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Community Living

We envision a world in which everyone who has a disability is afforded opportunities to live in their own homes, work in non-segregated places of employment, and make their own choices. This is true community living, and this is the focus of these pieces.

A woman in black and white whose face is broken into lines.

Long Term Residential Mental Health Institutionalization of Teens Does More Harm Than Good

Content notes: mental illness, institutionalization, sexual abuse Twenty-five months: It may seem like an insignificant amount of time to most people, but when you live in a lockdown mental health facility, time seems warped, drawn out, almost painful. I was…
Image of Dixin in their wheelchair. They are positioned on the highway.

Our Sidewalks Are an Access Nightmare – Let’s fix them, Seattle!

We are working with the Moving All Seattle Sustainably Coalition to pass the MASS Transportation Package, which includes legislation to improve maintenance and access of our sidewalks. For more stories about our sidewalks, read our report. We hav…
Taxi signage with wheelchair symbol

Our region needs more wheelchair accessible taxis

September 13, 2019   Dear Mayor Durkan,    Currently there are only fifty wheelchair accessible taxis (WAT) to serve our 2.2 million residents of King County.    WATs are an essential piece of our transportation network, but customers often have …
Photo of Christian standing in front of his car, which is parked sideways across accessible spots, in front of a restaurant called Pancake Circus

What Transportation Access Really Means for Disabled People

The strange man at the gas station in Utah approached shyly. I was alone, several hundred miles from home. It was one of those anonymous pit stops between where you’re from and anywhere else that sees a ceaseless tide of …
Three photos left to right:​ ​Alaina, a thin, young white cane user, standing in the Boston Public Garden with​ her ​lavender cane. ​She is​ wearing a dark blue romper with umbrellas on it and ​she ha​s​ dark brown and purple hair.​ The second is Alaina standing outside with ​her lavender cane. ​She is wearing a colorful Zodiac skirt and a shirt that says "The Future Is Accessible." ​The third is Alaina ​at BookCon with ​her lavender cane. ​She is wearing a rainbow dress with books all over it.

What I Wish People Knew About Being a Young Cane User

Although Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, the genetic connective tissue disorder I have, is lifelong, my symptoms have varied throughout my life. I started using a cane in August or September 2016 to help with balance, stability, stamina, and chronic pain. I don’t …
Photo of Ryan hugging his service dog, PIco.

Using Rideshare Services Isn’t Easy When You Have a Service Animal. That Needs to Change.

“Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Isms in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, ‘I don’t believe in The …
A graduation cap on a pile of American coins.

Here’s Why Student Loan Debt is a Disability Rights Issue

When Cara Liebowitz graduated from the City University of New York School of Professional Studies in 2016 with her MA in Disability Studies, she was already on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) so she found it surprisingly easy to have her …
A row of inmates move down a walkway. Several are in wheelchairs. Another uses a walker.

VIDEO: Washington’s Greying Prisons and the Need for Geriatric Review

This video explores the need for post-conviction review legislation for aging prisoners in the state of Washington.
person sitting in a wheelchair holding cup for money next to people passing by

Homelessness is a Disability Justice Issue

A few months after I left college, I found myself working for a short time at a men’s homeless shelter in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. I was a peer advocate, providing meals and conversation during late afternoon and …