What is United Spinal’s Advocacy Alliance?


Jennifer Wolff

A Conversation with Jenn Wolff, Manager, United Spinal’s Advocacy Alliance

The Advocacy Alliance is a grassroots group of wheelchair users who are invested in helping our community and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities by fighting for the equipment and policy we need to live our lives to the fullest.

Why do we need the Advocacy Alliance?

JW: Many of our elected leaders may not have contact with people with disabilities and if they don’t hear about our needs and concerns, they cannot assist in creating change. We need to remember that elected leaders work for us, we are their constituents and we have to make sure they hear our voices all across the country.

How would you assess the current state of things?

JW: Well, we just celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and while many things have changed to increase our access to buildings, transportation, employment and more, the statistics show people with disabilities have a long way to go before we have equal access.

What’s an example?

JW: According to the last US Census, approximately 56.7 million people (18.7 percent) who were not in institutions in 2010 had a disability, when counting those residing in institutions, add 4 million more. The American population is aging, living longer and adding to the disability count. Studies consistently find that disability rates rise with age while unemployment rates continue to decline. Yet according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 17.1 percent of people with disabilities are employed, compared to almost 65 percent of the nondisabled working age population.

That’s a pretty stark disparity. How are people with disabilities getting by?

JW: Many people with disabilities who live independently in the community and rely on physical disability waiver services (usually funded by a combination of state and federal funding) for assistance to complete activities of daily living have to choose between the lesser of two evils: Do you work less hours, make less money, limit the money you can save and keep the waiver services or do you work more hours, make more money, lose waiver services and have to pay out-of-pocket for activities of daily living assistance (which potentially will cost the additional money made)?

Sounds like a lose-lose.

JW: According to the report “Priced Out 2014,” the average annual income of a single individual receiving Supplemental Security Income payments was $8,995. That’s only one-fifth of what the average one-person household makes and well below the 2014 federal poverty level. The report goes on to show that in 2014, it was virtually impossible for a single adult receiving SSI to obtain decent and safe housing in the community without some type of rental assistance.

So what can we do to effect change?

JW: When you hear all these statistics it’s easy to see why many people in our community feel like they don’t have power or a voice. But I want you to think again. I am hoping that along with action alerts and other information on policies affecting wheelchair users, the Advocacy Alliance can help prepare and motivate people to feel empowered. We want to make you really think about how policies affect our community, why it is so important that we change the way we think about power, who has it and what we can do.

We want you to get out and vote and make your voice and ours, heard. We’ll provide information and resources on how to vote, where to vote, how to find out reliable information about those who are in the presidential race and even how to make sure your polling place is accessible. Together we can make change.


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