Traveling throughout our nation Enable America has found repeatedly that both transportation and housing are consistently within the top five “impediments” between persons with disabilities and the communities in which we live. Surprising, however, were many of the indisputable findings contained in NYC’s City Council transportation report. Housing has, topped the list of concerns surveyed in our “Listening Tour” that took us into the city for Community Connection Meetings on several occasions. It was hard to digest, for example, how, after spending $350 million only 10% of MTA’s subway stations were wheel chair accessible. And hard to swallow, the lack of sensitivity attributed to bus and van drivers. On the other hand, the mere fact that there is a report based on analytical research and input from focus groups that included 83 PWDs, is an extraordinary accomplishment in and of itself; now onto accessible and affordable housing.
If not already available, and we have not completed an exhaustive search, perhaps City Council should take on affordable/accessible housing for persons with disabilities next. While fortunate to have several good organizations that provide interim housing for the advancement of independent living skills, “independent” should remain the operative word. Some of us will always need assistance, to some degree. But, how much, depends on a variety of factors including, the opportunity to “push the envelope”.
Recently we learned of an independent living arrangement that was organized, privately, by the families of several PWDs in Illinois. Several apartments in a complex were secured, roommates paired, and transportation arrangements confirmed. With minimal assistance, a dozen young people live on their own with minimum but consistent outside support. They all have jobs and while trained on how to ask (call) for help, a support person only checks in on them periodically to make ensure all is in order and that their shared house keeping assistance is keeping up with them and their needs.
Governor Spitzer has called for $400 million to be spent on affordable housing is, indeed, to be commended. But what kind of road map will there be to guide the progress of his initiative toward truly fulfilling the needs of PWDs in the city?
With both transportation and housing on stage and the media helping the audience to focus on them now is the time to turn up the stage, foot and house lights. One of the precepts upon which Enable America was founded and forges ahead is “civic engagement” by and among persons with disabilities. There could not be a better time for us to join together, both persons with disabilities and our able bodied families and friends, to join together in developing a road map, advancing it through a ground swell of momentum in so doing we encourage our civic and political leaders to take heed and take action on what, has in New York, and is pervasive elsewhere in our great nation, been vividly identified as basic – priority requirements that can be readily addressed.
Richard Salem is the Chairman of Enable America, a national organization endeavoring to increase employment among persons with disabilities and social inclusion, civic engagement through building grass roots and grass top, community, business and vet “connections.” Join us at http://www.enableamerica.org
