For the past several months, Jennifer Tennican / JenTen Productions has been volunteering with a new nonprofit, YES! Access. It’s a story-first, disability-led movement stewarded by co-leaders Meg O’Connell and Tara Cunningham. More than 80 percent of their volunteer team identifies as disabled, neurodivergent, or chronically ill. The YesAccess team comes from across the nation, representing …
advocacy
July is Disability Pride Month
Disability Pride Month commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990. Over 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. live with a disability — that’s more than 70 million people. The first Disability Pride celebration took place in Boston in 1990; the first parade was held in Chicago in 2004. Barriers still exist in health care, employment, public access, and representation …
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Turn Awareness Into Action is the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month. According to an article by the Clinical Director of the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (IOD), “One in five people in the US experience a mental health issue each year – no one is immune to this. This includes people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD).” Here’s a short …
NDEAM 2024
Observed each October, during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or “NDEAM,” we celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. NDEAM’s purpose is to confirm our commitment to ensuring disabled workers have access to good jobs every month of every year. That’s the spirit behind this year’s official theme: “Access to Good Jobs for …
Disability Pride 2024
July is Disability Pride Month. This year’s theme — “We want a life like yours” — comes from The Arc’s National Council of Self-Advocates. It reflects the disability community’s dreams for life experiences that people with disabilities are too often denied. For more information about The Arc and to find a chapter near you, please visit thearc.org. …
Summer & Disability Pride 2023
We’ve been doing a lot of work with Arc Chapters across the United States. The national organization as well as local chapters have great resources and information about Disability Pride Month. They have some terrific suggestions about ways to celebrate in July. Here’s a little historical context about the roots of Disability Pride we found on The Valuable 500’s website. “While disability …
