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In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) is very pleased to announce the beginning of a new college scholarship program for autistic students, the Autistic Scholars Fellowship.
The ASAN Autistic Scholars Fellowship program, a new ASAN project to advance campus leadership, will provide 3 to 5 autistic students $5,000 tuition scholarships each to create systems change on their college campuses. Fellows will be required to establish or participate in a leadership role within an ASAN campus chapter or a disability rights student organization, work to promote Autistic culture and community, and take steps to improve disability accessibility and inclusion on their college campuses. Fellows are also expected to check in with ASAN on a monthly basis to receive support in achieving their advocacy projects. Applicants must be Autistic, be willing to publicly identify as such and should have a strong interest in disability rights advocacy and activism.
Scholarship applications can be found here. Completed applications for the January 2016 scholarship period are due on November 15. Application questions will ask students to describe the current problems for autistic and other disabled students on their college campuses and explain how their planned activities under the fellowship will enable them address these problems. ASAN staff will review completed applications and interview a select group of students starting in mid-November. We expect to inform fellowship recipients of their selection by mid-December.
ASAN will look for the following indicators when screening applicants for the scholarship:
ASAN is able to offer this program thanks to the support of a generous donor.
Questions about the fellowship program and the application process should be directed to Natalia Rivera Morales, Leadership Programs Coordinator for ASAN, at nriveramorales@
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Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Autistic Self Advocacy Network "ASAN Autistic Scholars Fellowship" apply by Nov. 15, 2015
Accessing State of Illinois Affordable Housing Resources: PAIR Module Waiting List - Webinar July 30th
Join us for a webinar on Jul 30, 2015 at 11:30 AM CDT.
Register now!
https://attendee.gotowebinar.
Calling all case managers, housing locators, transition coordinators and care coordinators! Please sign up for this Accessing State Affordable Housing Resources webinar!
The new Pre-Screening, Assessment, Intake and Referral (PAIR) online waiting list module kicked off on June 1st. This is the ONLY way to refer people that you are working with to Statewide Referral Network (SRN) affordable housing units. SRN units are available around the state to persons who have a disability OR are experiencing homelessness OR are at-risk of homelessness.
For years, in order to refer someone for SRN units you had to download a referral packet, fill out the forms, get it signed by the referral, fax it to the Lead Referral Agent and then the Lead Referral Agent had to do the same process and send it to the property manager. Well no more! On the webinar we’ll cover everything you need to know to access the PAIR online waiting list.
The webinar will be facilitated by Lore Baker, Statewide Housing Coordinator for Long Term Care Reform, Office of the Governor.
Sign up for the webinar, hosted by Housing Action Illinois, to learn how to get all of the people you are working with on the waiting list and help them access affordable housing.
Register now!
https://attendee.gotowebinar.
Calling all case managers, housing locators, transition coordinators and care coordinators! Please sign up for this Accessing State Affordable Housing Resources webinar!
The new Pre-Screening, Assessment, Intake and Referral (PAIR) online waiting list module kicked off on June 1st. This is the ONLY way to refer people that you are working with to Statewide Referral Network (SRN) affordable housing units. SRN units are available around the state to persons who have a disability OR are experiencing homelessness OR are at-risk of homelessness.
For years, in order to refer someone for SRN units you had to download a referral packet, fill out the forms, get it signed by the referral, fax it to the Lead Referral Agent and then the Lead Referral Agent had to do the same process and send it to the property manager. Well no more! On the webinar we’ll cover everything you need to know to access the PAIR online waiting list.
The webinar will be facilitated by Lore Baker, Statewide Housing Coordinator for Long Term Care Reform, Office of the Governor.
Sign up for the webinar, hosted by Housing Action Illinois, to learn how to get all of the people you are working with on the waiting list and help them access affordable housing.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
as shared by:
11 E. Adams #1601
Chicago, IL 60603
Chicago, IL 60603
U.S. Access Board Releases Next Installment of the Online Guide to the ADA and ABA Standard
The next installment of the U.S. Access Boards online guide to accessibility standards issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) is now available. This material features a series of technical bulletins covering requirements for accessible routes in Chapter 4 of the ADA and ABA Standards, including doors and gates, ramps and curb ramps, and elevators and platform lifts. There is also a bulletin on referenced requirements for accessible means of egress. The documents explain and illustrate requirements in the standards, answer common questions, and offer best practice recommendations.
These bulletins join those released last year when the Board launched the online guide. The first installment provided guidance covering the first three chapters of the standards, including application and use of the standards, scoping in new construction, alterations, and additions, and basic "building block" technical provisions.
The online guide also features a popular series of animations that covers wheelchair maneuvering, entrances and doors, and toilet and bathing facilities. The new installment adds to the series an animation on hazards that protruding objects pose to people with vision impairments. This animation demonstrates standard cane technique, different examples of wall-mounted and free-standing protruding objects, and various treatments to reduce hazards and to make objects comply with specifications in the standards.
The Guide to the ADA Standards covers design requirements for places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, and state and local government facilities covered by the ADA. The Guide to the ABA Standards addresses similar standards that apply under the ABA to facilities that are designed, constructed, altered, or leased with federal funds.
Future installments to the guides will be published as they become available. Users can sign-up to receive email updates on the release of new technical guides in the series.
ALERT: Responsible Budget Coalition State of Illinois Budget "Day of Action" Tell Leaders to Stop Ignoring Revenue Solutions
As of July 1, the state stopped funding vital services and we’re paying the price. Programs that provide shelter to people experiencing homelessness, counseling to households trying to avoid foreclosure and funds to assist in the creation of affordable housing units—these are just three of many programs that had their funding cut off.
The needs of our children, families, and communities are being ignored as politicians in Springfield ignore revenue solutions to Illinois’ budget crisis.
CALL your lawmakers at 1-844-311-CUTS (2887).
Tell them to STOP IGNORING REVENUE SOLUTIONS and pass a fully-funded year-long budget NOW.
Providers have already been forced to cut off families from vital services and eliminate essential jobs. Some have closed their doors.
Further delay is unacceptable because it means more cuts to vital services for children, families, and communities.
Providers have already been forced to cut off families from vital services and eliminate essential jobs. Some have closed their doors.
Further delay is unacceptable because it means more cuts to vital services for children, families, and communities.
Once you have made your call, CLICK HERE to email the Governor and your lawmakers to tell them to CHOOSE REVENUE because Illinois families need a year-long, fully funded budget NOW.
For the Responsible Budget Coalition, visit: https://www.facebook.com/ResponsibleBudgetCoalition
# as shared by many.
Out of over 14,000 Uber vehicles in New York City, ZERO are Wheelchair Accessible
If Uber won't stop for wheelchair users, maybe it's time we all stop using Uber Nationally!
YouTube Published by United Spinal on Jul 21, 2015
Disability Rights Advocates Call Out Uber Over Accessibility Issues
nice article from The Huffington Post, by Joseph Erbentraut, Chicago Editor | July 27, 2015
Uber still has a long way to go in order to make its transportation network fully accessible to New Yorkers in wheelchairs, a disability rights organization said ahead of Sunday's 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The United Spinal Association last week released a television ad and a series of mailers criticizing Uber in the midst of tense negotiations between the city and the app ahead of a City Council vote concerning whether the service would face an expansion cap in New York.
“I’m so shocked about how much discrimination there is in New York City,” Dustin Jones, a disability rights advocate, says in the video. “Getting around the city in a wheelchair is hard. People look the other way.”
Jones went on to point out the progress the city’s disability rights advocates have made toward their goal of making half the city’s yellow taxi fleet wheelchair-accessible -- the city has agreed to achieving that goal by 2020 -- and claimed that, of Uber’s 14,000-strong fleet, zero vehicles are similarly accessible. He also accused Uber of poaching taxi drivers who had been operating wheelchair-accessible cars.
In response to the criticism, Uber pointed to its wheelchair-accessible UberWAV service, which the company said in a statement to Capital New York, launched last August and makes over 300 pickups weekly. The UberWAV service allows users to request a wheelchair-accessible city taxi, but not a black car or any other option, through the app. Spokesman Khan Shoieb added that the app plans to expand that service in the future.
Presently, UberWAV primarily serves the four outer boroughs, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island; the New York Daily News reported in January, that the service is not available in Manhattan below East 96th Street, so the majority of that borough is not covered.
The United Spinal Association counts transportation equity, particularly access to taxis, among one of its key advocacy issues. According to the organization’s website, cities like Chicago, San Francisco and London -- which offers 100-percent wheelchair-accessible taxis -- have already taken action on this issue.
The organization has also pushed for more accessibility in Washington, D.C. In response, Uber DC called itself “an ardent supporter of expanding accessible options” for people in wheelchairs in the D.C. area and indicated that it is working to improve its accessible services in the District.
Meanwhile, a deal reached this week between Uber and the city ahead of the anticipated City Council vote put a proposed cap on the app's growth in New York on hold -- for the time being. As part of the deal, the app agreed to participate in a congestion study.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/disability-rights-advocates-uber-accessibility_55b286eae4b0224d88323078
For Thousands of Vietnam Vets, PTSD Symptoms Persist
More than a quarter-million Vietnam veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms today, four decades after the war's end, a new study estimates. And at least one-third of them have major depression as well.
great article from healthfinder.gov | July 22, 2015
"It's been known for thousands of years that serving in war is a hardship, that readjusting to civilian life is a hardship, and that there is a kind of moral injury involved in the duty of being asked to kill others to defend your country," said lead author Dr. Charles Marmar, director of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
"For some veterans, as they become older, they may become more vulnerable to experiencing PTSD symptoms or might have an increase in their symptoms as their health declines, particularly their neurological health," Marmar said. "But it's never too late to get treatment."
Even for veterans in their 70s and 80s, a combination of psychotherapy, medication, and marital and family therapy can reduce PTSD symptoms, including insomnia, anxiety and irritability, he said.
The Vietnam War ended in 1975. But despite changing times, changing technology and changing attitudes towards war, "in every study, we can estimate roughly 20 to 30 percent of war veterans are vulnerable, and we expect the same from Iraq and Afghanistan," Marmar said.
Marmar and colleagues followed up with Vietnam veterans who participated in a long-term study starting from 1984 to 1988. Of more than 1,800 still alive for this study, 1,450 participated in at least one phase of the new three-part study. The phases included a health questionnaire, health interview and clinical interview.
The findings were published online July 22 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
PTSD is considered an anxiety disorder. People may feel afraid when they're no longer in danger, or continue to relive traumatic events. They have a damaged "fight-or-flight response," says the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.
Several ways exist to measure and diagnose PTSD. This study used measures ranging from full PTSD to major symptoms falling just short of a diagnosis, an important aspect of the study, said Rachel Yehuda, director of the Mental Health Patient Care Center at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York City.
"The idea of 'subthreshold' PTSD is extremely important. We tend to think of combat veterans as having or not having PTSD," Yehuda said. "This study reminds us that the effects of combat trauma really do last a long time and justifies the long-term treatment that combat veterans receive."
Depending on the measure, the study showed between 4.5 percent and 11.2 percent of men and between 6.1 and 8.7 percent of women are experiencing serious PTSD symptoms. When the authors applied these numbers to the number of veterans who served in Vietnam and are still living, they calculated that approximately 271,000 men and women are suffering from PTSD symptoms.
Among all those with PTSD, 37 percent also had major depression, and 16 percent reported a major increase in symptoms since the earlier interview, compared to 8 percent whose symptoms had significantly decreased.
"We have to take a very critical look at what we are offering older veterans," said Yehuda.
"We have to think about helping veterans make lifestyle choices that change the way they feel physically as well as mentally, and focus on building skills and options for productive and meaningful living," Yehuda said.
The persistence of symptoms in some veterans and not others may relate to a variety of factors, including differences in initial exposure to combat, coping strategies and resilience developed before or after combat, said Dr. Vernon Williams, director of the Kerlan-Jobe Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine in Los Angeles.
"Attention must be paid to early, accurate, effective treatment of PTSD as well as other health- and behavior-related issues that, when poorly managed, are likely to increase the disability related to PTSD," Williams said.
The importance of early intervention has implications for today's younger combat veterans as well, Marmar said. The two major supports for returning veterans are the units they served with -- "their brothers and sisters in arms" -- and their families, he said.
"Protecting the families, supporting the units, providing early care, avoiding alcohol and drugs, avoiding social isolation, and destigmatizing care are all critical," he said.
More information
For more about post-traumatic stress disorder, visit the U.S. National Center for PTSD.
SOURCES: Charles R. Marmar, M.D., chairman, department of psychiatry, and director, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City; Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D., director, Mental Health Patient Care Center and PTSD Research Program, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York City, and professor, psychiatry and neuroscience, and director, traumatic stress studies division, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City; Vernon Williams, M.D., director, Kerlan-Jobe Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine, Los Angeles; July 22, 2015, JAMA Psychiatry, online
Copyright © 2015 HealthDay
. All rights reserved.
HealthDayNews articles are derived from various sources and do not reflect federal policy. healthfinder.gov does not endorse opinions, products, or services that may appear in news stories. For more information on health topics in the news, visit Health News on healthfinder.gov.
Note: Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Reader®. If you experience problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Reader® .
great article from healthfinder.gov | July 22, 2015
"It's been known for thousands of years that serving in war is a hardship, that readjusting to civilian life is a hardship, and that there is a kind of moral injury involved in the duty of being asked to kill others to defend your country," said lead author Dr. Charles Marmar, director of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
"For some veterans, as they become older, they may become more vulnerable to experiencing PTSD symptoms or might have an increase in their symptoms as their health declines, particularly their neurological health," Marmar said. "But it's never too late to get treatment."
Even for veterans in their 70s and 80s, a combination of psychotherapy, medication, and marital and family therapy can reduce PTSD symptoms, including insomnia, anxiety and irritability, he said.
The Vietnam War ended in 1975. But despite changing times, changing technology and changing attitudes towards war, "in every study, we can estimate roughly 20 to 30 percent of war veterans are vulnerable, and we expect the same from Iraq and Afghanistan," Marmar said.
Marmar and colleagues followed up with Vietnam veterans who participated in a long-term study starting from 1984 to 1988. Of more than 1,800 still alive for this study, 1,450 participated in at least one phase of the new three-part study. The phases included a health questionnaire, health interview and clinical interview.
The findings were published online July 22 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
PTSD is considered an anxiety disorder. People may feel afraid when they're no longer in danger, or continue to relive traumatic events. They have a damaged "fight-or-flight response," says the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.
Several ways exist to measure and diagnose PTSD. This study used measures ranging from full PTSD to major symptoms falling just short of a diagnosis, an important aspect of the study, said Rachel Yehuda, director of the Mental Health Patient Care Center at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York City.
"The idea of 'subthreshold' PTSD is extremely important. We tend to think of combat veterans as having or not having PTSD," Yehuda said. "This study reminds us that the effects of combat trauma really do last a long time and justifies the long-term treatment that combat veterans receive."
Depending on the measure, the study showed between 4.5 percent and 11.2 percent of men and between 6.1 and 8.7 percent of women are experiencing serious PTSD symptoms. When the authors applied these numbers to the number of veterans who served in Vietnam and are still living, they calculated that approximately 271,000 men and women are suffering from PTSD symptoms.
Among all those with PTSD, 37 percent also had major depression, and 16 percent reported a major increase in symptoms since the earlier interview, compared to 8 percent whose symptoms had significantly decreased.
"We have to take a very critical look at what we are offering older veterans," said Yehuda.
"We have to think about helping veterans make lifestyle choices that change the way they feel physically as well as mentally, and focus on building skills and options for productive and meaningful living," Yehuda said.
The persistence of symptoms in some veterans and not others may relate to a variety of factors, including differences in initial exposure to combat, coping strategies and resilience developed before or after combat, said Dr. Vernon Williams, director of the Kerlan-Jobe Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine in Los Angeles.
"Attention must be paid to early, accurate, effective treatment of PTSD as well as other health- and behavior-related issues that, when poorly managed, are likely to increase the disability related to PTSD," Williams said.
The importance of early intervention has implications for today's younger combat veterans as well, Marmar said. The two major supports for returning veterans are the units they served with -- "their brothers and sisters in arms" -- and their families, he said.
"Protecting the families, supporting the units, providing early care, avoiding alcohol and drugs, avoiding social isolation, and destigmatizing care are all critical," he said.
More information
For more about post-traumatic stress disorder, visit the U.S. National Center for PTSD.
SOURCES: Charles R. Marmar, M.D., chairman, department of psychiatry, and director, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City; Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D., director, Mental Health Patient Care Center and PTSD Research Program, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York City, and professor, psychiatry and neuroscience, and director, traumatic stress studies division, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City; Vernon Williams, M.D., director, Kerlan-Jobe Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine, Los Angeles; July 22, 2015, JAMA Psychiatry, online
Copyright © 2015 HealthDay
. All rights reserved.HealthDayNews articles are derived from various sources and do not reflect federal policy. healthfinder.gov does not endorse opinions, products, or services that may appear in news stories. For more information on health topics in the news, visit Health News on healthfinder.gov.
Note: Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Reader®
. If you experience problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Reader® .Chicago Coalition Marks ADA's 25th Anniversary With New Yearlong Initiatives
In light of the Americans with Disabilities Act's 25th anniversary on Sunday, Progress Illinois profiles new initiatives being spearheaded by "ADA 25 Chicago." The Chicagoland coalition is working to improve access, equality and opportunity for people with disabilities in the areas of education, employment, community inclusion and technology.
nice article from Progress Illinois, by Ellyn Fortino | July 27, 2015
The coalition, which formally launched in mid-April, is called ADA 25 Chicago. The group's goal is to improve access, equality and opportunity for people with disabilities throughout the Chicago region in the areas of education, employment, community inclusion and technology.
nice article from Progress Illinois, by Ellyn Fortino | July 27, 2015
It's been 25 years since the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act was put in place, and more than 160 Chicago-area advocacy groups, government agencies, cultural institutions and businesses have joined forces to develop new programs aimed at expanding opportunities for local residents with disabilities.
The coalition, which formally launched in mid-April, is called ADA 25 Chicago. The group's goal is to improve access, equality and opportunity for people with disabilities throughout the Chicago region in the areas of education, employment, community inclusion and technology.
ADA 25 Chicago's lead sponsor is the Chicago Community Trust, and coalition partners include the disability rights group Access Living, the Chicago Public Schools, the Goodman Theatre, the Illinois Department of Human Services, Motorola Mobility Foundation, PACE, Rush University Medical Center and Walgreens, to name a few.
Emily Harris is ADA 25 Chicago's executive director. She said the coalition is working to "shine a spotlight both on all of the benefits of the ADA, but also on the work that remains."
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, people with disabilities gained a plethora of life-enhancing protections.
The law prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities and mandates access to state and local public entities and accommodations as well as services from the telecommunications industry, which must accommodate deaf or hard-of-hearing consumers.
While significant strides have been made over the past 25 years regarding disability rights, coalition leaders say the disability community still faces many challenges, including disparities in employment, income and educational attainment.
Over 1.4 million Illinoisans reported having at least one disability in 2013, according to the latest disability status report for the state, which was compiled by Cornell University's Employment and Disability Institute. That figure represents 11 percent of the Illinois population.
Some 37 percent of working-age people with a disability in the state were employed in 2013, the most current year of available data. By comparison, 77 percent of people without a disability in Illinois were employed that year.
The median annual income in 2013 was $40,300 for a full-time Illinois worker with a disability. It was $47,400 for a full-time Illinois worker without a disability.
When it comes to educational attainment, 15 percent of working-age people in Illinois with a disability had at least a bachelor's degree in 2013, compared to 36 percent of working-age people without a disability.
Access Living's CEO Marca Bristo, who co-chairs ADA 25 Chicago's steering committee, spoke to some of these statistics.
"The ADA drastically transformed the lives of people living with all kinds of disabilities -- both visible and invisible -- but many improvements are still needed," Bristo said in a statement. "This milestone anniversary is an opportunity to ignite progress toward overcoming the remaining hurdles for the next 25 years and beyond."
ADA 25 Chicago is working on several "legacy projects" that "could move the Chicago region into a place of even greater inclusion in the next 25 years," Harris said.
Last week, the coalition officially kicked off one such legacy project, the Leadership Institute for People with Disabilities. The institute, said by coalition officials to be the first of its kind, will provide leadership training for people with disabilities in the Chicago region and open pathways for them to obtain leadership positions in the private, public and non-profit sectors.
The institute is meant to promote greater disability diversity in leadership roles and make it easier for companies, non-profits and governments to connect with qualified individuals for the positions.
"We've gotten a lot of really powerful and positive feedback both from public officials, heads of non-profits and others who are looking for people, and also from people within the community who have said, 'I don't know how to get into that network, but I want to do it,'" Harris said of the new leadership initiative, sponsored by the Chicago Community Trust, Deloitte, Exelon and ManpowerGroup.
Applications for the institute's "Inaugural Fellows Class" are being accepted through August 15. The first training course will be held in Chicago from December 3 through December 6.
Another ADA 25 Chicago project underway is the Chicagoland Business Leadership Network. That's an affiliate of the US Business Leadership Network, a business-to-business network focused on the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace, supply chain and marketplace.
ADA 25 Chicago is looking to sign up at least 25 companies in 2015 to create this type of business-to-business network in the Chicago area. Thus far, 15 firms have committed to the effort, which the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation is facilitating. Companies involved with the Chicagoland Business Leadership Network -- some of which include AT&T, Comcast, Deloitte, Discover Financial Services, EY (Ernst & Young), Grainger, KPMG, Northern Trust Bank and Walgreens -- will have their first annual summit meeting in November, Harris said.
The coalition's third main initiative is the 25 for 25 Cultural Access Project.
As part of the project, ADA 25 Chicago "challenged 25 cultural institutions to step up and do something to increase their accessibility" in 2015 and report back at the end of year on "how they reached new audiences and what they plan to do for the future," Harris explained.
Some of the participating cultural institutions include the Chicago History Museum, Field Museum, Lincoln Park Zoo, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Morton Arboretum, among others.
Harris said it is exciting to see such a diverse group of individuals, institutions, businesses and others getting involved with the coalition.
"Our message is we're greater together," she said. "And I think the fact that this coalition -- and how people have wanted to get involved in substantive ways, not just holding an event, but really thinking about how do we make changes internally for the future -- is really heartening and encouraging given all the problems we have in the world."
http://www.progressillinois.com/posts/content/2015/07/27/chicagoland-coalition-marks-adas-25th-anniversary-new-initiatives
Monday, July 27, 2015
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act - video (cc)
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), on the U.S. Senate floor on Monday 07/27/2015 to commemorate the ADA's 25th anniversary. During his speech, Durbin noted Access Living Center for Independent Living (Chicago) work on disability issues and highlighted some of the challenges still facing the disability community.
YouTube Published on Jul 27, 2015
Tom Harkin discusses what is ahead for the Americans with Disabilities Act, on the 25th Anniversary
The Daily Iowan Ethics and Politics Initiative spoke to former Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, about the background, legacy, and future of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Senator Harkin was the lead author of what became the ADA 25 years ago and has been honored by numerous organizations for his advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities.
as published by The Daily Iowan, interview BY BRENT GRIFFITHS | JULY 27, 2015
DI: I spoke with Marca Bristo’s, Access Living CEO and former head of the National Council on Disabilities, and she told me that in her opinion that the ADA could not be passed in today’s political environment. Is that something you agree with?
Harkin: I do. We had celebrations all week this week and last week and will continue on for a couple of days next week celebrating the 25th anniversary of the ADA and sort of looking back and seeing how far we’ve come and sort of taking stock and seeing where we need to go to in the future.
A lot of the meetings I’ve been in with like [former] Sen. [Bob] Dole, [R-Kan.] and [former] Sen. [Lowell] Weicker, [R- Conn.] Republicans [former] Rep. Steve Bartlett [R-Texas] another Republican — it was unique point in time. First of all, we had a president of the United States that put his full weight behind it. In fact, when George H.W. Bush campaigned for president in 1988, he committed himself to this. If elected president, he was going to support a civil-rights bill for people with disabilities, and he followed through on that.
So here we had the president putting a lot of his support behind it. We had at that time a minority leader Bob Dole helping us on it. We just had Republicans and Democrats coming together to get this thing passed. I just think that today that just wouldn’t happen.
We had the business community opposed to it, but we worked with the business community, and we got it worked out. So rather than the Republicans saying, “We’re opposed to it, because the business community is opposed to it,” a lot these of Republicans said, “Let’s work this out; we want to get it done, what are your objections?” They went right back to the business community and said, “What can we do to make it acceptable?”
I think today if the business community came out opposed to something like that, a lot of these people on the other side of the aisle would say that’s it, we’re not going to support it.
So we had conscientious people on both sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats that came together. I just don’t think that in the today’s atmosphere the ADA could be passed.
DI: Do you think that any challenges or obstacles could rise up to the ADA with the current political climate?
Harkin: Well, we’re still having obstacles in expanding the ADA and making it a reality. A lot of those are just inherent in changing this vast system that we have. I think we’ve overcome most of them. I think the law is well-settled. Now, we have regulations coming out to enforce the ADA, and that’s where the stumbling blocks might be in the future — that is as with any law, you have to have regulations on how the law is to be implemented and enforced. That’s usually when we run into problems with people not wanting to support the regulations.
DI: There has been some push back from American Hotel and Lodging Association and the motion-pictures industry [specifically the National Association of Theater Owners] to some of the most recent ADA regulations. Do you foresee that happening more so down the road as the [Justice Department] rolls out more regulations?
Harkin: There probably well be, but every time objections are raised, we find that it does not require much to comply with the regs. A lot of it is just an immediate reaction and in just about every case I have seen in the past, once the business community adopts those regs and complies with them they actually do better in terms of their own bottom line — in terms of hiring people with disabilities and employing people with disabilities. That is the big challenge of the future, jobs for people with disabilities. Understand this, more than 60 percent of adult Americans with disabilities are not in the workforce. That is just a blot on our national character — everything we are doing now is to try to overcome that and to get more people with disabilities in the mainstream workforce of America.
DI: Do you need affirmative action type policy to overcome that?
Harkin: Of course. Take one example, section 503 of the rehab act. [Rehabilitation Act of 1973], one portion of that, section 503, says that government contractors have to make sure they practice diversity in hiring — not only including race, sex, and religion but also disability. But it did not say what they had to do — it was sort of there. And so all these years we have been pushing to get a regulation out to tell businesses, this is what we mean. Within the last couple of years, finally came out with a regulation that said that businesses that contract with the government should have a minimum of 7 percent of their workforce being people with disabilities. Now, there may be some of exceptions to that depending on the size of the business, of course, but that is the floor. Since 20 percent of Americans are people with disabilities, one of out every five, then the workforce in any given situation ought to reflect that. So 7 percent is not the end at all; it is sort of a floor, and it should be as we go forward a heck of a lot more than that. That was just one regulations.
And there are other regulations that people have to have affirmative-action programs to make sure that they comply both with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but also the ADA.
Take an example like the Civil Rights Act; you can’t discriminate against people of color. Let’s say you employ, let’s use an extreme example, let’s say that you employ 100 people, but in your pool, you only have one person of color who works there. Are you complying with the Civil Rights Act because you have one person out of 100? Let’s say you just have one woman; are you complying with the mandate on no discrimination of the basis of sex if you have one woman? No. It has to be reflective of the cross section of our society.
It is the same way with disability. You can’t say, “Well, I’ve got one disabled person out of a 100. Well yeah, but 20 percent of the American people are disabled. You’ve got to do a little bit better than that.
DI: The [Rehabilitation] act only applies to government contractors [and federal agencies, programs receiving federal money, and federal employment]. What do you think is best to do in terms of trying to get people with disabilities hired by private employers?
Harkin: First of all,getting private employers to follow the lead of some companies that are doing a very good job of employing people with disabilities. Walgreens, for example, has a tremendous affirmative-action program to hire people with disabilities. And it is doing it. It has a goal of hiring at least 10 percent of all people at all of its stores will be people with disabilities. I visited a Walgreens distribution plant in Hartford, Connecticut, a couple of years ago; 40 percent of the people that work there were people with disabilities. Forty percent. And the CEO said, “I don’t do this out of the goodness of my heart,” he said, that this is my most productive distribution center in America. Other companies have to start looking at this and understanding that sometimes the best workers they will ever get are people with disabilities.
Again, there is always the backstop of legal action.
For example, if I’m a person with disability and I go down to apply for a job for which I’m qualified. Now, I always want to make sure that this is well understood. Neither the ADA nor I ever asked an employer to hire someone who is not qualified for that job.
You meet all the qualifications. They may have to make some minor modification to the workplace.
So you are a person with a disability and you apply for a job for which you are qualified and you don’t get hired — you might want to take that case on. The courthouse door is open.
So you are a person with a disability and you apply for a job for which you are qualified and you don’t get hired — you might want to take that case on. The courthouse door is open.
DI: What are your thoughts in terms of making the online marketplace more accessible and what role do you feel the government should have in that.
Harkin: Well, it’s interesting you would ask me that, because I’m calling from Google’s headquarters here in Washington. And we just had a breakfast with people with disabilities and people who have been advocates in the past. I said this not only to Google but to others, information and communications technology is going to be a big growth area in the next 25 years — it’s huge. The platforms that are designed for both the Internet and the intranet in companies have to be designed from the ground up to be fully accessible to people. Google is basically taking quite a good lead in this area. It asks for ideas and suggestions about what it can do. To me, that is one of the key elements to getting more jobs for more people with disabilities is adaptable technology. Sometimes, a workplace can use technology to make sure that a person with disability can work there — using technology to get their job done, for example. Information and commutations technology can be the gateway to mass numbers of people with disabilities being employed in the future that, but the Internet not designed from the ground up to be accessible; that gate could be closed. That is why it is so important for these high-tech companies to begin to think about what their platform design is like.
DI: You spoken a lot with, and in the Senate, talked a lot about the ADA generation. Do you see people in that generation stepping up and filling the shoes of those who made the ADA possible?
Harkin: Oh sure — that is why I am so optimistic about the future. This ADA generation that grew up under the ADA, they are now in their 20s and 30s: they’ve gone to school and through higher education, college graduates. This morning I was with the young woman who was the first deaf woman lawyer in America and she is African American. These young people, let me tell you, are not going to take a back seat. They are going to continue to push these frontiers of employment, accessibility and adaptability. One of the young women here this morning was Maria Town, and she works at the White House. She was in charge of putting on the whole White House celebration on Monday. There are persons with disabilities that are in key positions. There are going to be business leaders, social-type leaders and government leaders in the next 10 to 20 years, and they to will send powerful signals to younger people about what is possible. I just think this whole new generation they are going to take the Americans with Disabilities Act to a new higher level.
http://www.dailyiowan.com/2015/07/27/Metro/42627.html
Starbucks Ban on Man Who Asked Patrons Not to Park in Disability-Reserved Spot, Though Ban Revoked, Still Advocating Starbucks
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| PHOTO: Rob Rowen said Starbucks sent him a letter, banning him for life. |
(updated below original post, Chicago WGN9 News spoke with Rob Rowen on July 31)
An art gallery owner in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Starbucks have resolved their differences after he was barred from all the coffee chain's locations for causing a "disruption" when he'd ask customers at one Tampa store to stop illegally parking in a spot reserved for people with disabilities.
Rob Rowen said he'd stop by this particular Starbucks in Tampa almost daily. His go-to order was a decaf non-fat mocha with whipped cream.
"All the baristas know me," Rowen, 62, told ABC News.
Rowen said the Starbucks has about 20 spots with just one accessible parking spot. And when he'd see customers illegally park in the spot reserved for people with disabilities, he'd confront them, and nicely ask them to move, he said.
For Rowen, standing up for people with disabilities hits close to home -- his son-in-law has muscular dystrophy and uses a power wheelchair, he said.
"People need that spot," Rowen said, adding that he never raised his voice to patrons.
According to Rowen, some customers would agree and move, but others complained to the Starbucks manager that he was harassing them for using the spot.
"Instead of the manager supporting me ... instead of saying... 'I'm not going to take your order until you move your car,' she [the manager] would take care of them [the customers] and then tell me to leave them alone," he said.
About three months ago, according to Rowen, the manager told him, "'I don't want you harassing my customers. I don't want you to come back in this store ever.'"
Right after that interaction, Rowen said the manager walked away, and a barista came over to him and said, "'I'm so sorry, this is on me. Thank you for what you do.'" He said other baristas and some patrons have thanked him, too.
After the confrontation with the manager, Rowen said he "left it alone. Until I got a letter Thursday from a Starbucks local manger.
The letter adds: "This expulsion notice is permanent."
Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson told ABC News via email: "We understand Mr. Rowen's concerns. We have been speaking with him about this and our leaders continue to try and reach out to him to resolve this matter. Starbucks is also working with the landlord of the property where this store is located to improve the parking situation. It is our goal to provide a warm, friendly and positive experience for all of our customers."
"I was shocked," Rowen said, but he also said he's "glad this is happening," because he's seen the problem at other places, too. Rowen said he hopes the coffee chain's letter will spread awareness of the lack of resources for people with disabilities.
Rowen also said he would abide by the ban.
"I'm not going to go into a Starbucks," he said. "It's not about me and Starbucks. The ban, I don't care. ... What I want them to do is take it seriously."
Olson said Sunday evening that they will do just that, and that after a discussion between Rowen and a regional executive today, they have "resolved the matter."
"Mr. Rowen is welcome at any of our stores and we will work with him to improve the parking situation at this store and create better awareness and understanding of of the parking issue," Olson told ABC News Sunday evening.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/starbucks-revokes-ban-man-asked-patrons-park-disability/story?id=32683177
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Man banned for life from Starbucks speaks out on WGN Morning News
JULY 31, 2015, BY WGN WEB DESK
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