For nearly a decade, EQUITY has been the voice of the asset building movement inclusive of people with disabilities. In that time, EQUITY, along with our partners, has helped direct the message of economic inclusion for people with disabilities to the asset building community, policy makers, financial industry, people with disabilities and a plethora of like-minded advocates and non-profit leaders.

Here in 2012, the landscape of asset building bears little resemblance to that which existed only ten years previous. There has been much change, from increasing organizational capacity, to free tax prep, to coalitions to raise the SSI asset limit, to the inclusion of disability messaging in much asset building literature, to all the people with disabilities who started a business, bought their first home or went back to school, there have been many successes, all measured by improved lives.

While this progress is critical, it remains only a start.  As 2012 dawns, and the United States economy slowly continues to improve, we still find that people with disabilities are disproportionately situated in the lower levels of the economic distribution.

Particularly during the great recession of 2008-2011, people with disabilities economic outlook has been more seriously impacted than any other group. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the last 3 years, 600,000 people with disabilities have left the labor force, a more than 10% reduction compared to a 1% reduction for people without disabilities.  In addition, the poverty rate for people with disabilities is twice that of the general population, with one third of people with disabilities living in poverty, compared to one sixth of the general population.

In response to the ever worsening economic conditions for people with disabilities, The World Institute on Disability has formed the Center on Economic Growth, an initiative to rethink disability policy, and Sheppard a new paradigm bringing economic growth and opportunity to people with disabilities.

At the World Institute on Disability (WID), we recognize that full social inclusion is more than just a matter of civil rights, but an on-going, growth oriented effort to become part of the American and international economic mainstream. Simply put, people with disabilities want a good education, a job with a future, a home of their own, retirement savings: a financial and economic future for themselves and their families. As President Obama said in his 2012 State of the Union: “Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you: America will always win.”

This issue of EQUITY reports on the launch of WID’s Center on Economic Growth.  In late October 2011, WID convened some of the worlds foremost economic and disability experts: augmenting the traditional discussion of employment and economic inclusion for people with disabilities. Policy makers, advocates, employers, disability and asset building leaders from both the United States and abroad, all gathered to discuss and bring a fresh perspective to economic empowerment for people with disabilities.

What follows, is a brief history and rationale for the Centers formation at this time: opening remarks by one of the initiatives primary architects, and a finely tuned outcomes summery of the day’s activities. In short, a blueprint of ideas and directions for “next steps” in the Centers mission to change economic outcomes for people with disabilities.

Going forward into 2012, EQUITY will continue to provide an asset building overview with specific strategies and opportunities for people with disabilities to build a better financial future. Each of the quarterly issues, will focus on a specific financial planning technique, and offer several strategies for people with disabilities to utilize immediately. From savings and spending, to home-ownership, small business development and retirement savings, each issue will provide hands-on advice and experience for people to reach their financial goals. In essence, EQUITY will indeed, take asset building to the next level, becoming the first and only wealth building periodical specifically targeting people with disabilities!

Please join us over the next year and tell your friends about people with disabilities building financial futures for themselves and their families.

To subscribe to EQUITY just email equity@wid.org to be added to our mailing list, and begin to build a better economic future for yourself and your family.