Thank you to Emily Templeton of the NJ Dept. of Community Affairs and Edward Haas of the NJ Division on Civil Rights for their informative workshop on NJ's Barrier Free Subcode and the NJ's Law Against Discrimination. The workshop, entitled Making Your Community Accessible, is another of a series of workshops on disability rights and the law.
In January, the Trump for President Campaign received a list of 16 questions related to disability policy and issues important to the 54 million Americans with disabilities. The questionnaire was put together by RespectAbilityUSA, a Maryland-based disability advocacy organization. The questionnaire was sent to all the presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle. Since that time, however, all but the Trump campaign have responded.
As of now, the Trump campaign has refused to answer the questions or acknowledge them in anyway. Since January, calls, emails and a visit to his campaign headquarters in Edison asking Trump to complete the questionnaire have gone unanswered.
As the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, his continued dismissal of our community should not go unchallenged! Join us on Trump Call-In Day and send a message that we will not be ignored. For more details, visit our Upcoming Events page.
This call-in day has been organized by the Alliance Center for Independence and REV UP NJ. REV UP NJ is comprised of disability agencies throughout the state, including NJ Centers for Independent Living, the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights NJ. To become involved in REV UP NJ, please sign up at our website: adacil.org/voting or visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/revupnj
REV UP NJ is part of a national movement to increase the participation of people with disabilities in the election process.
ACI and REV UP NJ are both non-partisan groups. We don't endorse or criticize any candidate. The purpose of our efforts is to educate NJ's disability community in voting and the election process.
The Alliance Center for Independence joins other disability rights organizations and advocates in condemning the movie, Me Before You, which opens in theaters this Friday. Me Before You is a story of a wealthy young man who, after becoming paralyzed, chooses to end his life through physician assisted suicide means. He does this in order so that he is no longer a "burden" to his caretaker, whom he falls in love with.
The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), Not Dead Yet and the Center for Disabled Rights in NYC object to the way the film portrays people with disabilities: that we are a burden to the rest of us, that killing oneself is better than living with a disability and that people with disabilities can not have a fulfilling life and make contributions to the community like non-disabled people.
Over 40 advocates, including representatives from the Alliance Center for Independence, Liberty Resources, Inc., in Philadelphia, ADAPT of Philadelphia, demonstrated in front of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs at Princeton University on May 27th. This action was to protest the University's discrimination against students with disabilities and for its refusal to take action against Professor Peter Singer, who advocates denying healthcare coverage for babies born with "severe disabilities". Demonstrators were also there to support Rachel Barr, who recently staged a hunger strike to protest the Princeton's refusal to make appropriate accommodations.
ACI helped organize the demonstration, along with Alan Holdsworth of Liberty Resources, Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2016 - Disability rights activists from New Jersey's centers for independent living, Liberty Resources in Philadelphia and ADAPT of Philadelphia, and other disability organizations representing people with disabilities, will be holding a demonstration at Princeton University on May 27, 2016. Time: 1 pm to 3 pm.
Demonstrators will assemble in front of the Robertson Building, located on 20 Washington Street on the campus. The Robertson Building houses the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs.
Activists want Princeton University to end the ongoing practice of institutionalized discrimination against students with disabilities, especially those with "invisible" disabilities. Organizers also want Princeton to publicly denounce Princeton Professor Peter Singer, who advocates ending the lives of disabled infants through denial of health care. Activists want Princeton to take steps to address what the activists describe as a culture of disability and oppression at the campus.
ACI's CJ Dodge and Luke Koppisch recently visited presumptive Republican President Nominee Donald Trump's NJ Campaign Headquarters in Edison. The purpose of the visit was to present to the headquarters's staff a list of questions on disability-related topics, ranging from healthcare to employment to education, complied by RespectAbilityUSA, a national disability organization, based in Maryland. The questions were sent to all the presidential candidates, all of whom responded, except for Donald Trump. To see the questions and the candidates' answers, go to respectabilityusa.com.
ACI urges the the Trump campaign to respond to the questions posed by RespectAbility. Contact the Trump national headquarters at donaldjtrump.com and let them know how important it is for the 54 million Americans with disabilities to know his position on disabilities issues.
CJ and Luke also checked the office for accessibility. ACI urges all campaign offices to be fully accessible to visitors as well as volunteers. "Having a campaign office that is accessible and accommodating towards people with disabilities sends a message that we are valuable to you", says Dodge. "We are happy that the Trump campaign chose an accessible location for their NJ headquarters."
The Clothesline Project and Denim Day are efforts to bring public awareness to the issue of violence against women. These ACI events were held in conjunction with the Middlesex County Center for Empowerment for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Thank you to all who participated in getting this important message out!
