Rockville, Maryland, April 22 – One of the political visionaries behind the Americans with Disabilities Act, former Congressman Steve Bartlett, visited a new cohort of RespectAbility Fellows to discuss vision of a different sort. Bartlett also is chairman of RespectAbility, a nonprofit that fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
“I challenge you to think about what you want your life to be like, feel like, and how you want it to be structured, ten years from today,” Rep. Bartlett said. “Then peel that back to ninety days. And if that’s how you want your life to be in the next ninety days, why would you spend any resources today that don’t take you to that purpose?”
And part of that purpose, he advised, should be to serve others by fighting against stigmas and helping people with disabilities find employment. They are challenges Bartlett met by co-sponsoring the ADA, and that the new RespectAbility Fellows have tried to meet over the past several months. [continue reading…]