Happy Disability Employment Awareness Month from Accessibility.com!
The phrase "Nothing About Us Without Us" has been used in politics since at least the 1500s. During the disability rights movement, James Charlton used the phrase as the title of his book to express the need to incorporate persons with disabilities into the public process − in this view, only persons with disabilities know what is best for them.
To this end, disability rights advocates have long asserted that nobody can represent their interests better than persons with disabilities. They alone are in the best position to know their needs, challenges, and aspirations. Many disability advocates are of the opinion that when others speak on their behalf, it is not possible to achieve the most robust and effective result. We review the benefits of active and collaborative community representation.
True representation at the grassroots level
Former Speaker of the House, Thomas O'Neill, would frequently say "all politics is local" − this is especially true for persons with disabilities. Every community has unique challenges, resources, and laws that make local representation of persons with disabilities critical to success.
For example, in Florida, where most roads are flat − at sea level − the challenges associated with mobility are not the same as they are in a place like San Francisco, where surfaces are rarely flat or easily navigable.
This means that solutions are unique to each community, resources available are dependent on many factors, and laws vary based on things like state building codes, municipal ordinances, and federal funding. Even with the broad scope of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA), what is true in New York isn't necessarily true in Wyoming.
By encouraging and promoting collaboration at the local level, it becomes possible to develop policies and procedures, programming, and infrastructure that is representative of the views and needs of all people with disabilities in your community. Disability councils can also help create outreach programs to address the needs of individuals in rural, remote, or less represented regions.
Establishing a body that incorporates local and disability-centric representation is crucial to the success of any professional working in the accessibility field.
Disability councils provide a strong platform
Disability councils have a critical role to play as they enable individuals with disabilities to become their own spokespersons and participate in policymaking decisions that impact their life. A disability council provides a robust platform to debate solutions, deliberate collectively, and express views and recommendations in a collaborative way.
The chosen representatives in a disability council volunteer their time and share their dedicated expertise and insights to influence policymaking and meet the expectations of people with disabilities. The council can become a powerful force in shaping societal perceptions about individuals with disabilities and their rights to political, social, and economic participation.
Properly developed disability councils can also forcefully take up issues on behalf of the people with disabilities and work to strengthen existing laws or propose and advocate for new legislation that addresses barriers and challenges unique to their community. To this end, disability councils act as checks and balance that ensures that their rights to equal access to programs, services, and activities are protected.
For accessibility professionals, your community and the chosen representation are both your guide and partner in advocacy. Disability councils are allies to accessibility professionals who would otherwise be forced to advocate alone within their organization. Without solid community representation present to provide perspective and justification, accessibility professionals are working with one hand tied behind their back.
Building a disability council
Great disability councils should include representation from persons with diverse backgrounds and abilities and establish true accountability to ensure progress can be measured and improved upon. Organizations looking to develop councils should start by:
- Including diverse representation from the community, including persons with mobility, sensory, intellectual, learning, and cognitive disabilities.
- Including representation from local non-profits − your local Centers for Independent Living and other non-profits like the Arc and adaptive recreation providers are a good start.
- Incorporating the council in real decision making such as budgeting for local programming and identifying compliance issues that require the perspective of the community.
- Creating real action items for the council to deliberate and act on to promote community ownership in the policymaking process.
- Creating true mandates for the council and the organization, and establishing mechanisms for accountability for both.
Disability councils should operate in open forums where the concerns of the community can be freely discussed and resolved collaboratively − uncomfortable conversations should be welcomed. Open forums play a vital role in bringing out the unique and local challenges and barriers persons with disabilities face with regard to independent living, employment, medical facilities, travel and transportation, technology and digitization, public services, and rehabilitation.
In a truly open forum with established processes, more effective and inclusive strategies can be devised to overcome these real-world problems.
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