Disability Power and Pride Ball a Huge Success

From Yahoo! News (Jan. 19, 2009):

Balls for a cause, dresses for less for Obama Inaugural
by Karin Zeitvogel

... Disabled Americans held their community's first ever inaugural ball Sunday -- their way of thanking Obama for putting them on the political map.

"The disabled community represents 54 million Americans and this is the first time they're coming together to honor an incoming president," Karen Lee, a spokeswoman for the Power and Pride Disability Inaugural Ball, told AFP.

"It's because Obama has taken up their cause," she said.

"He supports equal opportunity in education, employment; he speaks about ending discrimination and independent living; he mentioned the disabled community on the long list of people who helped to get him here."

"Obama sees us as part of the mainstream, part of the political landscape," Andrew Imparato, head of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) told AFP at the gala evening.

"The disabled community has a lot of hope for the promise of his administration," he said...

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From Inclusion Daily Express (Jan. 20, 2009):

Disability Groups Celebrate Inclusion At First Disability Power And Pride Inaugural Ball
Dave Reynolds

WASHINGTON, DC--Two nights before Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, several hundred disability advocates celebrated at the first ever Disability Power and Pride Inaugural Ball, held at the National Press Club.

The master of ceremonies for Sunday's event was former U.S. Congressman Tony Coelho of California, who is credited with writing the landmark 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act.

Coelho said last week that disability groups came together to organize the event because they didn't want people from other inaugural bashes to "be patronizing and say, 'Let’s include some people with disabilities at our party.'"

Instead, he said, "we want to have our own party and reach out to everybody else" ...

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Comments

[JWard]

We Heard it was a Graet Ball!? Wonder if much was discussed about the following: --- We do Not see much of anything for the DISABLED Living in "POVERTY" Whom want to become "Self-Employed"!? $Billions are Needed in this area of support. And it is Unacceptable to just hand over $Money to the State VOC REHABS! Many are so anti-Client CHOICE! And it seems to many that much of this $Money goes more for Overhead, Wages & Benefits of the Control-Freak Administrators & Counselors,- and Not to the DISABLED CLIENTS it was Legislated for!!? More Disabled Clients Need to be included in the Policy making & Process of IP - Individual Plan for Empolyment Outcomes! - Often it is the same ol' same ol' mantra of "Dont-Rock-the-Boat" told to the DISABLED CLIENTS!! This is unacceptable. One example is the OHIO RSC BVR,- So much red-tape, bureaucracy, go-no-where slowly, No Medically Necessary Oral & Dental Health help, NO, very important- REAL CLIENT "CHOICE", super low successful Outcomes, inefficiency, and still too much Discrimination by the Administrators & Counselors!? Imagine a Million Disabled Citizens in Ohio wanting to Work part or full time or to become Self-Employed, and only 7-8,000 suceesful Client Cases per year!!?? So many do not even attempt to apply for assistance, after hearing of the nightmare mis-treatment, bullying, and slow/low outcomes, and even much ongoing attitudes that many of these DISABLED CLIENTS are still un-Able, and not capable of achieving Goals that they Choose and have aptitude for Success!!- Again, Self-Employment Is often Over-Looked by these State Voc-Rehabs. HOW SAD! CONGRESS Needs more Oversight, Reveiw, & Investigation of thee so-called State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies! And Much More Client Inclusion Is Needed NOW!! Also, the Ticket to Work Program was a Farce!! Hopefully the Obama Administartion will Wake-Up, and Listen to Senator Harkin. - jward52

[Will Hull - United Cerebral Palsy eCoordinator]

We covered the the Disability Power and Pride Inaugural Ball on UCPeople. Please take a look for our perspective: http://www.ucpeople.org/2009/01/first-ever-disability-power-and-pride.html