By Danielle McCann When I found out that I’d been exposed to COVID-19, I was worried, but once I started trying to get tested, I was floored by the responses I got back. Either I was endlessly on hold, only…
COVID Blog: U.S. Disability Benefits Applicants in ‘Abyssful’ Purgatory
by Sabrina White The Social Security Administration (SSA)’s severely flawed disability determination/reconsideration process is having an even deadlier impact on persons with disabilities than usual. Granted, it is fully understood that the target populations for Social Security benefits are people…
COVID Blog: Mental Health in the Time of Corona
By Kale Sastre When I first heard about Coronavirus, it didn’t seem much different than other health scares I’ve lived through. I thought this would be a good chance to get some cheap plane tickets, though I was disappointed that…
COVID Blog: How the COVID-19 Pandemic has Exacerbated Pre-Existing Ableism & Difficulties in India
By Arundhati Nath India is the second-most populous country in the world with more than 1.3 billion people. According to the latest census conducted by the Government of India in 2011, only 26.8 million people with disabilities live in India. This is a mere 2.23%…
COVID Blog: The Stutter Box – The Alchemy of Support Groups for Stutterers
by Emma Alpern For many stutterers, support groups are a source of community and empowerment outside of the world of corrective speech therapy. In meeting with other people who stutter — often for the first time — members experience conversation…
COVID Blog: The Horrors of the Nursing Home-Industrial Complex in Canada
by Shelley Lynn Tremain In Canada, no aspect of the COVID-19 state of emergency has demonstrated the egregious effects for seniors and younger disabled people of neoliberal austerity measures and government indifference to the lives of elders and disabled people…
GADRA Launch Event Transcript
From recording of the GADRA Launch event, held on Thursday, July 9, 2020. >> Kat: >> Kat: One moment, please. We’re just connecting to Facebook. >> Kat: All right! Hello, and welcome everyone to the launch of the Global Alliance…
COVID Blog: In Uganda, COVID-19 restrictions are limiting access to sunscreen, critical for the survival of people with albinism
by Priti Salian It’s been several weeks since Barbra Anying went out to sell shoes in Lira, a city in northern Uganda. When non-essential businesses were prohibited to function due to the COVID-19 lockdown, she used up all her savings…
Is Your Local Government Including People with Disabilities in Developing and Implementing Reopening Plans?
by Bob Goldstraw “Only the vulnerable will be at risk. Your ‘only’ is my everything.” That was the last post that April Dunn put on her Facebook page. A fierce advocate for the rights of people with disabilities in Louisiana,…
COVID Blog: How the Indian Government and Judiciary Failed Disabled Migrant Workers
by Aishwarya Chouhan On the 23rd of March, the Indian government imposed an abrupt nationwide lockdown to mitigate community transmission of the coronavirus. While prima facie the move seemed commendable, the unplanned lockdown came with unfair consequences for disabled people, especially…