On Saturday, January 21, there will be a Women’s March on Washington, which aims to send a message to all levels of government, including but not limited to the incoming Presidential Administration, that we stand together in solidarity and we expect elected leaders to act to protect the rights of women, their families, and their communities. If you are in the DC area, you can join the march, which begins at 10:00 a.m. on the corner of Independence Avenue and Third Street SW.

Across the nation, there are over 270 Sister Marches planned on the same day, and over 577,480 people are expected at these events and these numbers are growing daily. To find a march / rally near you, visit: www.womensmarch.com/sisters.

There are lots of ways advocates can become involved if you are not already. The first is reaching out to event leaders and making sure the event is accessible. Logistics, such as ensuring ASL interpreters are secured for the day; checking out the march / rally route and working with organizers to ensure the route of travel is accessible and working with volunteer teams to have them understand disability issues and have a plan if wheelchairs break down, or if someone needs assistance; making sure there are accessible portable toilets and accessible bathrooms nearby; ensuring that the staging area is accessible and encouraging that some of the presenters are people with disabilities and can talk about the issues women with disabilities are faced with.  [Read more…]

President-Elect Trump recently nominated Senator Jeff Sessions for the position of Attorney General, a role that would put him at the head of the Department of Justice. The DOJ is central to protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and enforcing laws such as the ADA, IDEA, and the Help America Vote Act. NCIL opposes this nomination due to Senator Sessions’ concerning record on opposing disability rights. Among some of our concerns:

• As Attorney General of Alabama, Sessions fought against rulings that improved educational opportunities and equality for students with disabilities. As U.S. Senator, he has criticized IDEA, which requires schools to provide special education for students with disabilities, as “hurting public education” and “the single most irritating problem for teachers throughout America today”. Sessions is a proponent of segregation of students with disabilities.
• As Attorney General of Alabama, Sessions “was a key figure in fighting against two landmark settlements that committed the state to community integration and independence for children and adults with disabilities”. R.C. v. Hornsby led to community-based services being placed at the head of the child welfare system. Wyatt v. Stickney established significant reforms, including transitioning individuals from institutional to community settings.
• As U.S. Senator, Sessions has called the Voting Rights Act, which protects the voting rights of racial minorities and voters with disabilities, “an intrusive piece of legislation,” and in the last presidential election, Sessions “promoted a false narrative that President Obama had encouraged undocumented immigrants to illegally vote in the presidential election”.
• Senator Sessions has favored criminal justice reform measures that focus on punitive measures as opposed to prevention, such as the Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of 1999.
• In 2009, Senator Sessions voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, “which expanded the federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, or disability”.
• Senator Sessions has not answered questions about gaps in his voting records in a questionnaire sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

NCIL is asking for your help in opposing Senator Sessions’ nomination. Please contact your Senators (877-959-6082). Ask them to oppose Sessions’ nomination and educate them on some of the concerning aspects of Senator Sessions’ disability rights record. Senator Sessions’ confirmation hearings are set for January 10 and 11, so it is of critical importance that we act quickly to educate Senators on Sessions’ record on disability rights and ask them to oppose his nomination.

If you have any questions, contact Sarah Blahovec, NCIL Disability Vote Organizer, at 724-309-5182 or [email protected].

On Tuesday, January 3rd, a video was streamed on Facebook Live depicting a young man with cognitive disabilities being brutally beaten by a group of his peers.

It is not known for how long the young man was held, but during that time, documented by the video, the victim was tied up with his mouth taped shut, backed into a corner, repeatedly kicked and hit, and his scalp and clothes were cut. The video shows the captors laughing and shouting insults centering on the victim’s disability and race while inflicting this torture. It was later confirmed that the victim knew at least one of his captors, as they were classmates.

This is a hate crime on the basis of disability, and has now been formally recognized as such under Illinois law. We condemn this and any kind of violence, and applaud the swift action of the Chicago police department in bringing the perpetrators to justice. We urge other law enforcement agencies to follow the Chicago police department’s example regarding incidents of hate and violence on the basis of disability.

The attackers were two men and two women, all black, and the victim was white. While we react against this incident, sadly, we also recognize that brutality against disabled people of color is not always met with the same level of (justified) outrage that this incident has provoked. Racial justice cannot be separated from disability justice, as racism and ableism are intertwined. At NCIL, we work towards intersectionality every day, and we encourage you to amplify the voices of those who experience any form of violence including disabled people of color.

This is a cruel act of violence against not only this young man, but the disability community. Hate crimes are intolerable, and yet happen with frequency to our community. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, people with disabilities are over twice as likely to be the victims of hate crimes, and are more likely to be victimized by someone they know than people without disabilities. The rates of serious violent victimization – rape, sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault – are more than three times higher for persons with disabilities than for persons without disabilities. President Obama’s comment on the Chicago attack, naming these “hate crimes of the despicable sort…” falls short of expressing our frustration, outrage, and fear regarding the situation. This incident shines a rare spotlight on the targeted violence and abuse felt by people with disabilities on a daily basis.

This is a terrible blow against this young man, not only physically but mentally, and NCIL wishes to offer support to him, his family and any others who experience such terrifying and unjust situations.

We encourage you to seek support in this time and practice self-care. Disability, mental health, and abuse are all serious matters. If you or someone you know may be suffering from abuse, please use the resources below. Additionally, feel free to share these with your community. At NCIL, we strive every day to create a world where everyone can live safely and independently in their communities.

• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
• National Domestic Violence Hotline
• MN Day One Crisis Line
• CNN: Facebook video reminder of violence faced by disabled Americans
• CBS Chicago: Obama Calls Facebook Torture Video ‘Despicable’, But Optimistic About Race Relations In U.S.
• Time: President Obama Calls Facebook Live Beating of Disabled Teen ‘Despicable’

Disasters, both natural and manmade, can strike anywhere at any time. Individuals with disabilities are disproportionately affected by disaster. Centers for Independent Living, Statewide Independent Living Councils, and Independent Living Associations are often uniquely qualified to provide an array of services to individuals with disabilities in preparation before, as well as during and after, disaster in their local area. While your area may not have been impacted by a disaster, climate change makes the possibility increasingly likely.

The National Council on Independent Living Emergency Planning and Response Subcommittee is composed of NCIL members who take a great interest in the issue of individuals with disabilities affected by disaster. Many of the members are actively involved in disaster planning and response within the disability community, and have provided disaster relief to individuals with disabilities for a number of years. Most of us became interested following a disaster that directly impacted our areas and consumers we served. We offer the following examples of how CILs, SILCs and ILAs throughout the country have become involved with their local emergency management and affected systems change to ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided an equal level of service in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

California – The Community Access Center has been a part of the Riverside VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters) since its inception. The Systems Change Advocate and Community Organizer for the CIL sits on the VOAD Board and serves as its Treasurer. This involvement and collaboration with the VOAD has made it much easier to form relationships with other non-governmental organizations such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Office of Emergency Services, RACES, ARES, and many others. Emergency preparation and training is the key function during non-incident times.

Mississippi – Living Independence For Everyone (LIFE) of Mississippi had eight offices in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast. All eight offices were affected by the storm, either by wind, water or power failure, or mass sheltering of people in their areas. Barriers included lack of communication statewide, and LIFE staff were refused access to shelters while attempting to offer assistance to individuals with disabilities residing in the shelters. In the intervening years, LIFE staff had made a concerted effort to become involved in their local emergency management systems by: participating in Red Cross training; providing training to first responders and emergency managers; developing relationships with the MS Emergency Management Agency (who has just hired a Disability Integration Advisor) and emergency coordinating officers of the State EM agency (MEMA), the MS Department of Rehabilitation Services, The MS Department of Human Services and the MS State Department of Health and; serving on task forces and committees planning emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. The specific issues of the disability community are finally recognized and addressed.  [Read more…]

The National Council on Independent Living is alarmed and appalled by the December 4th segment on 60 Minutes addressing the Americans with Disabilities Act and “drive-by lawsuits.” The segment, hosted by Anderson Cooper, was one-sided, rife with inaccuracies, and glaringly dismissive of the disability community.

Take Action

Contact Anderson Cooper and 60 Minutes and ask that they air another segment that gives equal airtime to the struggle of the millions of Americans with disabilities who still lack basic access to our communities.

• Contact 60 Minutes using their online contact form
• Contact 60 Minutes on Twitter: @60Minutes and @AndersonCooper
• Contact 60 Minutes on Facebook

Instead of addressing the fact that 26 years after the passage of the ADA there are still so many businesses not complying with the law, Anderson Cooper and 60 Minutes chose to focus on the largely overblown issue of “drive-by lawsuits.” To be clear, NCIL condemns the actions of those attorneys who are abusing the ADA and making profits off of the civil rights of people with disabilities. While small in number, the actions of these attorneys are harmful to the nearly 57 million Americans with disabilities, and the repercussions of their actions risk increasing the access barriers that we already face. That is unacceptable, and we cannot stand for it.

That said, NCIL supports the right of people with disabilities who have faced discrimination to file complaints and lawsuits. Twenty-six years after the passage of the ADA, people with disabilities are still discriminated against by businesses that either don’t take our needs into account or openly exclude us. With no oversight mechanism, we have seen businesses around the country wait to comply with the law until they receive a complaint, meaning that not only is the onus on the disability community to ‘monitor’ compliance, but also that until we complain we are excluded from their places of business. We are appalled that Anderson Cooper used his platform to shine a light on an undeniably small problem while paying no attention to the access issues millions of us face every day in our own communities.

On top of that, the segment was full of inaccuracies. First, Anderson Cooper stated that most states and the District of Columbia allow for monetary damages for accessibility violations under the ADA. This is false. The reality is that monetary damages are based on state laws in only a handful of states, and several of these states – including California where some examples in the segment were based – have recently passed legislation disallowing damages in addition to making it harder to file a claim under the ADA in the first place. Second, the segment presented compliance with the ADA as overly burdensome and bordering on unnecessary. In reality, the ADA is just one of a multitude of laws, requirements, and codes that businesses have to comply with, and implying that it is unnecessary is wrong and offensive. The segment implied that ADA compliance should only be necessary if people with disabilities patronize a business, while the fact of the matter is the people with disabilities often don’t patronize businesses precisely because they aren’t accessible to us! People with disabilities are full-fledged members of our communities, and the intent of the ADA was to ensure that all public spaces are accessible to all people.

Lastly, NCIL has grave concerns with the fact that Anderson Cooper did not include any disability activists in the segment. The only people with disabilities shown in the segment were portrayed as pawns being used by the unethical attorneys, and this is incredibly offensive. Twenty-six years ago, the ADA was passed because of the hard work and dedication of disabled activists all over the country. Now, 26 years later, we continue to fight for our civil and human rights to be recognized. The 60 Minutes segment’s portrayal of people with disabilities was patronizing and inaccurate, and we demand better.

We strongly urge Anderson Cooper and 60 Minutes to air another segment that gives equal airtime to the struggle of the millions of Americans with disabilities who still lack basic access to our communities.

Congress is planning to vote on H.R. 34, the 21st Century Cures Act, as early as this Wednesday, November 30. The House and Senate just released the text of the bill (PDF), which includes mental health provisions based on H.R. 2646 (also known as the Murphy Bill). NCIL strongly opposes H.R. 2646, and because of that we oppose H.R. 34.

The inclusion of language from H.R. 2646 in the 21st Century Cares Act will be incredibly dangerous for our community. While some of our concerns with H.R. 2646 were addressed prior to its June passage, the Murphy Bill is still harmful to people with disabilities. The language related to mental health that is included in H.R. 34 still promotes institutionalization, still increases funding for involuntary outpatient commitment, and influences new HIPPA rules to lessen privacy for people with psychiatric disabilities. It is important to note that the bill pays for more institutionalization of children by requiring states to use Electronic Visit Verification systems, which can make people who use personal care or supportive home care prisoners in their own home. We cannot let this dangerous language become law!

We have been asking the Senate to pass their mental health bill, S. 2680, as passed by the Senate HELP Committee, with no amendments or changes. Read more about S. 2680 in our August Action Alert. After the support for S. 2680 in the Senate and the large amount of opposition the Murphy Bill has faced, the inclusion of H.R. 2646 language in H.R. 34 is shocking and disappointing.

We must urge our members of Congress oppose the Murphy Bill language in the 21st Century Cures Act. Please contact your members of Congress TODAY and ask them to vote NO on the 21st Century Cures Act as long as it contains provisions from the Murphy Bill.

It is imperative that the mental health legislation that passes through Congress does not carve away at the rights of people with disabilities. Congress needs to hear from us before they vote. Contact your Senators and Representatives now!