Other Resources:

Sticker Printables (I will be distributing some of these locally!!)

Census Disability Resources: https://disabilityorganizing.net/resources/

Why is the Census Important for Disabled People?

Reasons People with Disabilities Do Not Participate in the Census

“I’ve never been asked.”

Of the 68 people with disabilities we interviewed in our focus groups and listening sessions during the Fall 2018, only 11 had ever received the census—in their entire lives. Of those, only nine had returned it. There is no reason to suspect this is not also true beyond the scope of our inquiry, suggesting that the number of people with disabilities who have participated in the census is significantly lower than the number of people with disabilities who should, and could be counted.

“2020 Census Disability Community Toolkit.” #DisabilityCounts2020

Think about that for a moment.

A lot of disabled people are not asked why they don’t participate in census-taking even though disabled people are dependent on so many of these systems whether it’s federal funding (i.e. food stamps) or even life saving programs such as Medicaid. It’s imperative for disabled people to participate in the census, but we often are left out of the conversation!

This isn’t okay with me at the slightest. Is it okay with you?

As a disabled woman, it’s heartbreaking. As someone who understands how many people who are dependent on these systems can be going out with life dependent resources, it’s not okay. There have been so many thoughts on my mind lately on how I can make an impact for these communities which I care for; that I desperately want to help.

We often forget that our disabled community represents people of all ethnicities, races, etc. Disabled people are diverse. When I think of how my community of disabled people can be severely harmed by not being included in an important conversation, it’s heartbreaking.

If you’re now wondering, “What can do we do to make sure that disabled people are counted for the census?” Let’s talk about it.

The deadline for the census has been moved up, unfortunately, to September 30th. That means we have less time to “fill in the gaps” of the census.
Don’t worry, I have ideas for you.

Even if you can’t physically volunteer, it doesn’t mean that you can’t encourage voters! Let’s get our community active! If you’re disabled, you can encourage your family and friends to become active too!

How do we get our disabled community (especially on a local level such as Wicomico and Worcester County) more involved in the census? Rural areas like ours need this funding- and the disabled community is already counted as a “hard to count,” community per the Census Bureau.

• It’s pivotal to understand that ACCESSIBILITY means that disabled people require you to present your content with closed captions, Image Descriptions/Braille, and presenting information in ways that will make it accessible for all disabled people. If you want to outreach to disabled people, you need to remember that disability is not “one size fits all.” The same way public events planned thoughtlessly are often inaccessible for me as a wheelchair user, it’s inaccessible when videos lack Closed Captions for Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals.

• Many disabled people are isolating and or quarantined due to the health risks of COVID. While many disabled (and able-bodied) people, unfortunately, do not have internet access because of financial issues, you can raise awareness of the issues at stake by your able-bodied friends and family when they don’t fill in their census! Make videos, share your experiences, and get involved.

• Use the hashtag #DisabilityCounts2020 which was created to share the disability experience in relation to why the census is important to our community if you’re a disabled person. I have created resources at the top (with the MD Logo) and shared other resources that were made by the California organization to help turnout the disability community for the census!

I will be sharing videos, segments, and clips of my census volunteerism throughout this month and more information. I hope this helps! I’m excited to share my journey of how I encourage census-taking in my area. I can’t wait to see your volunteerism too!

Love,

Dom

It seems so strange to think that an entire month has gone by already.

Yesterday was the last day for Disability Pride Month. August is now here. Time sure goes by fast during quarantine, right?

A month of learning, leaning in and listening. A month of crying out, crying along with my fellow disabled friends that ableism sucks, and crying about the sucky parts about being disabled.
A month of saying that I love being disabled. A month of grazing my fingers against across my chest where my atrophic scars stick out. A month of staring back with a crooked smile at the way my atrophy has changed my appearance. If I don’t smile back at that appearance: am I being a “roll model” for younger girls? I battled with these thoughts this month. These are the thoughts that I wrestle as an advocate and as a disabled woman. This is realness between you and I. These mix together somewhere in between the world of Disability Pride and realness.

I must admit that despite it all, it was a month of truly really wonderful things.

Disability Pride is beautiful for many reasons. We’re not always granted access to many things. But when it comes to our identities? We’re not always granted access to owning our autonomy; owning our identity. Disability Pride allows us to take ownership; to say that this is “us.”

We are proud. We’re happy. We love ourselves. We love one another. We hope you love us, too, and the complexity this brings. Disability Pride does not mean that disability is perfect. It means ownership of identity, of autonomy; of acknowledgment. A sense of belonging.

I hope the conversation that I held the month of July made you learn.

I hope you learned from me. I hope that I taught you about new things — especially if you were able-bodied. I hope you learned about inclusion. I hope you learned about accessibility. I hope you learned about inaccessibility. I hope you learned that it’s okay if you’re still learning. We are ALL learning still.

Most of all, I hope you learned that this conversation will not end because July is over.

The ADA celebrated 30 years, but the work is not done.

The same way that Disability Pride Month may only be 31 days, these conversations will continue year-round. Keep listening. Talking about ableism doesn’t stop when July ends at midnight. I hope you know that accessibility and inaccessibility are key points in my life. The lives of many disabled people. Keep having these conversations. Keep learning.

If you’re able-bodied, please keep learning for the sake of your loved ones who are disabled. Keep learning for the sake of other disabled people, even strangers. Keep learning and engaging because our lives depend on things changing. August is here and advocacy will continue on.

I must end things by saying that I thank everyone who has helped me celebrate Disability Pride 2020! Especially everyone who has celebrated #SBYDisabilityPride2020! Thanks, especially, Salisbury for proclaiming July to be Disability Pride Month! What a way to celebrate July 2020!

Love,
Dom

Every day for “Disability Pride Month” – I am committed to writing pieces that reflect the diversity, truths, and reality of our disabled community If you want to share your piece with me or be interviewed this month, I would love to share your voice! Please email me at: submissions@thegirlinthepinkwheelchair.com

Today marks 30 years of the ADA. I am what’s known as the ADA Generation. That means that I lived after the Americans With Disabilities Act passed in 1990. I didn’t experience what some of my community has. As a woman with a disability, I’ve personally experienced the rights it has granted me. I witness them— getting coffee with friends, going to educational institutions, or even to the pharmacy. The power of the ADA is evident.

There is so much that I can thank the ADA for today. While I feel so thankful, I’m feeling such a sense of emotions for disabled people who didn’t have the ADA to protect them. These are the people who fought endlessly for us at the Capitol Crawl via Adapt. I shared about this on my Facebook page. If you’re not familiar, I’m going to link to that story here.

Mostly, I have been lost in thoughts about how the pre-ADA generation fought for access and legal rights when there wasn’t that protection. I know many people who were not apart of the ADA Generation. In particular, I have a relative who was not apart of this generation. Her experience growing up was not like mine. Her disability was onset from birth — and we have discussed ways which we have experienced ableism. I was always curious in how the experience of being disabled was like without legal protection of access..

Without the ADA, she had to fight for access to education. She didn’t have the ramps or ability to demand access. It wasn’t illegal. There was no way to say that she had a legal right to get access to it. I was not apart of this experience. 

I think of them today. I honor them. I mourn with them. I think of that last sentence because I wonder how many disabled people suffered due to the ADA not existing. How would my experience look in the 80s?

I think too of how many disabled people have experienced protection and fostered an ability to defend themselves because of it. I know mine my disability experience is better because I am apart of the ADA Generation. 

I have felt blessed in many ways for this because I think often of how life would have looked for me (as a wheelchair user especially) if I didn’t have the ADA. I think of my loved one’s experience, of the stories shared by advocates, and even the experiences shared in ‘Crip Camp’ (a powerful documentary on Netflix) of the pre-ADA generation. 

While the ADA still has ways to go (and I would never deny this), I cannot deny the impacts it has made on the lives of the disability community. It’s a good thing to remember when we are fighting for disability justice. At times like these, I want to remember the people in our community who have championed for us and still are.

So much of my experience is dependent upon wheelchair access, needing physical access, and knowing that I have legal rights to accessibility in these physical spaces. 

At this time, I think of businesses that must meet the ADA requirements for access. If it weren’t for the ADA, I would not be able to frequent many places I love. I wouldn’t be able to get access to them. It’s a reminder that everyday, I am thankful for the headway that we have made and the impacts made. 

There is a lot to celebrate today, but mostly I celebrate knowing that the ADA has paved ways for the disabled community— and continues to do so. I await to see the ADA make progress in the future. 

Today I celebrate the #ADA30 by celebrating the impacts we have made together, will make, and uplifting the celebration today. On my Instagram, I will be sharing videos of some disability advocacy this weekend related to the ADA in regards to how it makes me personally feel. I think it’s important for us to celebrate onwards into the weekend. I’ll also be sharing a selfie of me with a personal nod today in regards to #ADA30. I encourage you to do the same!

For some important reading, I urge you to check out Alice Wong’s blog for her focus on ADA pieces on diversity (because diversity is important) as well as watch the video linked below:

Happy 30th Anniversary ADA! What a celebratory weekend that we’re going to have during #DisabilityPrideMonth — and especially during #SBYDisabilityPrideMonth at that!

Love, Dom

Every day for “Disability Pride Month” – I am committed to writing pieces that reflect the diversity, truths, and reality of our disabled community If you want to share your piece with me or be interviewed this month, I would love to share your voice! Please email me at: submissions@thegirlinthepinkwheelchair.com

Today is July 17th which is the last day of National Disability Voter Registration Week! It kicked off on July 13th. It marked a great week of learning, listening and becoming more educated on issues that affect the community. I’m also apart of this community too. These issues matter because they’re happening to me.

If you’ve been following my social media, you’ve noticed that I’ve been posting about it. We often see a lot of commercials, social media posts, and even radio advertisements about voting. Except if you noticed (which I have for so many years): we rarely talk about how it impacts people like me. It’s a major problem because policies have a major impact on disabled people, minorities, women, and I can go on. I hope by now, you have the picture.

The disability community needs a place at the table, too.

I have been sharing on social media about this because voting is not a privilege, but a right. Everyone should be able to vote regardless if they require assistance to vote, require mail-in ballots due to a need to self-isolate during a pandemic, or physical adaptations at the poll booth. So many amazing advocates have been raising wonderful ways that you can include disabled people in your voting turn out. I’m going to be making this a longer post because this is a topic that I’m passionate about.

When we talk about voting, it’s a topic of accessibility. Oftentimes, the issue of voting is simply inaccessible. How many people simply say, “I would vote, but it’s not worth the hassle?” That’s a problem. Voting should always be accessible. There is THIRTY FIVE MILLION disabled eligible to vote this election. They deserve to cast their ballots, their voices and be acknowledged this year.

Let’s get some citations going to talk about what disabled people go when we cast a ballot.

Outside the voting area, GAO was able to examine features at all 178 polling places and found that 60 percent (107) had one or more potential impediments. The most common were steep ramps located outside buildings, lack of signs indicating accessible paths, and poor parking or path surfaces (see figure).

Voters with Disabilities: Observations on Polling Place Accessibility and Related Federal Guidance [Reissued on December 4, 2017]

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOJ study the implementation of federal accessibility requirements in the context of early in-person voting and, as necessary, make changes to existing guidance. DOJ generally agreed with GAO’s recommendation.

Voters with Disabilities: Observations on Polling Place Accessibility and Related Federal Guidance [Reissued on December 4, 2017]

That’s right, folks. You didn’t misread it.

SIXTY PERCENT OF THE POLLING PLACES WERE INACCESSIBLE!

That’s a real number. Just imagine if every polling place had to be accounted for, not just a small number as we see here. As you see, they concluded that early in-person voting would a hugely beneficial thing, as well as changes to the existing guidance. Of course, this was before the pandemic. Right now, it’s pivotal that we protect the lives of disabled people when we vote so disabled people are safe too! That’s why we need to talk about mail-in voting.

During the 2020 election, I think it’s pivotal to stress that we must be diligent to remind people that mail-in ballots help protect our disabled community. I see A LOT (and I can’t stress that enough) of hatred towards mail-in voting. My dear cousin went to vote and had to stand in line for 3 hours. Younger me (who was ambulatory) would absolutely be knocked out by that because I had weakness in my legs.

This is way before I had a wheelchair. She described the scene that she witnessed while voting– and it made me wonder, “What’s going on for disabled people whose states are fighting against mail-in voting? What are OUR options?” If you’re not sure where your state falls or you want to know where other states fall, just click this great resource here that was geared towards educating disabled voters on their rights.

When people argue that mail-in voting is wrong, I think it’s important to remind them that being against it is inherently ableist because disabled people suffer inaccessibility at the booths, the booths are not safe for ALL, and that everyone deserves to vote.

If you have someone who is incessant that there couldn’t be a logical reason for why disabled people couldn’t vote at a booth if they did it previously, here are a few great pandemic centric reasons for why it’s imperative to be supportive:

• immune suppressed and or comprised make up a lot of our disability community
• lacking reliable transportation due to many relying on public transport that can no longer make it due to risks of exposure
• having issues with PCA s (personal care assistants); i.e. many rely on nursing and or PCAs but the pandemic has affected that as well due to exposure risks and agency issues
• laack of general accessibility while casting ballots that was already witnessed in the 2016 election and having assistance from poll workers could be an exposure risk

I could continue on why we need to be stress the importance of this, but these are some great reasons that are related to COVID-19. I know we live in a time where many deny COVID-19 or say that COVID-19 is only a threat to the “high-risk” – but that’s 35 million who fall into that category. Should 35 million votes be displaced due to that?

If you want to vote in person, it’s important to know that the ADA (who is turning 30 on the 26th – may I add) does protect you! While not every polling place is accessible (as we learned above): the polling place is supposed to meet ADA guidelines. The ADA does protect you and your right to vote. If you vote and the polling place is not accessible, you have the right to speak up. You have the right to cast that ballot!

Here’s a great video below from 2016 on what fellow disabled people were experiencing when going to vote. I think this is such an important video to watch because this is a real experience of what’s happening. Disabled people are struggling to vote. Think on that for a few minutes. Should it be a struggle? At all?

As we end this, I remind you to register to vote! Use your voice! These policies impact your health, your life, and so much more. Disabled people are extremely impacted by politics — even if we sometimes are left out of the conversation or ballot booth. We will not tolerate this in 2020. We should not tolerate this any longer.

If you’re not sure if you’re registered to vote, you can do it right with the AAPD! Just click this link! You can also click here for more information on how to register with your state and not via the AAPD if you’re more comfortable that way.

Even though this campaign is “over” by today, this election year is not. Disabled voters are still campaigning to raise voting in the community! I plan on becoming more proactive in my local community to get fellow disabled people more aware of their vote, how to use mail-in voting and or how to vote accessibly at the booths, and the protection they’re warranted at the actual booths via the ADA. Are you with me? Come along!

Are you a local Eastern Shore resident or a Maryland resident? Do you have thoughts about voting? Let’s talk. I want to discuss voting as a disabled voter with you! Email me at dom@thegirlinthepinkwheelchair.com

July is officially DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH in Salisbury, MD. Can I say that with anymore excitement? I don’t think so.

Major cities like Philadelphia, New York City, and Chicago all recognize this with Parades and great celebrations! Now the city (where I call home) has decided to honor Disability Pride Month. This is a very personal and celebratory thing for me.

This is a big thing for so many disabled people who often hear the world disability and consider it to be a bad thing.It’s no great secret if you’re reading this that I use a wheelchair.

If you told the younger me that I would see Disability Pride, I would stare at you blankly. I could never grasp the concept of celebrating my wheelchair. I wasn’t proud of being disabled. I was beyond embarrassed by the pink wheelchair that has become centralized to my advocacy; almost to my outward identity.

I remember thinking that I could never imagine being proud of my disability because so much of the world had always told me that it was something to carry with shame. It’s difficult to put into words the progression that I have made. It started slowly, just like a seedling. One day this month, I’ll share more on that journey. Today, I want to focus on this specifically.

I want to put into words what it means to see the city I live in to make strides to make the progression to acknowledging me, my fellow disabled people, and all disabled people. It means something to have a seat and a table. My voice counts so does yours.

When people Google “Disability Pride Month” – they’ll now see Salisbury, MD. Seriously. Isn’t that incredible? We often joke about the Eastern Shore of Maryland and its archaism, but I’m proud of so many things that happen in Salisbury.

This is one of them.

It matters when your city is doing things to improve the lives of disabled people. They’re working towards the betterment of disabled people locally.

Disability is visible, invisible, and can represent people who are on the neurodiversity spectrum (Autism for example). Disability is a broad spectrum to display an entire representation of people. It’s diverse, just like the people themselves. No matter what, we must fight on for all disabled people.

Especially for those who can’t always advocate for themselves or are not in positions to do so. This is one step though that is huge. It means so much. I can’t say enough, but to simply say:

THANK YOU, Salisbury Maryland!

On behalf of this Salisbury girl,

Now go celebrate Disability Pride Month!

Even if we can’t celebrate here with festivals: go take a photo of your smiling face, snap a photo of you with the Disability Pride flag (yes – it exists), or go celebrate in your favorite adaptable way! No matter what you do, I promise you that this girl right here will be celebrating Disability Pride Month all month long! I’ll still be talking about Salisbury. I also want to talk about ways that you can “celebrate” with me.

With love,

Dom