A sort of silhouetted, blurry, hands and body of a horror film-like human figure. They're behind matte glass. The photo is black and white.

Very Unfair: The Nightmare of Institutionalization

Like so much in this dystopia, care is about money. And disability is most certainly expensive. The durable medical equipment, medication, personal care, transportation, home modifications—the shopping list goes on. And everything tagged “accessible” is marked way up. Until I
Outdoors. A tree surrounded by green grass is seen from the tree top down to its complex roots. The roots are surrounded by soil because they're all underground.

Getting to The Roots: Why Does Subminimum Wage Persist?

In 2018, the National Council on Disabilities reported that people with disabilities in the U.S. have decreased chances of finding work. In addition, the report found that disabled workers often work for subminimum wage, low wages, and under substandard employment
Photo of grocery store window says "we accept SNAP"

How Rule Changes for CalFresh Will Positively Impact Disabled Californians

During the decade or so before I landed my current job, I lived in Los Angeles while receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This is to say that I lived in a county where the average rent for a studio apartment…
A black and white blurred photo of protestors. Only their arms are visible.

Social Justice Activists Can’t Always Fight for Everything, and That’s Okay

Whenever I have strength to walk around my neighborhood, I often find myself reflecting on how I got to where I’m at now. In comparison to a few years ago, my life is drastically better than I expected it to
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
Lit up letters spelling "Fix Immigration now" against a dark blue sky with people standing behind the letters.

How Proposed Changes to Public Charge Will Make It Hard to Immigrate with a Disability

Immigration is already an expensive, difficult process for anyone—but it might soon become even harder for immigrants with disabilities. In October 2018, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule change to existing laws surrounding immigration known as public charge.
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
Photo of the Appalachian Mountains.

In Appalachia, Disability Stigma Has Dangerous Effects

My mother-in-law tried to get Travis (not his real name) on disability. But it was complicated. Not just the process of navigating the bureaucracy around the application—another part of her problem was that being “on disability” in East Tennessee is…
Coins are scattered on a table. Three piles of coins, each bigger than the next, lead up to a stack of coins with a small wooden model of a house on top.

Affordable Housing for Disabled People Should Be a Right, Not a Luxury

At the end of last month, I woke up to the swooshing sound of an envelope being stealthily slipped under my door. When I got out of bed to inspect it, the greeting did not even include my name, but…