Celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Today is the 32ndanniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) America’s first intensive legislation focusing on the equality for people with disabilities. This Act has been an impetus in driving our country forward towards equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for the estimated 61 million individuals with disabilities in America.
Members of the disability community have seen the leaps and bounds of their lives improved due to the ADA. Some may wonder what their lives who would like without the ADA. The work is far from over with barriers to employment, healthcare and housing still major concerns.
As we celebrate the ADA, we should reflect on the progress that has been made and focus on achieving the ADA’s full promise of advancing disability access and inclusion for all.
* Image by ADA National Network (adata.org) 1-800-949-4232
Sometimes things are happening so fast that there is scarcely enough time to stop to tell everyone about what we have been doing at hip.
We spent the spring taking advantage of the relaxed social distancing and mask rules and we participated in several events where we had the opportunity to great current and future consumers.
Twelve hip members joined the group at the Bassmaster’s Tournament where we enjoyed a beautiful day at Darlington Lake. Longtime hip member Bo-jean Heap received a trophy for catching the smallest fish and the award was much bigger than the fish. It was a fun event, and everyone agreed that it was good to get together in the fresh air.
The Home Humpday Happening gang gathered for a reunion dinner hosted by Trish Carney. After many months of Zoom contact, they were all happy to meet and share new ideas for new games and craft sessions in person.
hip staffers brought out the agency display for the Bergen County Caregiver Fair, the Hudson County Community Services Fair and the Senior Elder Abuse Prevention Walk. I even had the chance to participate on a panel for the Community Health Law Project where I saw many old friends and talked about Centers for Independent Living throughout the state.
Our latest agency initiative is the realization of a way to assist people with much needed medical equipment. We rented two storage units in Jersey City and Hackensack and are accepting donations and distributing gently used medical equipment for those who need it. And, as a first for our agency we purchased a van to collect and transport the equipment!
We will have more to tell you in the upcoming newsletter, so for now, enjoy the summer and watch for the calendar raffle on Wednesdays.
