What can be done?
Action
Because there is still much improvement needed, the fight for rights, respect, and accommodations for the disabled community is still very much alive in the United States today. If you want to do something about this issue, you can donate to these organizations: DREDF (Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund), ADAPT (Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation) and the CIL (Center for Independent Living), which have all shaped the national conversation around disability. The DREDF works to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development. Meanwhile, ADAPT fights for the right to community with a goal of “integration into all aspects of society, where every member of the community experiences myriad opportunities, not a multitude of barriers.” The CIL provides local services for the disabled in need. Additionally, a more current movement is the independent living movement, which promotes the idea that people with disabilities can make their own decisions regarding living, working, and interacting with their communities. It was made to combat the centuries-long history of assisted living, psychiatric hospitals, doctors, and parents who had made decisions for those with disabilities.
Take this quiz: Are you Ableist Quiz to find out ways that you might be contributing to the problem without even realizing it.
What have I done?
The action I will take to further justice for my issue is through service with the South Shore Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that helps people build and improve places to call home. HFH has a sector called “Aging in Place” that provides critical home repairs, modifications and community services for older adults. As people age, they may become physically disabled or handicapped and be in need of these services in order to access or navigate their homes. Habitat for Humanity will allow me to help to make a home or a building more accessible to any disabled person(s). My hoped-for outcome is that I will physically contribute to the building of something like a ramp or a handrail to the home of a disabled person or to a building. I will do this through HFH’s Women Build program, which is for any woman who wants to learn how to build or repair a home. The Women Build program occurs under the guidance of construction professionals. This action is an action of service, and the people I want to engage are physically disabled people.
