Washington, D.C., June 28 – In the 2020 election cycle, candidates from both political parties who made their campaigns accessible and inclusive of people with disabilities won key races and helped shift the balance of power in America.
The biggest wins for candidates who reached out to voters with disabilities were in the state of Georgia where President Biden and Senators Ossoff and Warnock all made their campaigns accessible to voters with disabilities. [continue reading…]
Mary Elizabeth Mellon
Mary Elizabeth Mellon was a Nonprofit Management Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Summer 2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
Mellon was previously a Fellow with RespectAbility in 2015. Her main tasks include researching donor prospects, writing op-eds, and other print material. She has worked in fundraising in Washington, D.C., and New York City, interned at Mental Health America of Illinois, and volunteered at numerous nonprofits including Sarah’s Circle, an organization that serves homeless women in Chicago. [continue reading…]
Washington, D.C., May 5 – This past week, RespectAbility contributed to the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor’s online dialogue to solicit ideas, insights, and innovations from the disability community about advancing racial and social equity. This dialogue is only the latest example of how the new Biden-Harris Administration is seeking to address the “entrenched disparities in our laws and public policies.”
On his very first day in office, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985 launching an “ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face.” This is critical news for the 12.8 million Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) with disabilities who have long been harmed by structural racism and who are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 and resulting economic crisis. [continue reading…]
Washington, D.C., April 28 – Last week, the Los Angeles Regional Planning Unit of the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board invited subject matter experts, self-advocates, community members and their constituents to provide ideas about local and regional planning efforts to build a more equitable economy in a post-COVID world. In response, the national disability inclusion organization RespectAbility weighed in with their perspective on how to advance new opportunities for workers with disabilities and close crucial gaps in outcomes for people from marginalized communities.
“The Local Plan and the Regional Plan start out with an admirable goal,” said Nelly Nieblas, RespectAbility’s Manager of Policy, Advocacy and Engagement. “However, neither plan follows up on this aspiration by including people with disabilities in their demographic sections. There are multiple missed opportunities to include people with disabilities within the plans. We hope that we can partner with the Board to fix these challenges in the months ahead.” [continue reading…]
Washington, D.C., Feb. 16 – As we celebrate Black History Month, which takes place every February, RespectAbility recognizes the contributions made and the important presence of African Americans in the United States. It is important to note this includes more than 5.5 million African Americans living with a disability.
Some celebrities and business leaders are using their voice to share their stories, educating people about both visible and nonvisible disabilities. They are defying the statistics and have remained highly successful with their disabilities. These role models make a big difference in setting high expectations for youth with disabilities. People with disabilities of all backgrounds can be amongst the highest achievers on earth. Harriet Tubman had Epilepsy, actress Halle Berry lives with diabetes, business leader and Shark Tank superstar Daymond John is dyslexic and Stevie Wonder is blind. Poet laureate Amanda Gorman, who had a speech impediment, recently shared her genius both at the inauguration and at the Super Bowl. Each of them is a positive role model for success. They are perfect candidates for RespectAbility’s #RespectTheAbility campaign, which is shining a light on individuals with disabilities who are succeeding in their chosen careers. [continue reading…]
The data clearly show that the disability community feels the weight of low expectations. Less than one-third of people in the disability community surveyed think that society expects someone with a disability to work. This stands in stark contrast to the reality that people with disabilities overwhelmingly want to work and contribute to society. In fact, fully 85% of people with disabilities say that having a job is important to their happiness. [continue reading…]
There are few greater challenges than finding an employment path forward as a person with a disability who has completed his or her sentence in the correctional system. While nothing we can provide in this guide is going to make the process easy, there are some programs that can give you a greater chance of success in your life post-incarceration. [continue reading…]
Washington, D.C., July 22 – As more than 6.3 million students in America with disabilities are coping with COVID-19, the national disability nonprofit RespectAbility is hosting experts and self-advocates to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and to promote greater success for students with disabilities.
“Thus far during the pandemic, distance learning has been a train-wreck for students with disabilities. Much more must be done so that no more harm comes to students with disabilities. This includes both access to real learning and preventing further mental health distress,” said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility. Mizrahi is dyslexic herself and, as a parent of a child with disabilities, is working to enable her own child to have access to a quality education during this current COVID-19 crisis. [continue reading…]
