Religious leaders affirm disability rights

From AAPD, by Ginny Thornburgh (pictured), Director, AAPD Interfaith Initiative:

Sometimes what seems impossible is actually possible.

When our president, Andy Imparato, asked me to bring the “powerful and prophetic voice of the faith community to the 21st Century disability agenda,” I was stunned. Through almost twenty years of work at the intersection of religion and disability, I had learned that disability rights issues were not generally high on the agendas of most denominations and faith groups.

How in the world does one bring the “powerful and prophetic voice of the faith community to the 21st Century disability agenda?” Through AAPD’s newest effort – the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC). That’s how.

IDAC is a diverse, nonpartisan coalition of religious and religiously-affiliated organizations whose core spiritual values affirm the rights and dignity of people with disabilities. The mission of IDAC is to mobilize the religious community to speak out and take action on disability policy issues with Congress, the President and Administration, and society at large.

The IDAC Steering Committee consists of both lay and ordained interfaith leaders who care deeply about issues of disability. At our initial meeting in October 2008, we hammered out our goals, our procedures and our membership requirements. Finding common ground and common cause across faith lines and across disability experiences was hard but very rewarding work.

Our first public policy effort was to draft an IDAC letter for House and Senate leaders in support of the Community Choice Act (indicate information on the AAPD website), legislation which promotes independence with dignity and allows individuals who receive long-term services through Medicaid to have a choice in where, how and from whom they receive personal assistance. By allowing older adults and people with disabilities to receive care in their homes and communities, passage of this legislation will ensure that they can remain active participants in their families, neighborhoods and religious communities.

When the IDAC CCA letter went to the hill on June 22, 2009, twenty two respected organizations from a wide range of national religious groups had signed on and lent their moral support to the Community Choice Act. Sometimes what seems impossible is actually possible.

Our next step was to invite these twenty two very respected religious organizations and others who care about disability public policy issues to become Members of the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition. Organizations seeking membership in IDAC must be a national religious or religiously- affiliated organization with the capacity to take action on national public policy issues; must agree to support IDAC’s mission and follow IDAC’s procedures; and must have a grassroots constituency and the authority to take positions on their behalf.

The variety of the first ten organizations completing IDAC membership applications was impressive: Lutheran Services in America, Union for Reform Judaism, National Catholic Partnership on Disability, Islamic Society of North America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Episcopal Church, The American Baptist Home Mission Societies, National Apostolate for Inclusion Ministry, United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, and United Jewish Communities/Jewish Federations of North America.

On Monday, July 27, 2009 we held the first IDAC Membership Information Meeting with featured speaker, the Honorable Tony Coelho, AAPD Board Chairman and Former Majority Whip, U.S. House of Representatives. A key author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Tony spoke with passion about the need for more and better employment opportunities for people with disabilities and he described the discrimination he had encountered as a person with epilepsy. His remarks were gratefully received.

Also during that first IDAC meeting, AAPD president Andy Imparato, a self described “disability policy wonk,” outlined the landscape of the disability rights movement and drew particular attention to the Community Choice Act and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which will be at the forefront of IDAC’s agenda. Following Andy, Rabbi Lynne Landsberg, Senior Advisor on Disability Issues, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, spoke of her personal experience with brain injury and her strong belief that disability is a social justice issue which deserves the fullest attention of the religious community.

All in attendance at the July 27th meeting offered enthusiastic support for IDAC. The meeting made us realize that once members of the religious community became aware of the pain of discrimination, exclusion and isolation which people with disabilities and older adults often experience, their support for disability rights issues is likely to be sure and swift. So that which seemed impossible is now very possible. Stay tuned as we gather new IDAC Members and begin to use the moral authority of the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition for the good of our nation.