Action Sports Star/Host of The Challenge TJ Lavin Stars in New PSA on disability: “We all should have the same opportunity to achieve the American dream.”

Washington, D.C. – With fully 70 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities outside the workforce, BMX bike legend and host of MTV’s The Challenge, T.J. Lavin, is starring in a new public service ad where he says, “whether it is me, you, or someone who just wants to work — we all should have the same opportunity to achieve the American dream.”

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Governors Making Dramatic Changes to Expand Employment for People with Disabilities (PwDs)

Disability Leaders to Meet With Governors To Discuss Employment For People With Disabilities

Washington, D.C. – As the National Governor’s Association (NGA) begins its meeting in Washington, many of the nation’s governors are making dramatic, positive changes to expand job opportunities and avenues for success for people with disabilities.  The changes are an outgrowth of the NGA Chairs’ Initiative, “A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities” led by previous NGA Chairman, Gov. Jack Markell (DE). The initiative created a blueprint that identified best practices and outlined steps that can be put in place by businesses and states to increase employment of people with disabilities.

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MTV’s TJ Lavin, Gov. Jack Markell, Rep. Pete Sessions, Rep. Brad Sherman and Gold Medalist Matt Cowdrey Join RespectAbilityUSA to Stand Up for Jobs for People with Disabilities (PwDs) 

Washington, DC. With fully 70% of working age Americans with disabilities outside the workforce, BMX bike legend and host of MTV’s The Challenge, T.J. Lavin, Governor Jack Markell (DE), Rep. Pete Sessions (TX), Rep. Brad Sherman (CA) and Paralympian Matt Cowdrey joined together to meet with dozens of Capitol Hill professionals. The group could not be farther apart geographically or ideologically, but share a commitment to improving opportunities for people with disabilities.  At the well-attended hill event on Wednesday, they voiced their experience and discussed policies and attitudes that are necessary to empower PwDs to achieve the American Dream.

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New poll on faith in disability community shows:

• 80% of Evangelicals, 59% of Protestants, 41% of Catholics and 25% of Jews say religion “very important” to their lives
• Half of Jews surveyed say religion “not very important” in their lives; Jews in disability community much less likely to attend religious services than other faiths

(Washington, D.C.) Faith questions from a groundbreaking new poll of 3839 members of the disability community were released today by RespectAbilityUSA, a non-profit organization working to enable people with disabilities to have the opportunity to achieve the American dream.  [continue reading…]

Fully 70 percent of working-age people with disabilities in America are not working. This leads to poverty, powerlessness and prison. So how can we, who care about people with disabilities, change that? [continue reading…]

Dear Elected Officials, Public Servants and Political Consultants,

RespectAbilityUSA.org knows that you want to be in touch with voters and meet their needs so that America can be a better place. Thus, we want to help you serve your constituents better. We recently completed a large-sample national poll of 3800 people within the disability community, and the results offer a unique insight into a community of 56 million Americans. We know that this information can help you who understand what matters to millions of Americans with disabilities and their loved ones.  [continue reading…]

New Poll of 3839 People in Disability Community Shows:

• 3 out of 4 people with disabilities surveyed value a job and independence over government benefits (no partisan split)
• Disability community sites employer perceptions that they will be “less successful than someone without a disability” as primary barrier to jobs
• Disability community names top ways to impact work environment as change in employer attitudes, employer training, and change in structure of benefits system
• Younger PwDs (Post IDEA/ADA Generations) More Interested in Self-advocacy
• Less than half of PwDs looking for work have access to quality training programs, career counseling, and professional resources (e.g., job coach) needed to help with a job search. [continue reading…]

Governor McCrory (NC) intends to improve the employment outlook for those with disabilities. He signed a resolution proclaiming the observance of October 2013 as “Disability Employment Awareness Month.”

These Jews feel strongly about inclusion of people with disabilities, even more so than Israel, Jewish life, marrying Jewish, or having Jewish kids

1/5 of Jews with disabilities in sample have “been turned away or unable to participate in a Jewish event or activity because of the disability”

Bethesda, MD. In a new poll of 2607 Jews done for RespectAbilityUSA.org and Jerusalem U, data shows that the Jews polled, including young Jews, felt very strongly about inclusion of Jews with disabilities. Indeed, they feel even more strongly about inclusion of people with disabilities in Jewish life than they feel about being connecting to Israel, marrying Jewish or having Jewish children, although they were strong on these issues as well. The sample is more likely to be of Jews who are somehow engaged in the community than in a random sample. However, because the sample size is so large, the differences between age groups and other key demographics are valid and pronounced.  CLICK HERE FOR THE POWERPOINT OF THE RESULTS.

Fully 89% of the Jews polled strongly agree that, “Jewish events and organizations should be as welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities as everyone else.”  An additional 9% somewhat agree with the same statement and less than 2% disagree or are unsure.

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