New Mobility’s Biweekly Newsletter – March 18, 2020


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DISABILITY-SPECIFIC COVID-19 COVERAGE

SCI/D Recommendations

The media is blanketed with coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak, but relevant, disability-specific information is a lot more difficult to come by. Here’s a primer, updated as new info comes in, including what secondary complications put people with SCI/D at higher-risk, how to prevent infection and transmission, and how to find information you can trust.

Cancellations and Consequences

United Spinal Association recommends that its chapters suspend any social events, in-person peer visits and group activities. Many hospitals and rehabilitation centers, which frequently host United Spinal gatherings, are limiting or banning visitors at this time. The United team is also concerned about the risks posed to its members and all others who use homecare services since protective measures and virus-related illness may make it difficult for service to continue uninterrupted. The organization is asking anyone whose homecare services have been affected due to COVID-19 to contact United’s Resource Center.

Editor Ian Ruder: COVID-19 is No Laughing Matter

A few weeks ago, chuckling at the binge-buying of toilet paper (or kale, if you live in Portland) seemed like a reasonable response to COVID-19. It’s now clear that this pandemic is no laughing matter. “I think about all my friends and all the people like me who don’t fit neatly into the solutions currently on the table,” writes Ian Ruder. “If COVID-19 has shown us anything, it’s that we need better plans and a larger discussion about how we propose to take care of all of our people.”

Your Questions Answered

New Mobility invites you to submit your disability-related questions about the COVID-19 pandemic. You can submit your question here, and it will be logged by our staff. We will research selected questions by speaking with relevant experts, and within the next few days, we’ll begin posting answers on newmobility.com. Check back often for updates.

PRO TIP

Nature’s Paparazzi

Turns out just about the safest place you can be during a pandemic is outside with no one else around, and fortunately social distancing doesn’t include animals. Here’s a guide to using game and trail cameras to get an insider’s look at a hidden world. “With the help of cameras, we now realize there is much more going on in the wild when we are not around,” writes Kary Wright. “The wildlife seems to come out of nowhere and in surprising numbers.”

CRIP CAMP

New Trailer

Next week, the award-winning, and highly-hyped documentary Crip Camp — which follows a group of disabled teens from a revolutionary summer camp through the birth of the modern disability-rights movement — will be released on Netflix. In the meantime, watch the new trailer that just dropped, and see why everyone is so excited about it.

Behind the Scenes

David Radcliff talks with Crip Camp’s co-directors, Jim LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham, about why this documentary of a long-ago counter-cultural time is the movie we need today. Then, Radcliff takes us “Behind the Scenes at Sundance,” reporting on the festival’s efforts to embrace the disability community and the work that still needs to be done.

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