JFActivist

A Thanksgiving Message from Sarah Peterson, Former JFA Moderator

Fighting for disability rights can inspire many emotions: urgency, satisfaction, sadness, joy, anxiety, anger, and triumph. However, with Thanksgiving coming up this week, as people across the country spend time reflecting on the blessings in their lives, I would like to take this opportunity to express gratitude for all of the blessings that this work has brought to my life.  I worked at AAPD from 2008 to 2011, and during that time I was honored to be involved with a number of exciting and meaningful programs and coalitions including Justice for All (JFA), the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC), the Disability Vote Project (DVP), and the National Disability Leadership Alliance (NDLA).  The people I met and the experiences I had doing this work made me a better, more patient, more passionate person.

I believe that we, human beings, are created to find fulfillment in community, be they our families, faith groups, schools, or workplaces.  This Thanksgiving I will be giving thanks for the disability community.  I am thankful for the inspiring legacy that has been passed down to us by leaders like Justin Dart, Fred Fay, Judi Chamberlin, Max Starkloff, Paul Hearne, Laura Hershey and many, many more.  I am thankful for the guidance and example of our community’s current leadership, many of whom are my personal role models, who have taught me about solidarity, power and justice.  I am thankful for the commitment and courage of advocates, young and old, who travel across the nation, call or email to share their personal stories with policymakers when called upon in times of great need.  I am thankful for each small step we take toward a more accessible, inclusive, and just society, and I am thankful for the remaining challenges that we will face together, which teach us to value each other and our interdependence.  But most importantly, I am thankful for the companionship and camaraderie of colleagues-turned-friends who are there to offer plucky words of encouragement when I lose motivation, who push me to stretch my limits, who have walked and rolled with me in the heat and the rain shouting “Our Homes, Not Nursing Homes!” until our voices went hoarse. 

This Thursday as I close my eyes to pray, I will hold in my heart a sincere prayer of thanksgiving for bringing the disability community into my life.  

 

Protecting Medicaid across Faith Lines

From AAPD (11.18.2011):

By Lara Schwartz, AAPD VP of External Affairs

 

When we honor and treat all people with dignity and respect across faith lines, we are a powerful force.  –David Feinman, Senior Legislative Associate, the Jewish Federations of North America

As advocates and activists, we often frame our civil rights agenda as a set of policy goals to achieve or specific bills to pass.  People often tell me that they don’t get involved in promoting civil rights laws because they feel like the conversation involves topics that they don’t have time to learn about during their busy, full lives.  That’s especially true for large, complex programs like Medicaid, a program that serves millions of people with disabilities.

While Medicaid and programs like it might be complicated, the justification for them is not.  We promote this vital program because it is consistent with our values.  Opportunity. Fairness.  Justice.  Treating  our neighbors as we treat ourselves.  Our leaders need to be reminded that if our core values are not driving their decision making, they aren’t really representing us. 

Many Americans’ values are rooted in their faith practices and traditions. It’s essential for faith voices to influence the conversation about Medicaid and other civil rights matters.  That’s why we held a web chat on November 10 along with United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), and the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC).  The web chat featured representatives from the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths along with AAPD and UCP staff members.   

The web chat created an intimate conversation that reached across the country. We received questions from Montana, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, and California, to name a few.   You can see the transcript at:
http://www.ucp.org/public-policy/america-s-super-committee/live-webchat-protecting-medicaid-across-faith-lines-for-people-with-disabilities

Participants from interfaith coalition wrote eloquently about the connection between values and policy.  Maggie Siddiqui of the Islamic Society of North America observed: “we all have a religious or moral responsibility to serve those in our communities who need our help the most, and our country should reflect those values.”

Participants brought their own strong voices to the conversation.  Linda Starnes of Florida sent this powerful statement:

"We ask that the President, Congress, and our state governments look to other means of creating a fiscally sound country, and to not cut funding from Medicaid.  Medicaid provides a lifeline to so many of our most vulnerable citizens.  For as we are reminded within the parable of Matthew 25,  'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.'" 

The deadline for a deficit reduction plan is next week.  We need to follow Linda’s eloquent example and speak our minds—and our values—to the elected leaders who will make decisions about Medicaid’s future.

Leaders from the Religious Community to Host a Web Chat: Protecting Medicaid across Faith Lines for People with Disabilities

THE INTERFAITH DISABILITY ADVOCACY COALITION, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY

Media Contacts: 

 Lara Schwartz for AAPD 202.521.4309/202.253.5370(c) lschwartz@aapd.com

Lauren Cozzi for UCP 202.973.7114/203.858.5292(c) LCozzi@ucp.org

 Leaders from the Religious Community to Host a Web Chat: Protecting Medicaid across Faith Lines for People with Disabilities

Americans of many faiths support policies and programs that promote independence and dignity for people with disabilities. Medicaid is a tool that enables millions of Americans with disabilities to contribute to their communities, families, and congregations. As leaders in Washington contemplate slashing budgets for vital services, it is important that the voices of the faith community be a vibrant part of the national conversation.

On November 10^th, The Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC): a diverse, nonpartisan coalition of religious and religiously affiliated organizations whose core spiritual values affirm the rights and dignity of people with disabilities, will host a web chat to discuss current deficit reduction strategies. Representing a broad cross-section of our country’s varied faith traditions, participating IDAC members will share their unique perspectives on why Medicaid must be preserved.

IDAC participants include:

Meg Cooch - Director of Policy and Advocacy, Lutheran Services in America Disability Network: “When thinking about deficit reduction and balancing the budget, we must apply our faith values to possible proposals.  Medicaid allows people with disabilities the opportunity to be full participants in our society by providing critical services and job supports.”

David Feinman- Senior Legislative Associate, the Jewish Federations of North America: “Considering the challenges the “Super Committee” and the rest of the Congress face coming to a consensus on most issues, it is critical that they hear from people who want to have a constructive conversation.” 

Maggie Mitchell Siddiqi, Islamic Society of North America - "In Islam, we are instructed to protect the dignity of every human being and provide help for those in need.  As a Muslim, I believe in the importance of preserving safety net programs like Medicaid, which help people maintain their dignity and self-sufficiency.”

The public can engage in the web chat by both submitting questions to interfaithchat@aapd.com and logging in to http://bit.ly/smog5m on November 10^th.

 

Accessibility Funding Opportunity for Houses of Worship

From Retirement Research Foundation (1.13.11):

Accessibility Funding Opportunity for Houses of Worship

The Retirement Research Foundation is pleased to announce the 2011 Accessible Faith Grant Program to enable houses of worship to make accessibility improvements to their facilities.  The program is available to houses of worship in six metro Chicago counties:  Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, and McHenry.  Since the program began eight years ago, the Foundation has awarded 114 grants to religious congregations totaling almost $2.5 million to make their facilities more accessible.

Please help us share information about the Accessible Faith Grant Program with leaders of houses of worship, disability rights advocates, and others who may know religious congregations that could benefit from this opportunity.  Please announce the Accessibility Faith Grant Program through print or electronic newsletters, listservs, or other means available to you. You will find a full description of the program, application form, and tips for completing the application in the Accessible Faith Grant Program section of our website at http://www.rrf.org. 

We hope that you will help spread the word immediately to give congregations adequate time to submit an application.  We will accept applications from March 1 through June 1, 2011.  Thank you for helping us make others aware of the importance of accessibility improvements and the availability of funding for such efforts.

>>>Download 2011 AFG Flyer

If you have questions or comments, or you wish to be removed from the Foundation’s mailing list, please contact us at AFG2011@rrf.org.   Thank you.

Press Release--Religious Community Backs Employment of People with Disabilities

From AAPD (11.1.10):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Allison Korotkin
Communications Assistant, AAPD
Office: (202) 457-0046
E-mail: AKorotkin@aapd.com

Religious Community Backs Employment of People with Disabilities
Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition Works to Promote Disability Employment

WASHINGTON, DC – November 1, 2010 – The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) applauds the religious community for supporting the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition’s (IDAC) Statement of Solidarity Around Employment of People with Disabilities. Over 50 congregations, seminaries and religious organizations of various denominations have signed on to the Statement of Solidarity committing to increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The Statement of Solidarity is sponsored by IDAC, whose mission is to mobilize the religious community to speak out and take action on disability policy issues with Congress, the President and Administration, and society at-large.

Signed by religious organizations, the Statement of Solidarity addresses issues of disability employment and the fact that two-thirds of Americans with disabilities who want to work are currently unemployed or underemployed. The Statement of Solidarity was initiated during National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October 2010, and will continue to draw support through October 2011.

“Americans of many faiths believe that work brings dignity, self respect and responsibility to an individual and that lack of work is demoralizing, socially isolating, and wasteful of a person’s abilities,” said Tony Coelho, Chairman of the AAPD Board of Directors. “Creating a way for the religious community to come together and support the disability community is empowering to both and demonstrates that we can counter the negativity surrounding disability employment through a conjoined effort.”

Lay and ordained leaders of religious organizations are urged to read the Statement of Solidarity, which can be found on the AAPD website, and join the effort by signing-on. The Statement has several suggestions for those congregations willing to take action, including hiring qualified people with disabilities as ordained leaders, religious educators, musical directors, communicators, administrators, support staff, technical support and maintenance workers.

“People with disabilities simply want what all people want – the dignity, value and worth which comes from holding a job,” said Ginny Thornburgh, IDAC’s Convener and Director of AAPD’s Interfaith Initiative. “The Statement of Solidarity is part of our effort to bring the powerful and prophetic voice of the faith community to the 21st Century disability agenda.”

IDAC members include: The American Baptist Home Mission Societies; Association of Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies; Council for Health and Human Service Ministries of the United Church of Christ; The Episcopal Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Hindu American Foundation; Islamic Society of North America; Jewish Council for Public Affairs; The Jewish Federations of North America; Jewish Reconstructionist Federation; L’Arche USA; Lutheran Services in America; Muslim Public Affairs Council; National Apostolate for Inclusion Ministry; National Catholic Partnership on Disability; National Council of Jewish Women; Rabbinical Assembly; Union for Reform Judaism; Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations; United Methodist General Board of Church and Society; and Women’s Rabbinic Network.

For more information about the Statement of Solidarity, IDAC, or AAPD, please visit http://www.aapd.com/.

# # #

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership association, organizes the disability community to be a powerful voice for change – politically, economically, and socially.  AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To learn more, visit the AAPD Web site:  http://www.aapd.com/

Sign On Today: People of Faith Unite For Disability Employment Awareness

From JFA Moderator (10.1.10):

*** Sign On Today ***

People of Faith Unite For Disability Employment Awareness

Are you a person of faith? Do you belong to a faith community, congregation or religious organization?  The Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC) has created a Statement of Solidarity by the Religious Community Around Employment of People with Disabilities and is inviting your faith group, organization, congregation or community--of any size or tradition--to sign-on as a part of a unified voice calling for employment opportunities for people with disabilities. By signing on, congregations and other religious organizations commit to pursuing increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities.  Signing on is simple, just download the below sign-on form and email it to IDAC@aapd.com

>>>Download IDAC SIGN-ON FOR STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY

>>> Download IDAC Statement of Solidarity (pdf)

>>> For More information including a list of current signers

Religious Community Stands Together to Promote Disability Employment

From IDAC (9.18.10):

IDAC Statement of Solidarity

by Ginny Thornburgh, Director of AAPD Interfaith Initiative

We in the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC) are seeking to use the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act to focus attention on an issue that is of critical importance to all Americans--the issue of employment.  We are seeking sign ons for a Statement of Solidarity by the Religious Community Around Employment of People with Disabilities (posted on the AAPD Website and downloadable in pdf format below).  In this document religious organizations of all traditions come together to recognize that the vast majority of working-age Americans with disabilities would like to work, but are not participating in the labor force.  In fact, the employment rates for people with disabilities have not improved in the 20 years since the ADA was enacted into law, and there is evidence that disabled workers have been disproportionately affected by the current economic downturn.

Please join with us in signing on to the Statement of Solidarity which IDAC plans to release in October during National Disability Awareness Employment Month. The sign on of congregations, seminaries, denominations, faith groups and religious organizations will continue through September, 2011.

Once you have completed and returned the Sign On Form (immediately below) to IDAC@aapd.com, the name of your religious organization and its city and state will be listed at the bottom of the Statement of Solidarity on the AAPD website at www.aapd.com/IDAC/StatementofSolidarity . Please help us circulate the Statement of Solidarity throughout your faith community, and throughout the interfaith community and encourage all religious communities to sign on. 

>>>Download IDAC SIGN-ON FOR STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY

>>> Download IDAC Statement of Solidarity (pdf)

Signers as of September 18, 2010:

IDAC Members

American Baptist Home Mission Societies
Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies
Council for Health and Human Service Ministries United Church of Christ
Islamic Society of North America
The Jewish Federations of North America
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
L’Arche USA
Lutheran Services in America Disability Network
Muslim Public Affairs Council
National Catholic Partnership on Disability
Rabbinical Assembly
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
Women’s Rabbinic Network

Religious Organizations

Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church - Baltimore, MD

"Cure" with Caution: Why We Shouldn't Jump to "Fixing" Disabilities

From ChristianityToday.com (2.12.10):

Considering 'Curing' Down Syndrome with Caution

Why we shouldn't be too quick to think disabilities need correcting.
By: Amy Julia Becker

"Should Down syndrome be cured?" read the title of a Motherlode (the parenting blog at The New York Times) post a few weeks ago. "Would you cure your kid's Down syndrome?" was Rod Dreher's version of the question. Both posts and the hundreds of comments they provoked originated with a study published in Science Translational Medicine last November. The study detailed research conducted on mice that had been genetically engineered to mimic Down syndrome. The researchers provided a drug to alter the brain chemistry of these mice, and the mice who received the drug demonstrated improved cognitive function...

...the study itself raises ethical and philosophical questions, but even more problematic is the writers' suggestion that this treatment offers a way to "cure" Down syndrome. The language implies that Down syndrome is a disease, a sickness...This language demonstrates more than ignorance of biology. It reduces Down syndrome to a medical condition rather than understanding people with Down syndrome as whole—emotional, physical, social, spiritual—persons...

...Readers who commented on the posts reflected this perspective with comments like, "DS is a disease that limits a child's potential. You'll never meet a Doctor or a Lawyer with DS," or, "The reason it is called a disability is because it is a lack of something (mental ability in the case of Downs) that makes a complete human being. That is a tragedy; it is not another equally good form of personhood." Again, the language is telling. Limitations are bad. Being a doctor or lawyer is good. People with Down syndrome are incomplete human beings.

...[One] theological lens I use to think about Down syndrome, and about human life in general, comes from John 10:10, where Jesus says, "I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full." When our daughter was a few months old, I wrote in my journal, "It is hard to believe that she won't be able to solve problems or read literature. And yet it is easy to believe that she will rush to a friend, or even a stranger, in need. Easy to believe she will bring joy and light and life. Can she live a full life without ever solving a quadratic equation? Without reading Dostoyevsky? I'm pretty sure she can. Can I live a full life without learning to cherish and welcome those in this world who are different from me? I'm pretty sure I can't."

This recent research demonstrates a theoretical possibility that drug therapy can increase the cognitive potential of people with Down syndrome and also potentially protect against Alzheimer's disease, which is prevalent among people with Down syndrome. This research is probably good news for those with Down syndrome. But the language used to discuss this potential therapy demonstrates that we have a long way to go before we understand these individuals for who they are: members of the human family who, like the rest of us, are limited and vulnerable and have much to offer. We should all watch how our language and assumptions can unintentionally exclude and devalue human beings created in the image of God.

People with Down syndrome don't need to be cured. They do need to be treated as the complete human beings they are.

>>>For More Information

Comment Below:  How does your faith affect your perception of disability?  Where do you draw the line between acceptance of the person and seeking a cure for the condition?

February is Jewish Disability Awareness Month

From the Religious Action Center (RAC) of Reform Judaism (1/12/10):

February 2010 is the second annual Jewish Disability Awareness Month. During October, the United States observed National Disability Employment Awareness Month, but because October is too close to the High Holy Days for Jewish programming, all branches of Judaism - Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist, and most if not all Jewish organizations and agencies - selected February as Jewish Disability Awareness Month.

This February, local synagogues, organizational chapters and federations are observing Jewish Disability Awareness Month with special programming to educate their members about people with all kinds of disabilities - physical, intellectual, psychological and more...

>>> For the Full Post

For Additional Resources go to

the RAC's Jewish Disability Awareness Month page

the Union for Reform Judaism's Disability Awareness Month Page

the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation Disability Awareness Month Page

Physician Assisted Suicide: A Disability Perspective

From the American Association of Health and Disability (1/13/10):

A Disability Perspective on the Issue of Physician Assisted Suicide

The entire January, 2010 issue of the Disability and Health Journal is available at no cost on line at www.disabilityandhealthjnl.com. Usually, only the abstracts are available to non-members of AAHD, however, this special issue is available to the general public.  This special issue is focused on Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Perspective from Advocates for People with Disabilities.  Although public opinion in the United States on physician-assisted suicide is evenly divided, about half of states have either defeated bills to legalize assisted suicide or have passed laws explicit ly banning it and only two states, (Oregon and Washington) have legalized it.  In this environment, A Disability Perspective on the Issue of Physician-Assisted Suicide, a special issue of Disability and Health Journal: The Official Journal of the American Association on Health and Disability, published by Elsevier, examines the issues related to assisted suicide and disability, the legal considerations and the Oregon and Washington experiences.

Articles include:

Assisted suicide: Why this is an important issue for the Disability and Health Journal
Suzanne McDermott

Killing us softly: the dangers of legalizing assisted suicide, 05 November 2009
Marilyn Golden, Tyler Zoanni

Assisted suicide laws create discriminatory double standard for who gets suicide prevention and who gets suicide assistance: Not Dead Yet Responds to Autonomy, Inc.
Diane Coleman

Public health, populations, and lethal ingestion
Kirk C. Allison

No, we don't think our doctors are out to get us: Responding to the straw man distortions of disability rights arguments against assisted suicide

Carol J. Gill

Comment Below: Where do you stand on this issue?  Do you think that the right to death is just as important as the right to life, a cornerstone of self-determination?  Do you think that assisted suicide is morally repugnant and socially dangerous, a treacherous scam that takes advantage of the most vulnerable?  Or do you see this issue with more subtle shades of right and wrong?