Excerpt from the Florida Times-Union (12/9/09):
Tour's stop in Jacksonville sheds light on link between poverty, disability
Group raises awareness of link between the two
By Kevin Turner
Johnette Hartnett, director of research for the National Disability Institute, choked up on emotion while going through statistics before a group of about 100 listeners Tuesday morning at Jacksonville's Main Library. The statistics painted a clear picture: More Americans are falling below the poverty level, and many of them are people with disabilities.
And it's not like she hasn't read those statistics before. Hartnett also is director of the Real Economic Impact Tour, which has been to more than 40 cities this year to raise awareness of issues that face people with disabilities and the opportunities they might not know are available to them. The tour is a national, public/private initiative dedicated to helping low-income people with disabilities earn and save money and obtain free tax preparation and filing help.
The statistics showing parallels between people with disabilities and poverty never lose their impact to her, Hartnett said.
"I was raised by parents who had disabilities," she said after her speech. "My mother had polio and my father had cerebral palsy. What I think is stunning is that there is so much poverty in the country. There's been an increase from 12 million to 17 million of people in this country who live on $9,100 a year - half the federal poverty level. It is getting worse. And poverty is linked to disabilities."...
Tour's stop in Jacksonville sheds light on link between poverty, disability
Group raises awareness of link between the two
By Kevin Turner
Johnette Hartnett, director of research for the National Disability Institute, choked up on emotion while going through statistics before a group of about 100 listeners Tuesday morning at Jacksonville's Main Library. The statistics painted a clear picture: More Americans are falling below the poverty level, and many of them are people with disabilities.
And it's not like she hasn't read those statistics before. Hartnett also is director of the Real Economic Impact Tour, which has been to more than 40 cities this year to raise awareness of issues that face people with disabilities and the opportunities they might not know are available to them. The tour is a national, public/private initiative dedicated to helping low-income people with disabilities earn and save money and obtain free tax preparation and filing help.
The statistics showing parallels between people with disabilities and poverty never lose their impact to her, Hartnett said.
"I was raised by parents who had disabilities," she said after her speech. "My mother had polio and my father had cerebral palsy. What I think is stunning is that there is so much poverty in the country. There's been an increase from 12 million to 17 million of people in this country who live on $9,100 a year - half the federal poverty level. It is getting worse. And poverty is linked to disabilities."...
Disabled people are falling below the margins because prices have risen while incomes are fixed; and they are competing with people who are on unemployment.
In order to have any semblance of full employment in America again, many more people than the best and most physically fit, and the highest IQs and best educated must be put to work. Jobs must rise across the board.
Every Time a disabled person goes back to work at anything, it is a Victory and a beginning back to self-sufficiency.
Posted by: A Fullbright | December 23, 2009 at 09:20 PM