Like many children, Michael Denlinger learned a lot from his mother. When Denlinger was a young teenager, the sidewalks in his Northside neighborhood were not easy to navigate.  "My mother was the first one who advocated for the sidewalks to be accessible for me so I could visit my grandmother," he said. "She called the city and advocated for the accessibility of not only the sidewalks, but she also advocated for the library to be accessible for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices."

This is where Michael first started to learn how to advocate for himself and others, and those early lessons have made a difference in the community. At United Cerebral Palsy (UCP, now known as Stepping Stones), Denlinger met his mentor Debbie Dace.

"One of the first things that Debbie and I did was advocate for people with disabilities to be included in the budget for the year of 2003-2004," he said. Denlinger also worked with his mentor on speaking to local governments about helping keep Metro Access fares low.  After that, his advocacy work was temporarily on hold but he was waiting for an opportunity to reignite his passion. One day, he received a letter from the Tenet-Based Rental Assistance Program stating budget cuts meant Denlinger and his roommate would lose the voucher that helped keep rent affordable.

Upset by the letter, Denlinger decided to take action. "I thought, sitting around and being sad about it isn't going to get me anywhere, so I am going to do something about it," he said. "So I created a petition on change.org that got over 200 signatures and began to circulate throughout the community."

Then he started receiving calls from the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), the agency that administers the voucher program, and spoke up at a CMHA Board meeting.  "He definitely has made a difference with the voucher program," said Debbie Greenebaum, housing coordinator for Hamilton County DD Services. "Because of his work, people did not lose their subsidy."

Recently, Denlinger got back to the issue that inspired his advocacy work - accessibility. In Kenwood, he was having some difficulty crossing the street near the local movie theater he likes to attend. He called the Ohio Department of Transportation, along with the Hamilton County Engineer's Office, and a week later he was showing them exactly what he was concerned about. The two agencies worked together to make changes to the access at the street signals and made that intersection safer for all.  Denlinger is happy his efforts helped people with and without disabilities. "It is surreal to me, and I still can't believe it happened so fast," he said.

Denlinger plans to continue his advocacy work in the community, and he also would like to attend college and earn a degree in accounting. 

Story written by Robert Shuemak