsuit that Brookstone.com is difficult, if not impossible for those with vision impairments to access.

The plaintiff claims that the website is full of access barriers that exclude blind customers, including the plaintiff, from even completing a transaction online.

Brookstone is a retail store that sells fitness equipment, games, toys, and gifts. According to the class action, Brookstone’s website, Brookstone.com, offers the same retail goods for sale and offers home and store delivery, along with store information and policies.

According to the Brookstone class action, “[t]he blind access websites by using keyboards in conjunction with screen-reading software which vocalizes visual information on a computer screen. Except for a blind person whose residual vision is still sufficient to use magnification, screen access software provides the only method by which a blind person can independently access the Internet. Unless websites are designed to allow for use in this manner, blind persons are unable to fully access Internet websites and the information, products and services contained therein.”

Over the years, well-established guidelines for making websites accessible to the blind have been followed by big companies, but, the plaintiff alleges, “[d]espite readily available accessible technology, such as the technology in use at other heavily trafficked retail websites, which makes use of alternative text, accessible forms, descriptive links, resizable text and limits the usage of tables and JavaScript, [Brookstone] has chosen to rely on an exclusively visual interface.”

The plaintiff contends that it is not fair and in violation of the ADA for blind individuals to need to rely on sighted companions to access Brookstone’s online shopping site. “Many blind people enjoy online shopping just as sighted people do,” alleges the complaint. “The lack of an accessible website means that blind people are excluded from the rapidly expanding self-service retail economy and from independently accessing Brookstone.com.”

According to the Brookstone class action lawsuit, both the federally mandated regulations found in the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as New York human rights and civil rights laws require businesses to “ensure access to goods, services and facilities by making reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities.”

The plaintiff is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to require Brookstone to utilize technology on their retail website to allow blind individuals independent access. Additionally, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages for discrimination.

The plaintiff is also seeking to represent a nationwide Class of legally blind individuals who have attempted to access Brookstone.com, as well as a New York subclass.

Andrews is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group PLLC.

The Brookstone ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Victor Andrews v. Brookstone Company Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-03733, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

article by Christina Davis for Top Class Actions  News (great resource for Class Action Lawsuits)

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/756255-brookstone-class-action-says-website-isnt-ada-compliant/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=627%20New%20Subs&utm_content=627%20New%20Subs+CID_0bb541f91f95157fd832a668b43e9db9&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=Brookstone%20Class%20Action%20Says%20Website%20Isnt%20ADA%20Compliant

4th of July Fireworks Can Trigger PTSD for Veterans

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. -- Stationed in Khandahar, Afghanistan, for nine months in 2012, Sgt. Matthew Thomason got used to falling asleep to the lullaby of gunfire and explosions -- so much so that he could tell what kind of weapon was being fired just by the sound. When he returned home to Clark County in September 2013, he thought he would miss the noise of war as he transitioned back to the quiet civilian world.

Associated Press | 28 Jun 2016 | by Elizabeth DePompei                                                                        

The first time he heard the crack of fireworks around July 4 the following year, he realized how wrong he was. Thomason, a 28-year-old Louisville native and Sellersburg resident, remembers being at that first Independence Day party when a flashback was suddenly triggered. He was either playing a game or in a conversation with his wife -- he can't remember which -- when someone behind him set off fireworks without warning.

"When that happened, I physically just jumped and didn't really know where I was for a minute," he said. "I had a flashback and we had to leave, and that started to be a trend."

Several months prior, Thomason was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, at a local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic. He was later diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, though he doesn't know which explosion did it. Now when July 4 comes around, he and his wife go out of town, somewhere like the Smoky Mountains where Thomason can find peace and quiet. And he's not the only one.

Thomason is one of an estimated 11 to 20 percent of veterans of the post-9/11 Iraq and Afghanistan wars diagnosed with PTSD, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. While fireworks don't trigger PTSD for all soldiers or veterans, it seems to be a more common occurrence in recent years. Cindy Ramminger, coordinator of the PTSD clinical team at Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Louisville, said fireworks were an issue for veterans from as far back as the Vietnam and Gulf wars.

But with so many soldiers coming home from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq it's becoming a bigger problem, Ramminger said. It's not uncommon for her to hear of veterans leaving their homes on the very holiday they fought in the name of, just to escape the noise.

"It can remind them of what might sound like an incoming rocket or mortars or gunfire, which can cause them to get on alert and it can cause them to be frightened," Ramminger said. "It can push them into a flashback (and) can cause intrusive thoughts, so they'll start remembering a traumatic event like when they got blown up in an IED attack or lost a friend to some kind of explosion."

Thomason said as a solider, he was repeatedly trained to react quickly and defensively when there was a perceived threat. So when he unexpectedly hears fireworks in the weeks leading up to July 4, his body immediately jumps to attention. Unlike what you'll see in the movies, Thomason said his flashbacks aren't necessarily visual. It's more about the smell of the powder left behind by fireworks, a smell similar to a freshly fired M4.

He calls it an overwhelming "feeling of terror."

Thomason has found ways to cope, like making sure his back is against a hard structure when he's feeling unsafe. Breathing exercises help, too, but those tactics don't always work. Sure, he can leave town on July 4 to avoid the triggers, but what about the days leading up to then? Thomason said his terror starts as early as May as people start stocking up on fireworks and setting them off unexpectedly.

Shawn Gourley, the co-founder of "Military with PTSD", a nonprofit organization based in Evansville, said that's the issue many veterans have with early fireworks. Gourley started a Facebook page in 2010 to help spouses of veterans and later created a website with resources for couples and families. Last year, a member shared a photo of a sign he created to put in his front yard that read, "Combat veteran lives here. Please be courteous with fireworks."

The photo got millions of shares, Gourley said. She asked the member if the organization could mass produce the same sign and send them out to veterans. The member said yes and before she knew it, Military with PTSD had sent out more than 4,000 signs to veterans across the country — at no cost to the veterans. This year, the organization has sent out more than 1,600 signs. Different signs for supporters of the cause, including civilians, are now available on the website for a fee.

Gourley said the signs have helped veterans start discussions with neighbors. A knock on the door and a heads up that someone plans on setting off fireworks can make a big difference, she said. For the neighbors, the signs show them a way to help the people who served their country.

"It isn't to stop fireworks. What it is, is any day leading up to July 4 and the days following July 4. If you're going to be setting off fireworks, if you could just give the veterans a heads up. It's the unexpected fireworks that is what bothers them, what can trigger (PTSD)."

In Indiana, state statute allows for fireworks between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. year round and until midnight on holidays like July 4. Local ordinances can limit when fireworks are allowed, but state statute trumps those ordinances between June 29 and July 9. During that timeframe, local municipalities can not restrict fireworks use beyond the statute.

In Sellersburg, where Thomason lives, an ordinance prohibits all fireworks during the rest of the year. Town attorney Jake Elder said the council planned on adding an ordinance to make exceptions during July 4 season to the meeting agenda for Monday's council meeting. Elder said town officials thought such an ordinance already existed.

Thomason said he's called Sellersburg police about fireworks being set off as early as June 1, but he said he hasn't gotten a response. Police Chief Russ Whelan said he is not aware of any complaints pertaining to fireworks triggering PTSD. Whelan added that the department looks to state statute when regulating fireworks in the town.

Indiana Rep. Steve Stemler, D-Jeffersonville, said he's not aware of any talk about amending state statute in light of the issue. But he said anything that could help veterans dealing with PTSD should be considered.

Thomason said he doesn't want to ruin anyone's fun. Putting a sign in his yard isn't for him, and he knows many veterans who are embarrassed even to talk about their PTSD.

"I think a lot of people would like just more understanding and more respect. There's no need to be setting off fireworks consistently before Fourth of July," Thomason said. "Because going to that place in my head on a regular basis for two months is really a tortuous thing."

Gourley said she understands that not every veteran wants a sign in their yard, but she thinks finding a positive way to confront triggers is better than avoiding them. And beyond that, she said the signs have inspired appreciation. One veteran told her that after putting a sign in his yard, a woman showed up at his door with a bouquet of flowers and a thank you.

Scott Ham, a retired command sergeant major with the Indiana National Guard who lives in New Albany, said he doesn't have PTSD and isn't triggered by fireworks, but he knows vets who are. He said it's important for loved ones to be respectful of those veterans who are triggered by fireworks.

"All of my friends that I know that have issues with it, have all said that it seems like their friends and family insist on pressuring them that it will be OK," Ham said. "But the last thing you want to do is put someone in that position when you don't know what the potential outcome could be."

Thomason, who was medically discharged in February, said his symptoms have gotten easier to manage, but he thinks they'll always be there to some extent. He's now able to work part-time for a New Albany-based piping fabrication company, though he often works from home where he's confronted with fireworks three to four times a week in June. On the Fourth, he may not hear the fireworks or see the colorful display in the sky, but the holiday still represents what he fought for during those 10 years of service: a country where everyone is treated equal.

"That's the America that I fought for, where we have freedom to choose, and we're not discriminated against or put down because of anything," Thomason said. "So for me it still means that. The only thing that's truly changed is how I celebrate it".

© Copyright 2017 Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Illinois Advocates & U.S. Sen Duckworth Outline How Trumpcare Would Devastate Illinois

CHICAGO, IL –June 26, 2017.  U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Illinois advocates for seniors, working families, disability rights, and mental health care today to outline the devastating effects Trumpcare would have on the state of Illinois. Speaking on a press call, Duckworth discussed how the version of Trumpcare Senate Republicans revealed on Thursday after weeks of secret negotiations would increase health care costs for working families and jeopardize the health care of hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans – all while giving millionaires and billionaires a massive tax cut. Audio of the press call is available upon request.

“Trumpcare would force working families to pay more money to receive significantly worse care and put Veterans, women, seniors and people with disabilities on the chopping block – all to give massive tax cuts to President Trump’s billionaire friends,” said Duckworth. “The Republican healthcare bill isn’t just unacceptable. It’s downright shameful. While Republicans leaders are taking extreme measures to shut down real debate and rush this bill through Congress, I will do everything I can to stop Trumpcare in its tracks.”

Other speakers on the call included National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare President/CEO Max Richtman, Citizen Action Illinois Co-Director Lynda DeLaforgue, Access Living President/CEO Marca Bristo, National Alliance on Mental Illness Chicago Associate Director Jennifer McGowan, and EverThrive Illinois Health Reform Initiative Director Kathy Waligora.

“The Senate’s version of the American Health Care Act is an exercise in political expediency that does nothing to safeguard access to quality healthcare for older Americans,” said National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare President/CEO Max Richtman. “It would end the Medicaid program as we know it, astoundingly making even deeper cuts to Medicaid than the House did – costing millions their Medicaid coverage in the process. This is devastating news for today’s and tomorrow’s seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s, cancer, the after-effects of stroke and other serious conditions who depend on Medicaid to pay for long-term care. The Senate legislation will also make healthcare unaffordable for many near seniors aged 50-64, allowing insurers to charge older Americans five times as much as younger adults. Older patients with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease will pay sky-high premiums. Americans of conscience must demand that their Senators put people before party and defeat this mean and heartless legislation before it’s too late.”

“Illinois already is in a state of crisis after more than 700 days without a budget, but the American Health Care Act (AHCA) threatens to take the chaos to a new level, chiefly via massive cuts in federal support to Illinois via Medicaid,” added Citizen Action Illinois Co-Director Lynda DeLaforgue. “This bill will upend the lives of seniors and people with disabilities, make women a second class for healthcare and blow an even bigger hole in the Illinois budget, eliminating $40 billion in Medicaid funding over 10 years. Other governors have taken a clear stand against the cascading impact to their state stemming from the GOP healthcare plan. When the AHCA passed the U.S. House — Rauner said ‘We will continue to voice our concerns as the bill moves to the Senate.’ Governor Rauner has said nothing publicly about how he will blunt the impact of these disastrous cuts to our state Medicaid program. The healthcare of more than 700,000 seniors, children and people with disabilities hangs in the balance and the Governor has given them nothing but platitudes.”

“Reducing access to mental health services is a step in the wrong direction, making it harder for people to get medications, therapy, case management and support services that they need to live in recovery,” added from National Alliance on Mental Illness Chicago Associate Director Jennifer McGowan. “Continued reductions to our already fragile and under-funded mental health treatment system would be devastating to nearly one third of the Medicaid population living with mental health or substance use disorders. Government cannot turn its back on those that are living productive and fulfilling lives because of the treatment they are receiving. We need more coverage for mental health care, not less.”

“EverThrive Illinois is horrified at the proposals put forward by Republican members of Congress in the American Health Care Act and now the Better Care Act,” said EverThrive Illinois Health Reform Initiative Director Kathy Waligora. “These bills are shockingly cruel and seem intentionally designed to make women—and by extension their children—less healthy. In crafting their health plan, it is clear that the GOP is not concerned with truly improving health outcomes, reviewing the evidence, or employing compassion in a complicated system; they are concerned with winning and women and children will be the ones to lose.”

Source: http://duckworth.senate.gov

State of Massachusetts Seeks Changes After Abuse of Mentally Disabled Patient at Judge Rotenberg Center

Investigators say two employees beat, whipped and spat on a restrained patient.

article by Sean Philip Cotter for The Patriot Ledger | June 22, 2017                                                      
The state recommends that the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center take a hard look at its policies after two now-former employees were charged with assaulting a patient.

The Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission investigation into the matter substantiated the abuse claims, according to the investigation report obtained by The Patriot Ledger.

The two ex-employees are charged with striking a tied-down mentally ill man with a belt and their hands on multiple occasions, as well as spitting on him at a Randolph residence owned by the Canton-based center.

“That (the two employees) acted with so little regard to (the victim’s) dignity and his behavioral program for such a period of time suggests that staff is either insufficiently trained or supported to carry out complex treatment programs for individuals with disabilities,” the commission wrote in its report.

The investigators found that the two employees had been doing this from time to time for nearly a year, according to the report. The commission wrote that the length of time this went undetected was concerning.

″(The Rotenberg Center) should review and revise this system to ensure the best protection for students and staff,” the report states.

No one from the center returned a message seeking comment Thursday afternoon.

Emil DeRiggi, the deputy executive director of the commission, said that the recommendations in the report are non-binding, but facilities generally acquiesce to them.

“They are typically followed pretty closely by whoever the recommendations are made to,” he said on Thursday.

The commission says that the main goal of any investigation the commission does is to determine if there’s further harm possible to any victims, and how further harm can be prevented.

As is normal protocol, the commission sent the completed report to the state Department of Developmental Services, which is one of the licensing agencies for the Rotenberg center.

No one from that department could be reached for comment Thursday.

The two employees charged are Mohamed Tarawally, 36, of 200 Hancock St., apartment 33, Boston, and Claude S. Guerrier, 24, of 67 Weston St., Brockton. Rotenberg suspended and then fired the two men after the allegations surfaced. They are both due to be arraigned in Norfolk County Superior Court at 2 p.m. Friday on assault charges.

Police say that Tarawally threatened, punched and hit with a belt an adult male patient. Guerrier shoved the patient, threatened him and spat on him, according to police.

Randolph police wrote in their report that video surveillance in one resident’s room in the facility at 20 Country Club Drive showed that one or the other of the men, both working the overnight shift, had committed these crimes at various times in October and November.

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center has been the center of controversy for years, mostly over its use of electrical shocks on some of its patients as behavior-modification therapy. The private center, which provides various educational and behavioral services, was using skin shocks on 55 of the center’s 235 patients as of 2014.

That year, the federal Food and Drug Administration recommended that the center stop using the shocks; the FDA became involved after years of complaints from disability-rights groups and even a U.N. report that the shocks are tantamount to torture. Rotenberg has settled lawsuits in the past regarding the use of electric shocks.
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/20170622/state-finds-abuse-seeks-changes-at-judge-rotenberg-center

Orlando Dr Miguel Burgos and Infusion Clinic Owner Sentenced to Prison for Role in Medicare Fraud

June 26, 2017 - An Orlando, Florida  medical doctor and an infusion clinic owner were sentenced to 64 months in prison and two years supervised release, and 90 months and two years supervised release, respectively, today for their roles in a $13.7 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that involved submitting claims for expensive infusion-therapy drugs that were never purchased, never provided and not medically necessary.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow of the Middle District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

Dr. Miguel Burgos, 60, of Gotha, Florida, and Yosbel Marimon, 40, of Winter Park, Florida, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. of the Middle District of Florida. Judge Dalton also ordered the defendants to pay $9.8 million in restitution and to forfeit the same amount. As part of his plea, Marimon also consented to the forfeiture of real property valued at approximately $1.7 million. Burgos and Marimon each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud: Burgos on February 9, Marimon on February 16.

As part of his guilty plea, Burgos admitted that between July 2008 and September 2011, he was the medical director of four Orlando-area infusion clinics that received Medicare funds. Marimon admitted that he was one of the owners of the four clinics. Burgos and Marimon further admitted that they billed Medicare and private insurance companies for, among other things, expensive infusion therapy medications, including anticancer chemotherapeutic medications, despite never administering the drugs. Burgos and Marimon also admitted to submitted false claims to Medicare and private insurance companies for physical therapy conducted at the clinics, even though there was no licensed physical therapist on staff at the clinics, they admitted. In connection with the scheme, the defendants admitted that they billed Medicare and private insurers approximately $13.7 million, of which approximately $9.8 million was paid on the fraudulent claims.

This case was investigated by HHS-OIG. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Timothy Loper prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Andrejko also provided assistance regarding asset forfeiture issues in this case.

The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 3,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $12 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

source: Department of Justice press release

U.S. Senate Health Bill Leaves 22 Million Uninsured; Budget Office Report

WASHINGTON (AP) -  June 22, 2017 -The Senate Republican health care bill would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured in 2026 than under President Barack Obama’s health care law, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Monday, in a blow to GOP leaders’ hopes of pushing the plan through the chamber this week.

The CBO coverage estimates pose yet another problem for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who unveiled the legislation last Thursday. By Friday afternoon, he was facing public statements of opposition from five GOP senators — three more defections than he can afford and still win approval for the legislation over united Democratic opposition. Others have expressed concerns.

The 22 million additional people without coverage under the Senate proposal is just a hair better than the 23 million who’d be left without insurance under the measure the House approved last month, the budget office has estimated. President Donald Trump has called the House version “mean” and called on Senate Republicans to approve legislation with more “heart.”

Of the 22 million, 15 million of them would have no insurance next year, the nonpartisan budget office said. That could be a particular concern to Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who faces perhaps the toughest 2018 re-election race of any Senate Republican and who’s said he can’t support a health care package that cuts Medicaid like the GOP plan and takes coverage from “tens of millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Nevadans.”

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and several other moderate GOP senators have also expressed concerns about the measure’s impact on coverage. On the other hand, four conservatives have said they oppose the current version of the bill for not doing enough to reduce premiums.

The budget office report said it believes the Senate bill “would increase the number of uninsured people substantially. The increase would be disproportionately larger among older people with lower income” — especially those between 50 and 64 and with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level, or around $30,300 for a single person. Those ages are just shy of when people begin qualifying for Medicare coverage.

Earlier Monday, Republican leaders added a penalty to their bill for people who’ve had at least a 63-day gap in coverage during the past year. Under that proposal, if they then buy insurance, they would face a six-month delay before it takes effect. The budget office said its estimate included the impact of that addition.

The change was aimed at helping insurance companies and the insurance market by discouraging healthy people from waiting to buy a policy until they get sick. Insurers need healthy customers who are inexpensive to cover to help pay the costs of people with medical conditions that are costly to treat.

The Senate bill would roll back much of Obama’s health care overhaul. His statute pressures people to buy insurance by imposing a tax penalty on those who don’t, but the Republican legislation would repeal that penalty, effectively erasing Obama’s so-called individual mandate.

The House approved its legislation in May. It would require insurers to boost premiums by 30 percent for those whose coverage lapsed.

All contents © copyright 2017 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The Price of Being Disabled and Black in America

Normal police procedures often force people with disabilities to stay closeted, even to themselves. How can there be justice without addressing the stigma of disability and race?
Article by David Perry, published in The Guardian | June 22, 2017                                                        

On Sunday morning, Charleena Lyles (photo) called the Seattle police to report a burglary. She was a black woman, pregnant, the mother of four children (including a child with Down’s syndrome), living in housing for formerly homeless individuals.

The police showed up, found her in a mental health crisis and allegedly armed with a knife, and killed her.

The killing has provoked widespread outrage across the nation – but how do we go beyond it? How do we untangle the connections between racism, classism and ableism, and police violence?

As the story of Lyles’ preventable death unfurled, a group of non-white and disabled activists in Chicago reacted with grim familiarity.

They know this story. And they’re worried that one of the best tools at their disposal to stop the violence is being taken away.
***
In 2005, Chris Huff tried to kill himself and was taken to Michael Reese hospital on Chicago’s South Side. “My mom took me to go get evaluated. I was going to just get an evaluation and next thing I know, I’m getting checked in,” he said.

Institutionalization didn’t help. Three months later, Huff brought a gun to high school, filled, as he described it, with paranoia and fear. He got jumped, pulled the gun and used it. He was charged as an adult for attempted murder, aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm in a public facility.

He was 15.

Now 27, Huff lives in Ogden Park in Englewood, a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, where I drove to meet him. As the hot afternoon waned, we spent an hour in the shade of the sycamore trees, sitting on a slanted wooden bench, talking.

He was restless. He sat. He stood up. He paced and smoked. Piece by piece, he revealed his theories about disability, race, poverty, policing and the vicious cycle in which Chicago’s disabled black residents have found themselves.

Huff is a member of Advance Youth Leadership Power (AYLP), an advocacy group organized through Access Living, one of Chicago’s leading disability rights organizations. They have taken on a complicated twofold mission.

First, they are trying to teach those concerned about police conduct, including the Department of Justice taskforce, to see the disability component in the broader narrative of an abusive Chicago police department – especially as a third to half of people killed by police have a disability. Second, and perhaps even more critically, these activists are hoping to help their own communities perceive the links between disability and racial and economic justice.

In 2015, the succession of the death by police shooting of LaQuan McDonald, followed quickly by other high-profile cases (Philip Coleman, Quintonio Legrier and Bettie Jones), sparked a wave of action in Chicago. The three men had a disability, and Jones was killed when the police came for Quintonio.

The political fallout eventually led to the resignation of the police chief, and the DoJ later came to town to investigate police procedure, holding open forums where people could discuss their experiences.

That’s where I first met Huff, standing in front of the crowd, telling his life story – teaching. Looking back on his arrest, he says: “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that three months after my diagnosis I was, you know, utilizing a weapon at a school.”

He’s lucky, he says, to have avoided serious prison time. Instead, his mother found him lawyers through a Northwestern institute, and a judge permitted him to move with his mother to Georgia and away from Chicago while awaiting trial.

In the end, he spent a few months in an Illinois facility as a juvenile, rather than a multi-decade sentence that might have followed had be been tried as an adult. When he turned 18, his record was expunged. College, down south, followed. Then the South Side called him back for graduate school and, now, his career with the Vera Institute of Justice, where he works with recently incarcerated youths.
***
No one knows how many of the victims of police violence are disabled.

We have some national data, which I pulled into a white paper for the Ruderman Foundation in 2015, but we’re far too reliant on anecdotes – only because police departments and state governments have been resistant to tracking use of force. The anecdotes remain telling, though. The major cases behind the DoJ investigation of Chicago involved disabled black men.

Laquan McDonald had both PTSD and unspecified mental disabilities. Philip Coleman, who died in custody, had a mental health crisis and police arrived after parents called 911. The officers said: “We don’t do hospitals, we do jails,” and took him to prison. A video released in late 2015 shows a non-resisting Coleman being repeatedly tasered and dragged from his cell. He died not long after. A Chicago police officer killed Quintonio Legrier, a young black man in mental health crisis, while also shooting the neighbor who was keeping an eye on him (a black woman named Bettie Jones).

AYLP and its network of activists decided to get involved. They staged an action outside one of the case’s hearings in July 2016, then went inside to testify.

I was there and watched an 11-year-old boy, his mother standing by, talk about trauma. When he was six, police charged into his back yard, guns drawn (the person they were looking for was several houses down the block). His mother, Melinda Manson, describe her son’s years of nightmares that followed.

Timotheus Gordon, a black autistic PhD student at the University of Illinois who describes himself as “a black football player and dreadhead”, talked about his constant fear of being stopped by police and not being able to respond quickly enough in a way that officers found acceptable. The family of Stephon Watts, a black autistic teenager killed by police in nearby Calumet, talked about their lost loved one. Huff told his story too.

The message was clear: there would be no justice for Chicago residents without addressing both disability and race when it comes to policing.

The good news is that the DoJ investigators heard the message and collaborated with AYLP to organize a number of meetings, some open to the public and some private (and thus safer) to ensure that disabled Chicagoans could tell their stories.
***

Over the fall, I sat down with various members of AYLP to understand their vision. I kept hearing the same two points in different ways.

First, they believe that the legal system is designed to maximize the oppression of black disabled people. Second, within the Chicago-area black community, stigma causes people to avoid talking about disability. In other words, too many people think that talking about LaQuan McDonald as disabled demeans him, or that the conversation around mental illness and policing should be different than the one around autism.

Candace Coleman, Youth Organizer for AYLP, disagrees. She says: “I’m black, I’m disabled, and I’m from the South Side of Chicago.” But she also knows that stigma is a real thing. She always knew she was disabled (she has multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy and asthma, and has been in and out of hospital throughout her life), but it took a long time for her to find true pride in that aspect of her identity.

Today she’s a leader in the disability pride movement, but recognizes that it’s going to take a long time to bring that pride to everyone. In too many communities, “talking about mental health is not OK. You self-medicate, you do what you gotta do to get through, but it’s not OK to talk about it even now.” If no one talks about it, even well-intentioned reformers aren’t going to know to listen.

For Huff, the stigma is a function of the dysfunctional system. He sketched out the pattern for me that day in the park. According to his analysis, oppressive circumstances cause stigma and intensify the negative effects of mental health conditions in particular. Those negative effects lead towards interactions with law enforcement. Law enforcement handles such interactions badly, far too often punishing people who behave differently in any way, and reinforcing the necessity for people with disabilities to stay closeted, even to themselves.

“Once I came into the world, they already had a set of systems for me,” he says. “They had my neighborhood ready for me, the community – because of segregation. Everything was already pre-planned. What I believe is really happening is that a lot of the illness, yes there’s genetic components to it, but they’re manmade disorders. I have to adapt to the current systems and structures in order to receive education, employment, housing.”
***

One of the last acts of the Obama justice department was to release a report on policing in Chicago. It was a devastatingly blunt assessment of the routine violations of Chicagoans’ civil rights by the police. The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, initially dismissed the report as largely “anecdotal” – even when admitting that he hadn’t read it. Sessions is opposed to “consent decrees” between local police departments and the DoJ.

The DoJ report identified widespread abusive practices and made a number of recommendations, including “work with community members from Chicago’s diverse racial, religious, ethnic, gender, and disability groups to create and deliver cultural awareness training in partnership with CPD, and to inform and suggest the development of additional measures that may improve police-community relations.”

The inclusion of disability in that list is a testimony to the work of AYLP, among others, even if Trump and Sessions are trying to throw the report in the trash. As reported by Rachel Cohen in Vice, experts and activists say the city’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel, is using Sessions’ anti-reform message as an excuse to undermine reform in the city.

As Huff and I finished up, he admitted that he sometimes feels he has a “trauma bond” with this slice of Chicago. “I know I’m not the only person who has a trauma bond with the place that they grew up with. Whoever leaves a traumatic experience and returns back to that shit?”

I replied: “It’s not a coincidence that you’re living here, that we are in this park. Where else could you be?”

He looked away. “All I’m trying to do is bring a voice to the conversation of disabilities. I would like to [understand] how structural violence creates or perpetuates the state of psycho-social disabilities, of mental disabilities. How does structural violence create or add to the dysfunction that one experiences in their life?”

He doesn’t feel that he has a choice. Dysfunction is everywhere. He has to adapt. But he finished: “I believe that, fundamentally, if you adapt to dysfunction, you’re gonna adopt that dysfunction.”

David Perry is a disability rights journalist. His work focuses on violence and criminalization, and he’s currently writing a book for Beacon Press with the working title: Disability Is Not a Crime.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/22/police-killings-disabled-black-people-mental-illness