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Valley Mountain Regional Center Celebrates
Disability Pride Month 2023
As our community continues to recognize the 33rd Anniversary of Disability Pride Month throughout July, it’s important to celebrate the progress made since 1990 and to be honest with ourselves about the work still needed to achieve the purpose of a long list of major civil rights policies for people with disabilities. A few of these significant public policies include the 1963 Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Act, the 1969 Lanterman Act, the 1973 Rehab Act with the 1977 Sec 504 addition, the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (IDEA), and in 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act.
These important moments in time when the disability movement achieved access to equity in various parts of their lives, did not result in equity but rather the opportunity to demand equal rights under the law. While employment of people with disabilities hits an all time high (Disability Scoop March 2023) it is still only at around 21% and some experts caution the numbers are still low for IDD community. High school graduation rates continue to increase for students with disabilities and increased slightly higher than the non-disabled student’s graduation rates (US Dept of Education 2020), however, the rates are still around 15% lower. And finally, the Home and Community Based Waiver program has transformed many community services, but we still see people with disabilities segregated at home due to health fears of their families or their own, or because their service provider has still not fully recovered to rebuild their service capacity due to severe shortages in the workforce.
So this year like every other year, celebrate the victories, but then push, roll, walk, or run forward to break down barriers to access full participation in American society. Happy Disability Pride Month to you all.
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