The Access Aisle

accessaisle
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  • SOCIETY & CULTURE

A disability rights advocacy podcast that brings together advocates, policy makers, and people with disabilities to talk about the issues facing the disability community.

  1. 12/10/2020

    Interview: First Sergeant Walter Shawn McDaniel, Disability/School Resource Officer Policy

    Robbie Kopp and First Sergeant McDaniels discuss their work creating the nation’s first school resource officer/disability policy. The two talk about how the policy works and how can be implemented not just in schools, but throughout our society. First Sergeant McDaniels also shares an impactful story about how his work creating this policy and his personal life intersected. Big announcement at the end of the podcast!     Disclaimer Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact us at advocacy@able-sc.org   Episode Transcript: [music] 00:14 Chris: It has been 11,087 days since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, and you are parked in The Access Aisle.   [music]   00:32 Chris: Welcome back to The Access Aisle, everyone. Thank you for joining us. We have an incredible episode for you today. We continue our interview with Robbie Kopp, and First Sergeant Walter Shawn McDaniels is a 24-year vet of the Richland County Sheriff's Office. We feel really honored to have you here, First Sergeant McDaniels. You bring such a unique perspective to this conversation, one that doesn't usually get brought to this conversation, one that's usually left out, and so to have you here to open up with us and to be vulnerable definitely brings a fresh air to what's a normally stale conversation.   01:15 Chris: Today's interview should be of great interest to any parent, to a child with a disability and any student with a disability, because Robbie Kopp and First Sergeant McDaniels are gonna talk publicly about the work that they've done to create the nation's first school resource officer/disability policy. One of the larger unintended consequences of having police officers in schools is that students with disabilities, especially black students with disabilities, are being referred to the SROs at a higher rate and more often being criminally punished for actions or behaviors for which they normally would not have had to face legal action or consequences prior to SROs being in schools, and so this change has had a dramatic and negative effect on a lot of students with disabilities.   02:15 Chris: So Robbie Kopp and First Sergeant McDaniels, they talk about this collaboration between the Richland County Sheriff's Office and Able South Carolina, how it originated, what the policy says, and how it can be used as a model, and not just in schools and education, but also throughout other institutions that face issues of racial inequity and just the American culture in general. There's some really fascinating stuff here, I hope you enjoy it. Before we start though, last week, I teased a huge surprise announcement. I have it for you, it's burning in my hands right now, but my producers tell me that we have to wait until after the interview. So we have a huge announcement, it's going to happen, we're gonna give you this announcement, but we're gonna do it right after the interview. So without further ado, Robbie Kopp and First Sergeant McDaniels.   03:10 Robbie Kopp: I wanna talk a little bit about the work that we did... This is not not our first conversation. [chuckle] The work that we did with Richland County around student resource officers a few years ago. It started maybe not the way that you would have liked. [laughter] Do you wanna set the stage for how we met?   03:30 First Sergeant Walter Shawn McDaniels: Sure. Sure, I can. So back in 2015, May of 2015, the United States Department of Justice received a two-prong complaint against the Richland County Sheriff Department School Resource Officer program. And the complaint, well, the complaints were that African-American students were disproportionately getting arrested and that school resource officers were dealing with students who have a disability from an uninformed position. And so fast forward to October of 2015, for those of you who remember, that's the same month that we had the 1000-year flood here in South Carolina, Columbia.   04:17 FM: Two weeks after that situation, we had an incident that occurred at Spring Valley High School involving a white male school resource officer and a black female student. And, of course, you know that got CNN attention, nationwide attention, it was globalized on a grand scale. And so, of course, the Department of Justice put a halt to their initial investigation into those two accusations that I mentioned earlier. And after they closed out the case involving Spring Valley, Sheriff Lott decided that in conjunction with the Department of Justice, they came to a mutual agreement that, "We need to look into the accusations, we need to conduct some research, we need to try to measure and become data-informed in those areas," and we did that for a three-year period.   05:18 FM: I was brought in as one of the liaisons to help with facilitating that research. It didn't help at the time. At the time, I had just started the PhD program in conflict analysis and resolution. So mind you, it was a professional PhD, in addition to an academic PhD that I had to start. We were required to develop a report at the end of the second and the end of the third year. But prior to that, in looking at the evidence early on within the three-year period, we discovered that we did not have the advanced training that we needed to have in the areas of disabilities, and we wanted to get that as soon as possible. As a matter of fact, for the research, even through the Department of Justice, the Office of Civil Rights revealed that it wasn't just us that this problem is stretched across the country within law enforcement as it relates to the area of disabilities. And so we've had to come up with a policy to address that, and so that was one of the first problems that we attacked.   06:32 FM: And so I know that I'm not smart enough to develop such a policy by myself, 'cause again, operating from a law enforcement position would have limited my knowledge of what that looks like and what needs to be brought to the table. And so we reached out to several organizations. We reached out to Lexington-Richland School District Five, we reached out to South Carolina Able, and that's how I met... That's how I met you, Robbie, and then you came in. And we also had a child psychiatrist, we reached out to P&A law firm, a leading law firm here within South Carolina on behalf of the rights of children.   07:17 FM: And I remember the first meeting. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk about how... [chuckle] How everyone came to the meeting naturally. There was some defensive jockeying, if you will, some defensive positioning, because we were so used to operating within silos, and it's pointing the finger at one another in terms of where the problem lie. But there was this period, and I'm quite sure you felt the same way, you could speak to it on your own, but where we began to externalize the problem and we began to mutually learn that we each had a contribution, and dealing with the conflict of the absence of education and training in the areas of disabilities. And so from that, Robbie, as you know, we developed the nation's first school resource officer disability policy, and it was just awesome how that came together, yeah.   08:21 RK: Yeah, and I'm gonna make that policy available when the... As the podcast is released or wherever you access it from, whether it's the Able SC website or the Access Aisle podcast page, there'll be a link to that SRO policy so that you can get into the weeds with Sergeant McDaniels and I and really look at the work that took place and what was needed. I think just for me, in that experience, seeing the overlap of African-American students and students with disabilities, and how they were both getting... They were both having interactions with law enforcement through the SROs that weren't equivalent for other groups. For me, I think that was one of the biggest pieces. And I note that it's probably my privilege has made this possible, but this was the big crossover that I saw between the disability community and students of color, knowing that this was happening and that students were being taken out in handcuffs and for relatively minor infractions, and that damage was being done at the school with peers and students were being labeled as problems where they may have been working through some behaviors related to their disability or some of the trauma that they had experienced at home.   09:47 RK: So I, in the last few weeks, have really thought back to this policy and the way that it has changed interactions with SROs in Richland County, and hoping to see something systemic and wanting to see something systemic for law enforcement beyond that. We had some conversations around law enforcement response and making sure that law enforcement are always... They're always safe, but not at the detriment that they're using excessive force against a student, and I think we're seeing other manifestations of that in law enforcement and other places.   10:28 RK: Sergeant, what was... There's one thing that I think stands out for me the most when we were working on this policy, and that was really identifying the tools that law enforcement have. Does... I wanna see if the same thing stands out for you without me saying what it is. [chuckle] We talked about a tool that hadn't really been used. First, assess the safety of a situation. And then second, was being able to use time as a tool to help de-escalate a situation before there was a phy

    35 min

  2. 11/10/2020

    Interview: First Sgt. Walter Shawn McDaniel, Richland County Sheriff's Office

    The summer of 2020 was a time when America experienced a heightened awareness of the racial inequities in policing in our country due to the high profile murders of several Black Americans including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Though racial inequities in policing have always existed, serious conversations about the matter exploded into the public discourse. In this episode of the Access Aisle we talk with someone who experiences both sides of the issue, First Sgt. Walter Shawn McDaniel. First Sgt. McDaniel is a 25 year officer with the Richland County Sheriff’s office and a Black American. He shares his unique perspective about healing the racial divide in our country as well as how the police and disadvantaged communities can work together to earn trust back and develop more of an understanding of each other.   Disclaimer Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact us at advocacy@able-sc.org   Episode Transcript: 00:14 Chris Sparrow: It has been 11,059 days since the ADA was passed, and you are parked in the Access Aisle.   [music]   00:30 CS: I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Chris Sparrow, but you can just call me Sparrow, and I am your new host of The Access Aisle. Today, we have an incredible interview with Robbie Cop and First Sergeant Walter Shawn McDaniel, and stay tuned 'cause afterwards, we got some exciting news for you. So Robbie, go ahead and take us away.   00:56 Robbie Kopp: Today on the Access Aisle, I'm joined by my guest, Walter Shawn McDaniel. He is currently a First Sergeant with Richland County Sheriff's office, and we have had the good fortune of being able to work together on some law enforcement and disability interaction policy with Richland County Sheriff's Department a few years ago. So welcome. Good to see you over Zoom, Shawn.   01:23 Walter Shawn McDaniel: Good to be here, thank you for having me.   01:25 RK: Absolutely, thank you for taking this time. We're really living in a unique moment right now as we see the interactions of law enforcement under increased scrutiny, as we see lives lost like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and many, many more, presumably as a result of bias from law enforcement and risk to folks of color and people with disabilities. And what we're hoping to cover a little bit is a time to hear your perspective from law enforcement and as a person who's Black, and hear the interaction of where things are now and where things really could be and should be with acknowledging difference, and also making sure that we're looking out for each other and protecting each other. So with that, I'm gonna open up pretty broadly and let you share a little bit, what's the perspective that you've gotten? What are some of the things that you've been seeing inside law enforcement as we navigate and have a larger conversation around race?   02:35 WM: Sure. So, the narrative of racial indifference is not a new narrative, to be honest with you, it is not a new phenomenon that we're just discovering. And so I get a chance to speak from both perspectives, if you will, of 24 years of experience in law enforcement, working in different areas such as major crimes, armed robbery, aggravated assaults. You get a chance to see society from a different space, if you will, and trying to understand human behavior. It forces you to rely on instinct and to rely on your training, which is a key factor that hopefully this conversation will lead in that direction, 'cause at the end of the day, it's broken on both sides of the fence, and it's time that we each take ownership of that. To include citizens who are fully aware of racial indifference, gender indifference, socioeconomic indifference, and due to their silence, they've contributed to the protracted conflict associated with indifference. And so we need to do a better job at understanding what our contribution is, and so I look forward to the conversation. It's a difficult conversation to have. And so, of course, we have to be willing to hold it. We have to be willing to mutually learn on both sides of the fence.   04:06 WM: We have to be willing to allow space for emotion. That's crucial. If you don't allow space for emotion, please know that emotion will be heard one way or another. And when you're not allowing that space, you're almost forcing the hand of those individuals who feel slighted. They know something's wrong, they can't put their finger on it, and that's what we're experiencing. We're experiencing whites in general that typically can't seem to separate themselves from this statement like, "I don't see color." So we clearly know that that's not true, and I think I know what they're trying to say in terms of that, like, "I don't see color." Well, clearly, to not see color is equivalent to, if someone's in a wheelchair, for you to say, "I don't see anyone that's handicapped or anyone that has a disability." Right? So that's just unrealistic on a very basic fundamental level. And although you may have good intentions, it's actually offensive to say that. So if you don't see color, then that means that you don't see me, 'cause that my color is part of me.   05:24 WM: And so I think one of the things I've found throughout my walk within law enforcement, and as a Black man, is that many times, we pick and choose those battles in which we're willing to fight, and we pick and choose those battles based on our comfort zone and based on the familiarity factor, to not be willing to extend ourselves beyond that. I think that this is the end result of it. We've been trained to believe that we should focus on the differences. Let's just be honest, if you ask the average individual who's white in this country, if they would swap out their position for the position of anyone that's African-American in this country, very few of them would, because they can't put their finger on what's wrong, but they really... They know something is different. We can't suffer from what is known as the theory of attribution, we attribute certain behaviors to certain people or certain groups, and apply these parameters to them, such as, "Well, they're only like that because their home was broken." And we know that there are broken homes in the white culture and in the African-American culture and in every culture, there are broken homes. And so that theory of attribution doesn't really apply.   06:46 WM: So the position of a lot of whites today, "Well, slavery is over. Well, I never owned any slaves and you were never a slave, and so why are we still holding that conversation?" They think that by discussing it, we're perpetuating the old narrative. Well, I wanna say this to you, to those individuals, number one is, it's offensive. To say that the Homestead Act had nothing to do with the current socioeconomic positioning of whites today is equivalent to saying that the original creators of the phone had nothing to do with where we are with the phone and its usage today. And you can't separate the two. And so you can apply that to everything and anything. Our systems that are in place, that there is systematic indifference, there is systematic racial indifference, that prevent access to opportunity, that it creates the presence of demoralizing stereotypes for certain people. And again, not just racially driven, but also socioeconomic indifference. We look down on those that don't have what we have, right? And so we have to be honest about that. Everyone knows the one set of cousins that may not have what you have, but yet we tend to think that that's okay, and to be solid.   08:15 WM: And lastly, I think we all need to do a better job at realizing this one fact. Everyone is responsible for fixing and leaving this world better than how we found it. You don't get to just do it for your own race, you don't get just to stand by and... Or your own gender, or your own socioeconomic class, you don't get to do that, you don't get to do that. And so if there's a conflict, if there's an existing problem, you bear an obligation to take ownership of what your contribution is, even if it's silence. If you've utilized silence when you heard the N-word and you said nothing, then that's your contribution. If you recognize that there were issues in military, law enforcement, whatever field you're in, as it relates to gender or race, and you said nothing, well, that's your contribution. I'll end on that note, and I know I said a lot, but...   09:16 RK: Yeah. And I think that's so important that everyone take the time to find their role in the indifference, the racism, the ableism, whatever the -ism is, and do the work that's necessary to address that, not make it somebody else's problem, and not to make somebody else make you feel better or make you do... Or teach you something, but to really educate yourself and find your role and find ways to do better and elevate people as people and make sure that the footing is at least equal because of the systemic racism, ableism, transphobia... Pick a group. Marginalized populations have been marginalized, have been put down to a place where in order to reach equality, we have to address all of these past inequalities, and acknowledge them and own them and move past them. And I think that that's the challenge. And I think what has been giving me hope in my own work is seeing how communities are coming together to a point to acknowledge each other and acknowledge where each group is coming f

    25 min

  3. 09/29/2020

    Advocacy in Action

    In this episode of the Access Aisle, Able SC's Advocacy Coordinator Tiffany Namey, teams up with the League of Women Voters of South Carolina's Lynn Teague to share the specifics of how to participate in real-life advocacy. In this primer episode, the co-hosts share the many outlets for making your voice heard to decision-makers and how to make your message clear and effective. Disclaimer Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact us at advocacy@able-sc.org Episode Transcript: [music] 00:14 Tiffany Namey: It has been 10,799 days since the ADA was passed, and you are parked in The Access Aisle. [music] 00:34 TN: My name is Tiffany Namey and I will be your host for today's episode. We have a guest today, Ms. Lynn Teague, joining us from the League of Women Voters of South Carolina. For those who have not met me yet, I am Able South Carolina's new advocacy coordinator. That allows me to serve as an advocate for persons with disabilities and help create a community that advocates for disability rights, both here within our organization and outside in the community at large. 01:05 TN: We are going to start out for the first half of this podcast and talk about the basics of advocacy, what it is, why you do it, and very lightly touch on tips of how you do it. In the second half of the podcast, we are going to talk about how to find out about issues you may wanna advocate for in the disability community and getting involved in social justice organizations. So Lynn, can you tell us briefly, what is the League of Women Voters and what is your role? 01:34 Lynn Teague: The League of Women Voters is an organization of women and men, 100 years old. We came out of the Women's Suffrage Movement, and once women had the right to vote, it was felt that it was important that women help others register and vote and also be educated voters, informed voters. 01:56 LT: So also, we have an advocacy arm. So we are basically involved in both voter services, which is not my department of the league, and advocacy, which is my area in the league. I'm the vice president for issues and action for the South Carolina League and that translates among other things, to being lobbyists at the State House for the league. 02:20 TN: Wonderful. So let's get started on today's topic, "Advocacy." Advocacy is central to the Center for Independent Living's mission and that's what Able South Carolina is. There are a couple of kinds of advocacy. Today we are talking about systems advocacy, which is a fancy way of saying "advocacy in social or political change." 02:45 TN: And specifically today, we are talking about advocacy for disability rights, which is done when we work to create positive and meaningful change to bring awareness to barriers for persons with disabilities. So those are barriers that people with disabilities face in the community and we work to remove those barriers, but you can be an advocate for any kind of injustice you see. So just because you're a person with a disability, it doesn't mean you have to advocate for disability rights issues. Lynn, how do you define being an advocate? 03:26 LT: For me, an advocate is any citizen who wants to make their voice heard on their own behalf or on behalf of an organization that they're part of. You can either speak simply for yourself or you can become involved in an organization addressing a particular area. The League of Women Voters for example, has a very broad area of interest, but we focus very much on the government accountability and transparency issues and what we fondly refer to as "Making democracy work." So, an advocate is someone who speaks up especially to public officials about what they... The needs they see and the kind of solutions they envision. 04:11 TN: That is something that I grew up being told. My parents always taught me that if I see something that needs to be fixed in the world, you can't rely on anyone else to say or do anything about it but you. And I think a lot of people, especially people who come from minorities like the disability population, wonder if what they do really makes a difference or if their voice really counts. So if I were to ask you, "Why should I be involved in the political process?" What would you say? 04:49 LT: I think any time you don't speak for yourself, you're letting others speak for you, and they may not have your full perspective on the issues that concern you. I'm very glad that you mentioned "systems advocacy", because very often people will look at a problem for the disability community, I would imagine something like, "That sidewalk's inaccessible." But it's very important to ask, "What is the reason that this city doesn't have a rule on how these things are done, so that I don't just get this sidewalk fixed, but I look at how all sidewalks are designed for people with disabilities." 05:33 LT: So, I think it's very it's very important to take that broad view and to make... You are the person who knows what you've encountered in life and what your issues have been and what kind of solutions have worked for you. So, I think it's very important that we realize too that public officials expect to hear from you. You are not out of line somehow by calling your senator. [chuckle] 05:53 TN: Right. 05:53 LT: You are doing what any responsible citizen is entitled to do. 05:58 TN: I looked up some quotes on advocacy and one of our founding fathers in the disability rights movement is a gentleman named Ed Roberts. And he said, "The greatest lesson of the Civil Rights Movement is that the moment you let others speak for you, you lose." And I think that's a general... What you were saying. 06:22 LT: Yes, yes. 06:24 TN: And I think another thing to remember is, is that the people who are speaking are the people who are making the rules, and we hear a lot about, "Oh, the system is run by old white men." Or, "Oh, this system is run by this group or that group." But there is a serious lack of representation of persons with disabilities out there making laws and making rules, so we really do need people with disabilities to be involved. 06:56 LT: Yes, run for office. Don't just vote. Don't just talk to your representatives, run for office. 07:03 TN: Yeah. Or at least get involved. At least make sure you start out by talking to your legislators, vote and then run for office. 07:13 LT: And become involved in organizations whether it's Able or the League of Women Voters or whatever, that will help you learn how to advocate. 07:20 TN: A problem. I see a lot is people who are new to advocacy go to the wrong legislator for the right reason, can you tell us how to know if an issue is a federal issue, meaning you need to go to a congressman or a senator? Or a state issue, meaning you need to go to a state senator, or a state house representative? Or a municipal issue, so a city issue or a county issue? 07:55 LT: Well, sometimes it can be multiples, but we won't get into that [chuckle] today, 'cause you just need to have an entry point in the system. And in fact, determining the right entry point is crucial. And I use the example of a dear friend of mine who went to her state senator about a tree that was blocking a right-of-way in the city of Columbia. One thing that... One way to find out is to call somebody in you'll find... They'll tell you, "I don't handle that, so-and-so does." But for one thing, if you wanna find out who your representatives are and who your public officials are, if you can go online, scstatehouse.gov, if you put in your address, it will tell you who your senator, your congressman, your state senator, or your state house of representatives member. 08:43 TN: So that was S-C... 08:44 LT: Statehouse.gov. 08:46 TN: Scstatehouse.gov. 08:48 LT: Right. And county and city governments also have websites that will provide information. My experience has been that most of the people who handle public contact for state government, for example, are extremely accommodating and helpful. They will tell you if you're in the right place, [chuckle] but you need to figure out not only is it federal, state, city, or county, but is it executive, legislative or judicial? 09:17 TN: So executive means... 09:19 LT: Executive means the people who actually carry out the daily work of government. So if you have a tree that's fallen on a utility line, probably your city right-of-way people can contact the utility company and help do all of that and get it straightened out. If you, however, want to change how utility lines are managed in your city, then you probably wanna talk to your city council in your legislative branch. Congress is a legislative branch, the state house and senator, legislative, but county and city council are also legislative. They make the rules. Are you concerned about something that's how the rules are implemented? Or are you concerned about something that is how the rules are written? And so there you have that distinction. Judicial of course, that's when you come to a situation in which it has to be resolved by that third party, the judicial branch. 10:13 TN: That's if the rules that are written are wrong? 10:17 LT: Right. 10:17 TN: Yeah. 10:18 LT: And you can't get it fixed otherwise. 10:19 TN: Exactly. 10:20 LT: But very often you'll find that it's oversight. Years ago, my husband counseled me when I was upset about something to remember that usually ignorance is a better explanation than somebody actually having evil intent

    39 min

  4. 09/22/2020

    Disability PSA: Voter Registration 2020

    Disability PSA: Voter Registration 2020 Join Dori Tempio and Sydney Arsenault, our hosts, as they discuss how to register to vote and why voting is so darn important. Register to vote now at scvotes.org where you can also find other helpful voter information.   Disclaimer Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Able South Carolina interns, board members, and staff are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Able South Carolina or any of its funders. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact Able SC.    Transcript [music] 00:13 Sydney Arsenault: It's been 11016 days since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. 00:19 Dori Tempio: And you are parked in the Access Aisle. [music] 00:32 SA: Welcome everyone. My name is Sydney Arsenault, I'm a Master's level Social work intern with AbleSC. 00:39 DT: Hi, I'm Dori Tempio. I am the director of Community Outreach and consumer rights for Able South Carolina. 00:49 SA: Dori, I'm so excited to be here with you today because we're talking about something we both really care about, which is registering to vote, we're in the middle of an election year, so it's important that we're all registered and ready to make our voices heard on November 4th, the election day. 01:04 DT: You got it Sydney, I have been a proud voter for years, and I am so excited about the opportunity for people with disabilities to register to vote. It's extremely important for people with disabilities to get out and vote so they can have a say in the legislative decisions that affect their lives. People like you and me, people with disabilities, we elect officials from the president and senators, on down to our local towns council people and judges. It's important because we have the opportunity to either support or block improvements in disability policy with the way we cast our votes. So whether it's benefits and employment, health insurance, home care, criminal justice, equal pay, accessibility and more. When we get out and register to vote and then cast our vote, we have opportunities to participate in the community. As a person with a disability, I have been voting for years. As a disabled voter, I have been using many different methods to vote over the years, I have used in-person voting, absentee ballot, and curbside voting. With each of these methods of voting, I have used what we call reasonable accommodations, and all people with disabilities have access to those tools and supports, they need to cast their vote. 02:44 DT: So if you wanna learn more about reasonable accommodations or ask questions about support you may need to vote, please don't hesitate to ask us at Able South Carolina, and we are happy to support you in any way that we can. 03:00 SA: That's exactly right. And thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. We wanna make sure that everyone is out there fighting for the issues they care about, and one of those ways is by voting. And there are a few requirements we should keep in mind while preparing to register to vote. You need to be at least 18 years old before the next election, you need to be a United States citizen, as well as a resident of South Carolina in the county and precinct in which you are registering, you cannot be under a court order declaring you mentally incompetent, you cannot be confined in any public prison resulting from the conviction of a crime, and you can not have a conviction of a felony or offense against the election laws. Or if you do have a previous conviction, you must have served the entire sentence, including probation and parole or received a pardon for this conviction. 03:57 DT: As Sydney just mentioned, there are so many different ways you can register to vote, that include online, in-person, by mail email or fax, South Carolina offers online voter registration, you can register by mail, email or fax to vote in South Carolina, by printing a voter registration form, filling it out and mailing it to your local election office. Or if you're like me, I prefer to register to vote in person, so you can go to your local election office and register in person to vote. 04:34 SA: Yeah, even though there are so many different ways, they all pretty much ask for the same information, this includes your date of birth, your social security number, and a South Carolina driver's license number or ID card number. If you don't have a license or ID card, you can use a current utility bill, a bank statement, a paycheck or other government document that shows your name and address in the county you're trying to register. This license and ID requirement is not necessary if you are a voter with a disability, a member of the US Uniform Services or merchant marines or their families, or a US citizen residing outside the United States. 05:18 DT: Don't forget, the fastest way to register is online at scvotes.gov, you will need a South Carolina driver's license or ID card to register online. And remember, if we don't vote and we don't have an ID to vote, when we don't have an ID to vote, it can cause sometimes in-person voter impersonation and can make us feel less confident in the election process. 05:49 SA: Right. And we wanna protect our right to vote and make our voices heard. We'll be back with more information on voting logistics closer to election day, so please stay tuned. But in the meantime, if you have any questions on registering to vote, please go to scvotes.gov or contact Able and we can send you in the right direction. 06:10 DT: Thank you for listening. And make sure you get out to vote. 06:14 SA: You have been parked in the Access Aisle a production of AbleSC. [music]

    6 min

  5. 06/10/2020

    Access Aisle Interviews: LGBTQ+ Pride Panel

    LGBTQ+ Pride Month Panel  In this episode on the Access Aisle, Able South Carolina’s Asha Jones celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride Month with panelists Dr. Julie Edwards and Effy Francis who are members of both the disability and LGBTQ+ communities. Asha, Effy, and Julie discuss the importance of community, ways to improve access, and give personal perspectives on life as a person who identifies as a member of multiple and sometimes conflicting communities.  'The Access Aisle' is a production of Able South Carolina.   Panelists Asha Jones is an EQUIP leader at Able SC who is a non-binary lesbian. Asha is passionate about disability education because she wants other people with disabilities to take pride in and advocate for themselves. She also wants to make society more accepting and accessible as a whole.  Dr. Julie Edwards is a queer and disabled activist raised in Columbia, SC. Julie earned her doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. Her activism focuses on rooting out inequities in the healthcare system. She looks forward to continuing to build community and solidarity locally so that more disabled and/or LGBTQIA+ individuals will run for and be elected office.  Effy Alece Francis is a queer, non-binary trans person with physical and psychiatric disabilities, working, living & advocating in the south. Licensed as an esthetician and professional makeup artist, when they are not working in the beauty & wellness industry they are pushing for equity, inclusion and social justice in every aspect of life.   Disclaimer Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Able South Carolina interns, board members, and staff are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Able South Carolina or any of its funders. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access.   Transcript [music] 00:14 Asha Jones: It has been 10,911 days since the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed and you are Parked in The Access Aisle. June is Pride Month, a time where the LGBTQ+ community celebrates our various identities, histories, and our resilience and resistance. Members of the LGBTQ+ community come from various backgrounds and many of us are also people with disabilities. It is estimated that over one-third of LGBTQ+ people are also people with disabilities. I have two panelists here today who are members of both communities. Would you all go ahead and introduce yourselves with your name, pronoun, and a little bit about yourself? My name is Aja Jones and I use she/her/hers and they/them/their pronouns. I am a non-binary lesbian. I am an EQUIP leader at ABLE South Carolina, and a fun fact is that I'm currently watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. 01:07 Julie Edwards: My name is Julie Edwards. I use she/her/hers pronouns. I'm your local bi-pan queer cat lady. I have three cats and a dog who acts like a cat. I am an activist, I've done work with Indivisible Midlands as well as other local organizations. And excited to be here. 01:23 Effy Francis: And my name is Effy Francis. My pronouns are they/them/theirs. I'm a non-binary transgender as well as pansexual person. As far as work goes, I'm a licensed esthetician and make-up artist by trade, so love to beat me some faces, make 'em look cute, working on skincare, [chuckle] do it for all my friends. And then I am also a queer and disabled activist on every day that ends with Y. 01:50 AJ: Awesome, thank you so much. The first question I have for you is: What do you think the importance of community is for people with disabilities as well as the LGBTQ+ community? 02:02 JE: I'll start. Communities are where a lot of people on the fringes of both communities find themselves. I have had Type I since I was nine, but I didn't really understand what being disabled meant until I found a community on Twitter. So I really stepped into owning my disability status, identifying as disabled, and it brought me a lot of connections, a lot of hope. Hope and joy are where our communities shine, for me at least. And especially in this moment of this pandemic, we're all dealing with so much loneliness, and reaching out to people that we know that have similar life experiences to us is kind of a tether in all the storm that's going on right now. 02:46 EF: This is Effy. So I honestly think that community for any marginalized group is everything, but honestly, especially because I identify with both groups, but especially for disabled people and folks in the LGBTQI+ community. If we're going by history alone, we know that people with disabilities have traditionally been segregated from society, and so that's why the recent film on Netflix, Crip Camp, I really, really loved. It's, I think, a radical insight into what community looks like for folks with disabilities. I mean, as it turns out, we are just like everybody else. We have friends, we like exploring our sexuality, playing instruments, having dance parties, literally everything that non-disabled people do, we just literally have differing access needs. And going along with what Julie said, the same goes for the LGBTQIA+ community in that we have both faced such societal stigma. The phrase, "Nothing about us without us," is what first jumps to mind for me, which was really spearheaded by the disability community and now I hear it everywhere. So it's really cool that that resonates with people, and I think it really shows that having that peer-based kind of community is so, so important. 04:11 JE: Yeah, in this pandemic time, queer people are especially going to be at risk for losing their jobs. It's hard to get hired if you don't present the way society expects you to already, but I think one thing that is so amazing about our communities is how we provide mutual aid for each other. If you know someone's out of work, well, I know three people I can ask to throw in $10 and maybe that person gets to eat that day. And while we still fight for the structural changes that need to happen, it's a beautiful thing to see our communities aid each other. 04:42 EF: Absolutely, kind of my mantra lately. Community Care. Who takes care of us? We take care of us. 04:49 AJ: Agreed. I really agree with that. Community is so important and we do take care of each other. My next question is a sort of follow-up to that. Since you both are both advocates and activists, would you mind telling a little bit about your advocacy in these communities? 05:04 JE: Sure, I'll start. My actual first foray into activism was after the Pulse massacre. I, like many in the queer community, just was devastated by it and I felt like I had to do something. So I started on Facebook reporting gun sales that were not supposed to be happening, and that got me interested in especially online activism, being a disabled person. And so I've helped several movements. I'm Type I diabetic, so I'm involved with the Insulin For All movement providing affordable, I want free, insulin to diabetics everywhere, 'cause it is such an expensive medication and our community is very tightly bonded. We are always crowdsourcing insulin for people. So that's the stuff I do on a day-to-day basis. 05:48 EF: That's fantastic, Julie. So I actually got my start into advocacy and activist work as an EQUIP leader with ABLE South Carolina, kinda what Aja's really excelling at today. I worked as an EQUIP leader from almost the beginning of the program's inception as a year-round program, not just a six-week summer series, and I did that until about two years ago. So aside from sharing my lived experience as a disabled young adult, I really, really focused my advocacy work on things like sexual health education and LGBTQI+ intersectionality for the disability community. Some examples of that were I served on a coalition such as SAASH, the State Alliance for Adolescent Sexual Health, and representing an event such as the Safe School Summit, which was an annual summit to highlight the kind of violence that happens in schools and for young adults, when it comes to bullying and all the things that intersect with that. And so I really focused on how that impacts students with disabilities, young adults with disabilities, as well as I eventually, really came into activism as a Fat Liberationist and pushing for openness around that as well. 07:14 AJ: Thank you. So we've already started touching on this. What topics and issues do you think overlap between communities? 07:21 JE: The one that I think most people in the LGBTQIA community don't fully realize is that not all disabled people, including queer disabled people, can get married. If you rely on Medicaid, it could be very possible that getting married would remove your status for Medicaid. I am currently in that situation, and so it gets... I try to tell people that marriage equality hasn't fully come all the way to everybody and that the fight's not over. So that's definitely one area that overlaps. 07:52 EF: Julie, oh my gosh, I'm so glad you brought that up because I feel like that is an issue that constantly gets overlooked. So thank you for bringing that up. For me, while I think there are a lot of similar overlaps between the queer and the disability communities, such as things like under-representation and things like media and educational curriculum, both communities deal with micro-aggressions and systemic prejudice, and both communities have had their own prominent civil rights movements in the U

    29 min

  6. 05/11/2020

    Access Aisle Interview: Your Census Questions Answered!

    In this episode of the Access Aisle, Able SC’s Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement, Robbie Kopp, and Advocacy Coordinator Tiffany Namey team up with Assistant Regional Census Manager Marilyn Stephens to bust some myths and share some facts about the U.S. Census. In this episode, the hosts discuss why it is important for people with disabilities to be counted, how the 2020 Census is the most accessible census in history, how the current pandemic has impacted the census, and much more. Episode Guest: Marilyn Stephens: Assistant Regional Census Manager for the Atlanta Region Marilyn Stephens is one of the most requested Census Bureau speakers. The Miami, Florida native earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing. Marilyn currently serves the Census Bureau as the Assistant Regional Census Manager for the Atlanta Region which is responsible for census operations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. In this capacity, she manages the community engagement and partnership program throughout the region. Moreover, she meets with and serves as the agency’s liaison to the region’s seven governors.  In November 2003, she received the Bronze Medal Award, the highest meritorious honor given by the U.S. Census Bureau. Also, she is the chairperson of the South Florida Federal Executive Board. The Federal Executive Board system was the creation of President John F. Kennedy (reauthorization is granted by each subsequent President).   Credits: 'Access Aisle' is produced by Robbie Kopp, Tiffany Namey, and Sarah Nichols. Our editor is Robbie Kopp. Able South Carolina.   Disclaimer: Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Able South Carolina interns, board members, and staff are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Able South Carolina or any of its funders. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access.   Transcript: [music] 00:14 Tiffany Namey: It has been 10,875 days since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. 00:22 Robbie Kopp: And you are parked in the Access Aisle. [music] 00:32 RK: My name is Robbie Kopp, the Director of Advocacy and Community Access at Able South Carolina. 00:37 TN: And I am Tiffany Namey, the Advocacy Coordinator for Able South Carolina. 00:41 RK: Today, we are gonna take on your questions about the census and make sure you are comfortable, confident and ready to get your census questionnaire in and done. Joining us today is Marilyn Stephens, Assistant Regional Census Manager for the Atlanta Region of the United States Census Bureau. We're gonna be asking Marilyn your questions that you share here with us and make sure that you have everything you need in order to stand up and be counted for the 2020 US Census. So Marilyn, welcome, so glad to have you with us. 01:10 Marilyn Stephens: It's my absolute pleasure. Thank you for inviting me. 01:13 RK: Yeah, absolutely. So we're gonna start with a really easy question, hopefully, but Marilyn, tell us what is the census and why does it matter? 01:21 MS: Based on Article One, Section Two of the United States Constitution, every 10 years, and really, we are sitting in zero, the Census Bureau is tasked with counting the entire population of the United States. The purpose of the census is for apportionment to determine how many seats each state gets in Congress, and that really determines that state's voice. So the more seats you have, the bigger your voice. Well, Congress has changed over time since the first census was taken in 1790, it went from 65 to 103, now to 435, where it stands. So the census is about political power, and it's about money. States depend on the $675 billion in resources that are allocated from the federal government down to the states every year. And in those funding formulas, the basis is census data. 02:29 RK: So that's really incredible. So folks that are really interested in the political voice of South Carolina, making sure that we have a fair and accurate count in a state where we expect that there's been a population increase can change into more congressional seats and greater representation in the United States House, and that's really helpful to know. And tell me that number again, Marilyn. Let's drive home that point of how much money is really at stake when it comes to the formula for apportionment. 03:00 MS: It's $675 billion. That's $7 trillion over a decade. So it gets to be real money. [laughter] 03:08 TN: That is a lot of money. 03:11 RK: Real money is such a huge understatement. Yeah, that's a $7 trillion impact over the next 10 years and making sure that South Carolina gets its piece of the pie. 03:21 TN: For people with disabilities, Robbie, that money goes to programs like SNAP, and what other kinds of programs might that go to, do you think, that would impact the lives of people with disabilities? 03:34 RK: The transportation dollar is a really big piece of that too, that we can't overlook. Marilyn, tell us some of the other ways that that $7 trillion kinda breaks down into programs for real people on the ground. 03:46 MS: Medicaid, Medicare, TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, education programs, libraries, veterans, senior services, so the entire plethora of federal programs, all of them impact people with disabilities. 04:10 RK: For sure. 04:10 MS: Because of their families, because of their children, because of their communities. Highway construction and planning, emergency preparedness, community health clinics, all of these things are heavily impacted because of census numbers. 04:27 RK: Absolutely. So it's really clear and really hearing all of the programs that are impacted by the census numbers, I mean it's clear that the disability community is impacted and what services are available and provided. So let's talk just a little bit about how to get the census done. What are some of the questions that folks can expect as they complete the census? 04:48 MS: Well, the good thing is the census is simple. We don't deal with a lot of questions, and people really like that about the census. We ask for your name, we ask for your sex, we ask for your birthdate, and we ask if you are of Hispanic origin, we ask your race. Now, if there are others in the household, we ask what is their relationship to you. And household relationship has been on the census questionnaire since 1880. So it's not really a new question. It's about 10 questions, a little less than that, and it takes about 10 minutes. 05:29 RK: Yeah, and I think that's the thing that folks sometimes miss is that we hear a lot of information about the census, I think there are a lot of community reminders, and it also seems like never quite enough of those community reminders, but the time that it takes to really complete the census is next to nothing. Our household, we did the census the first week that it was available online, and it took... I think we did it in like seven minutes for the three of us and it was really, really simple. 06:00 MS: Yes. And I think that this census cycle is the first time that we had so many options to participate. In the previous cycles, we'll email the questionnaire out and you send the questionnaire back to us. And this time, with all the options of online, telephone and by mail, I think that people with disabilities have been giving us really positive feedback about this was just ideal. 06:27 RK: Yeah, and that's really great to hear. I think in 2020, it makes sense for us to do things online and make sure that that online information is accessible because technology is making... It's leveling the playing field for folks with and without disabilities and making sure that there's access to participation and information. It was so glad to hear that the Census Bureau has been making that leap along with the times. We wanna talk more about those formats. Before we do that, I wanna ask just a couple of other questions that I know that folks may have been a little nervous about and just wanna make sure that we have a clear answer on whether that's asked. So first, we had a question that says, will I be asked for my social security number in the census? 07:07 MS: No. And we've had people that see the boxes on the bottom of that first question, and they think it's for social security number. It's for your telephone number. So if in fact, we need to contact you, for any reason, we will do that. And it's not for telemarketing. We're not gonna use information any other way. But if we have to contact you for whatever reason, we will. Other than that, no, we do not ask for your social security number, or your bank number. 07:34 RK: That was gonna be my next question. You took the words right out of my mouth. So there... The banking question, none of that is necessary, none of that is part of the census and neither is the social security number. 07:45 MS: It is not. This is a surveys that your listeners may be a part of. We don't ask for social security numbers on the other sets of surveys because they may be in sample for another census survey. 08:00 RK: Okay, well that's really helpful to know too. Yeah, great. I think that the social security number question and the question about financial information or banking information, we all and rightfully so, really wanna protect that and make sure that it's not shared. So listeners hear us, it's not part of the census. Don't delay in complet

    32 min

  7. 04/28/2020

    Disability Service Announcement: COVID-19

    In this Disability Service Announcement episode of the Access Aisle, our hosts, Megan Wagner and Robbie Kopp, share information about social distancing and how to protect yourself, your family, and the community from COVID-19. The CDC, SC DHEC, State and Local Governments are the best sources for new information.  Able South Carolina has a great listing of COVID-19 resources available here: https://www.able-sc.org/covid-19/ Disclaimer Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org   Episode Transcript [music]  00:15 Megan: It has been 10,865 days since the Americans with Disabilities Act has been passed.  00:20 RK: And you are parked in the Access Aisle.  [music]  00:32 Megan: Welcome. My name is Megan and I am a current social work intern at Able South Carolina, studying to get my master's degree at the University of South Carolina. With me today is my amazing supervisor and mentor in disability advocacy, Robbie Kopp.  00:46 RK: Thanks, Megan. Like she said, I'm Robbie Kopp, and I am the Director of Advocacy and Community Access here at Able South Carolina. We are here today to talk with you about COVID-19 and how to better prepare yourself as we see this thing roll out over the next few months.  01:02 Megan: Well, I wish I could say we're in the homestretch of this Robbie, but it seems like everything is just getting started. So, to help all of our listeners sort of navigate this unprecedented pandemic, we have compiled a list of advice that is sent down from the CDC. Before we get into all that, though, I just wanted to take a second and say thank you to all the people out there working on the front lines to keep us safe: Healthcare workers, grocery store employees, garbage collectors, public service agents, and all of you hard working people giving their all so the rest of us can stay safe inside our homes. We cannot thank you enough.  01:36 RK: And it's so important that all of us do our part to help relieve some of the workload for these dedicated workers and make sure that we are staying at home the way that we are ordered to and that we're limiting the spread. The fewer folks that this ends up touching, the less risk there's gonna be in the community.  01:54 Megan: Right, and because there is no current vaccine or medical way to prevent someone from getting COVID-19, the CDC recommends that we all stay inside our house and away from other people until this is kind of all over. There still seems to be some confusion on what exactly social distancing is and is not. Robbie, could you tell us a little bit more about what social distancing is, what it means to do it, and who should be doing it?  02:17 RK: For sure. And first, I really wanna start out by saying who social distancing is for. If you are not sick and you don't have any reason to believe that you've been exposed, you haven't been around someone who has symptoms, of COVID-19, then social distancing is for you. If you think there's any realistic chance that you may have gotten it, then this next part where we talk about social distancing doesn't really pertain to you because you should be completely quarantining or self-isolated. We will talk about what that means.   02:50 Megan: So Robbie, what if I have to leave my house? How should I protect myself from the people around me?  02:54 RK: First, we should not be leaving the house at all unless we need to get supplies that that'll help us stay alive, not just, "I need a new pillow because this one is just not as comfortable as it was last week." But, "I need groceries, or I'm gonna go hungry." And there's a difference between those two. Some other things that have also been allowed so far is some limited outdoor travel on foot. If you're exercising or you're trying to get your cardio in, that has not been on its face banned yet, but we wanna make sure that we're always watching for the newest updates. Like I've said once in this podcast, so far, I'll probably say again, if you feel like you might be sick or you've been exposed to COVID, these steps aren't for you. Please stay inside and limit the spread.  03:51 RK: The biggest feature of social distancing is keeping that six-foot distance between you and the next person near by. If you can keep more space between you and other grocery store shoppers or service workers, even better, but six feet is expected to be the distance that the virus can travel when someone sneezes, or coughs.  04:09 RK: The current guidance from the CDC is recommending that people should wear a cloth mask at all times when they go out in public, like if they go to the grocery store. We should not be going out in public very much at all. This should just be very necessary trips, trips that we can't avoid. And when we take those trips we should make sure that we're doing everything we can to not need to repeat the trip the next day. With these cloth mask, they can be homemade, they can be made with things that you have around your house right now. The CDC's website has some really cool ways to put a mask together and please do not go out and buy the surgical masks or the medical grade masks because we wanna make sure that our health care workers have access to those. Fun fact, my aunt made a few masks for my wife and I, they're really cute and I hope to not need them because my wife and I will be staying in the house as much as possible. But when we do, we have something that is pretty simply stitched together with some cloth and some hair ties and that's all it really takes.  05:14 Megan: I also want to add on to that, Robbie. It's really important that you, when you're using the mask that you wash your hands before and after you take the mask off and this just goes in general to outside of touching your mask, if you go out in public, you should be washing your hands frequently and not touching your eyes, nose, mouth, ears, that kind of stuff with unwashed hands.  05:38 RK: Yeah, for sure and I think one of the things that's really interesting about what the CDC said most recently about masks, is that if, if you don't have any symptoms, you may still be carrying the virus and you may be able to transmit it. So, the mask helps you keep the virus contained to your face instead of spreading it to other people in the community. Other really important things to consider for people with disabilities is how your PCA is gonna provide services. Make sure that you work with your PCA provider, your personal care attendant provider and make sure that they have good COVID practices in place and that you're protecting yourself from individuals who are there to help you but may inadvertently be carrying the COVID virus.  06:00 Megan: We're now gonna talk a little bit about if you are sick and what you should do, if you're experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, which tend to be fever, cough, or shortness of breath, do not go physically into your doctor's office. You should start by giving them a call and describing your symptoms to them and then going from there, we don't want to flood all the doctor's offices with people who think that they might have COVID, especially since we all know here in the South, it is allergy season and pollen is everywhere. So, we wanna make sure that the doctors can do that initial meeting with you over the phone before you go in.  07:04 RK: Yeah, and then an important thing is really following the instructions of your doctor. It's always good to start with a phone call and to touch base and share what your symptoms are and go from there. Many people have been able to recover at home and don't need to go to the hospital at all and your doctor is really gonna be the best judge of that or you need to head to the hospital. If you have a hard time breathing, you feel pain in your chest or you're unable to think clearly or wake up or if you have blueish lips or face, the CDC recommends emergency medical health, making sure that you get dialed in to what you need.  07:40 Megan: But, if you are in any of those situations, you can like Robbie said, recover from home. The CDC has some tips on what you can do to help prevent family members and other people in your house from getting sick too. You wanna tell us a little bit about those? Sorry.  07:55 RK: Yeah, I'm just so excited to do it.  07:57 Megan: I know. [chuckle]  08:00 RK: If you find that someone in your household is sick, whether that's you or a family member or a roommate, you wanna designate a sick room that only the sick person stay in while the rest of the family and pets stay away. If you have a service animal, things don't really change a whole lot for you. You wanna keep that service animal with you at all times and make sure that you're the one who's making sure that service animal is let out when that's needed and being the main contact because there is some question about if someone is sick is touching an animal and then someone who is well touches that animal, can COVID pass. So, we wanna make sure that we're being really intentional with that, whether it's a service animal, whether it's other animals in the house or whether it's family members, we wanna make sure that there's a sick space and a well space and that we're not crossing over as much as can be helped.  08:54 Megan: But if you're for whatever reason not able to create a sick space and a well space, then the CDC asks that you stay away from the ot

    14 min

  8. 03/30/2020

    Interview: Psychiatric Disabilities and Mental Health

    People who live with psychiatric disabilities are often misunderstood, unseen, and dismissed. In this episode of The Access Aisle, MSW Intern Laura Browning and Advocacy Coordinator Tiffany Namey investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disabilities, speak on the difficulty and necessity of disability pride, and dispel some widely-held myths about people who live with these disabilities every day. Disclaimer Able South Carolina is providing this podcast as a public service, but it is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of local, state, or federal legislation or policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Able South Carolina. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an Able South Carolina endorsement of them or any entity they represent. If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact our Director of Advocacy and Community Access at advocacy@able-sc.org Episode Transcript: [music] 00:15 Laura: It has been 10,840 days since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed and you are part in the Access Aisle. 00:24 Tiffany: And you are part in the Access Aisle. 00:25 Laura: Welcome, my name is Laura, I'm an intern here at Able South Carolina, I'm studying Social Work, and I'm going to be a future therapist. 00:34 Tiffany: My name is Tiffany Namey, I am the Advocacy Coordinator here at Able South Carolina. I just wanna make a quick statement. When we were deciding whether or not to disclose our specific diagnoses for this podcast, Laura and I talked a lot about the lack of disclosure and if that meant we had a lack of disability pride, and we have decided not to disclose our specific psychiatric disabilities, which will be the topic of this podcast. We want everyone out there to know that you cannot disclose your diagnosis, whether it be a psychiatric disability or a physical disability, and still have disability pride. You can be proud of all of the evolving you have done and the adapting you have done and the person that you are and the unique skill sets that you have and just being you, and the fact that your disability is part of who you are and still not disclose to anyone you don't wanna disclose to. And that was something that we struggled with yesterday, but that is what we decided and so we wanted to share that decision with you. [chuckle] 02:11 Laura: Absolutely, Tiffany and I, we're both really excited to be here and hosting this episode and we do both live with psychiatric disabilities. And disclosure is power, to be perfectly honest. No one needs to know about your disability diagnosis, except for you, your doctor and your boss, if you're looking for accommodations. 02:28 Tiffany: Yeah. 02:29 Laura: Well, in case you haven't guessed, our topic for today is psychiatric disabilities. We're so glad that you're listening today, and I hope you'll check out our previous episodes and our content from 2019. Make sure you subscribe to the Access Aisle, so you can get updates and podcast episodes as we release them. This topic really stuck out to us, because so-called mental illness is often not considered a disability by society at large. For instance, I really didn't know that that "mental illness" was a psychiatric disability until about a year ago. I didn't grow up hearing that terminology ever and I knew I needed accommodations, but I didn't know that's what they were and that you could even go about asking for those things. 03:10 Tiffany: I have multiple disabilities, I also have physical disabilities as well, and all of the disabilities I have are invisible disabilities, every single one of them, and I didn't realize as a person with invisible disabilities that any of my disabilities were disabilities until much later in life, because all of my disabilities manifested in our lessons and I have struggled a lot with recognizing that I need accommodation, so I think that is something that is very common. One of the issues that I see, is that despite the fact that the disability community is built on a cross-disability model, that we're all supposed to be here for each other, building power within our community and we're all supposed to be recognizing the fact that we may have different disabilities or multiple disabilities, we still have this kind of ingrained, inherent bias that there is this ranking system and it's a false ranking system, but it says, "Well, maybe my disability isn't quite as bad as their disability or maybe that person's disability is just a little bit worse than that person's disability." 04:41 Tiffany: And I think that is such a false and damaging perspective to people with psychiatric disabilities because it makes cognitive disabilities and physical disabilities "worse" than invisible disabilities, because they're something that's tangible, they're something we can see. And no one's disability is worse or better than anyone else's, it's about whether or not we can get the accommodations and the access that we need to be the people that we are, doing the things that we are supposed to be doing in society, based on what we want and need to be doing. 05:29 Laura: That's an important point because psychiatric disabilities, because you cannot see them and because they really exist on such a spectrum, it tends to be subjective and if you've never experienced it, you don't really get what it's like, which is tough for us to explain, or try to get help, or even just express ourselves and receive understanding. So let's go ahead and start dispelling the myth that people don't have psychiatric disabilities. [chuckle] For instance, Johns Hopkins tells us that one in four American adults lives with a diagnosable mental disorder or psychiatric disability every year. If you sit in a little cubicle group with four of your co-workers, one of them's probably got a psychiatric disability. 06:09 Tiffany: That's one person at the table when you go out to dinner. 06:12 Laura: Absolutely. 06:13 Tiffany: Yeah? 06:14 Laura: It's not uncommon, that is staggeringly common. [chuckle] We're everywhere. 06:19 Tiffany: About 18% of people ages 18 to 54 in a given year have an anxiety disorder. And anxiety disorders include panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias. 06:42 Laura: We've also got bipolar disorder, one of the more prominent disorders in the United States, it affects over 2.5% of American adults, and 9.5% of American adults live with a depressive disability, like major depression, persistent depressive disorder, mood disorders. One of the least understood. We've got mood disorders, personality disorders, other emotional and psychiatric disabilities, they're incredibly common. People do not like the word personality disorder. 07:08 Tiffany: Now, I remember the first time I heard that I was like, "There's a disorder with your personality? That's nice." You know? 07:18 Laura: It really does strike fear into some people's hearts. 07:20 Tiffany: Yeah, it's a terrible phrase. 07:21 Laura: Even the people... Especially the people who are diagnosed with it, they come into a diagnosis with just incredible amounts of fear and self-shame because you've really been condition to be afraid of like, "Oh my God, who am I now?" So personality disorder, not the most apt name. 07:37 Tiffany: And that's why we're trying to say psychiatric disability because it is a disability. 07:42 Laura: It's not the medical model version of an innate flaw in an individual. I know one specific personality disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, has three million people in the United States living with it at any given time. And going off of the high rate of personally disorders, they also have one of the highest suicide rates of all psychiatric disorders. In the United States alone, the suicide rate for borderline is 10%. If you had a physical disability or a physical illness anything that had a one in 10 chance of you dying from it, you would hear about it all the time. 08:18 Tiffany: Yeah, that would be an epidemic. 08:19 Laura: It really would be. 08:20 Tiffany: But most people who die by suicide have a diagnosable mental disorder, and most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder, but people with mood and personality disorders are also one of the highest rates of suicide. And I think that's 'cause they feel a lot of really intense emotion, but also because they're not as likely to disclose as a lot of other mental and psychiatric disabilities. And see right there, we're conditioned to use so many words. Right now, I'm personally going through an issue where I'm trying to stop going, "That's crazy, that's insane." 09:11 Laura: Me too. 09:11 Tiffany: But I say it all the time. These are all social norms now that we're used to saying things to disparage people with disabilities and... 09:22 Laura: Even the people that have the disabilities themselves, we're just... Ourselves. 09:24 Tiffany: Right, we disparage ourselves. I think that that's part of the problem. 09:32 Laura: Yeah, one big thing that we live with as having psychiatric disabilities, is we just face some very pervasive and wrong assumptions about ourselves everywhere we go. Specifically, I'd like to focus on the stereotypes that follows in the workplace, in our personal relationship and like social lives. Number one, I would say, is that we need to be spotted and dealt with. I did some quick research just to see what the public perception is or to find it in writing, how to work with people who have mood disorders in the workplace, or how do you build relationships with people who have psychiatric disabilities, and all the more how to spot someone with a mood disorder, how to deal with employees that are unregulated. And that hurt. I'm certainly not unused to it but it's difficult to feel acce

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About

A disability rights advocacy podcast that brings together advocates, policy makers, and people with disabilities to talk about the issues facing the disability community.

Information

  • Creator
    accessaisle
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2020
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2019 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Access Aisle