Category: Uncategorized

CW: Missing Person With summer fast approaching, water safety is vital, especially for disabled people. Beaches, oceans, lakes, and rivers are dangerous even for seasoned swimmers. The immediate hazards of these environments include strong currents, rip currents, shifts in weather conditions, wave activity, and limited visibility. Davoris Carter III was on a field trip to… Continue reading A Tragic Reminder of Why Water Safety Matters for Disabled People

Families in Minnesota caring for medically fragile children are facing a crisis. For years, parents have depended on private insurance plans from Medica and HealthPartners to fund the skilled nursing care essential for their children’s survival. These services aren’t luxuries: they’re the difference between life and death for kids who rely on ventilators, feeding tubes,… Continue reading When Policy Fails Families

CW: Institutional Bias When I first heard Ohio Representative Jennifer Gross’s recent comments on long-term care, I was disappointed. Gross, who is the chair of the Ohio House Medicaid Committee, said, “If it costs more to keep people at home with home-care waivers… then we need to suggest that more people go into long-term care.”… Continue reading “If It Costs More”: What Rep. Gross’s Words Mean for My Life at Home 

CW: Institutionalization As a child, I had high expectations for myself. I did not see my disability as an obstacle. However, I did not anticipate possessing the strength, the patience, and the self-advocacy needed to live as a disabled adult. My life has always been shaped by living with cerebral palsy. It has involved navigating… Continue reading Self‑Advocacy Shouldn’t Be This Hard

CW: Discrimination More than fifty years after the Fair Housing Act was passed, disabled people still experience many challenges in accessing and maintaining housing nationwide. These challenges are the subject of a recent report from Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) in Cincinnati that presents an alarming new picture of a problem deeper than a city… Continue reading Still Locked Out: Disabled Americans Face Housing Barriers 

CW: Homelessness A disabled veteran from Boston slept outdoors in the rain recently — not because he lacked shelter but simply because the elevator in his apartment building broke. Stevie Wheels, who moved into the Ruth Lillian Barkley Apartments in Boston’s South End a couple of months ago, says the elevator has already been broken… Continue reading Trapped at Home: The Hidden Crisis in Accessible Housing 

CW: Fraud & Institutionalization Disabled people are being used as pawns in political battles around the world over budgets, bureaucracy, and the value placed on care. From Argentina to the United States to the United Kingdom, systems that once assured safety, dignity, and independence are being disrupted, scaled back, or dismantled. It may differ from… Continue reading Disabled People at the Mercy of Power

CW: Foster Care Across the United States, an alarming trend has emerged: an increasing number of children are staying in hospitals after they no longer need medical care. They are not recovering from surgeries or waiting for test results; they have been medically cleared for discharge but do not have a safe place to go. … Continue reading America’s Children Are Being Hospitalized by a Broken System

Thanks to Steve Way for this post idea. CW: Ableism Independence is a cornerstone of society. From the time we are young, we are encouraged to do things for ourselves. When someone needs help, whether public or personal, society is quick to label them as lazy or tell them they need to work harder instead… Continue reading My Life, My Way, With Help

CW: Institutionalization Going to the bathroom at night is a challenging task for Issac Wide. Movement is a challenge. His daily routine is built upon a care system designed to maintain his safety and dignity. That routine has been compromised lately, and he feels his dignity waning. The safety and care he has relied on… Continue reading The Fight to Stay Home