[Nfbc-info] Fw: [il-talk] Amtrak: Inaccessibility

[Rob]

Hello all. This was sent to me from the Illinois il-talk mailing list.

The person who sent this just got a degree from Northwestern University in 
being an advocate. If anyone can do this, she can.



-----Original Message----- 
From: Rose Sloan
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 8:05 AM
To: il-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [il-talk] Amtrak: Inaccessibility

Hi NFBI Family!

This summer, I am woring at the National Disability Rights Netowrk in
Washington, DC.  As part of the 23rd Anniversery of the ADA, NDRN has
created a survey in which people who have had accessibility problems with
Amtrak can have their voices heard!

Below, please find an e-mail I received from my supervisor.

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.  Feel free to
circulate this letter!

Best,

Rose


TO:    Coalition partners, Protection and Advocacy agencies, and other
advocates

FROM:         Patrick Wojahn, National Disability Rights Network

RE:     Week of Action on Amtrak for the 23rd Anniversary of the Americans
with Disabilities Act!



Nearly twenty-three years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities
Act and despite the fact that many people with disabilities rely on Amtrak
and other passenger rail services, trains and stations are not fully
accessible to people with disabilities.  This has left many people with
disabilities with fewer transportation options, unable to access trains to
get to where they need to go, and sometimes even left people stranded.

There are countless examples of how Amtrak has not provided accessible
facilities for people with disabilities.  At the commuter rail station in
Paoli, Pennsylvania, which serves the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation
Authority commuter rail network and Amtrak, it was for many years nearly
impossible for people using wheelchairs to access the trains, as there was
not even a platform lift.  Only after the Disability Rights Network of
Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit did Amtrak install a platform lift.  Numerous
other stations around the country are not accessible for people with
physical and sensory disabilities.  Many information and alert systems are
inaccessible to people with visual or auditory disabilities or both.



People with disabilities are sick and tired of not being able to get on
trains, or having to board or disembark at stations far away from their
homes or their destinations.  People with visual or hearing impairments are
sick and tired of not having accessible information about their trains or
about Amtrak services.  People with disabilities are also tired of hearing
that funding for needed accessibility improvements does not exist when news
stories of Amtrak wasting millions of dollars are written:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-29/amtrak-risks-hundreds-of-millions-in-equipment-ig-says.html
.



*The National Disability Rights Network and the nationwide network of
Protection and Advocacy agencies for people with disabilities is going to
be holding a week of action on Amtrak, and we need your help!  *

A number of Protection and Advocacy agencies and other advocates for people
with disabilities will be visiting Amtrak and commuter rail stations across
the country to record and report as many accessibility problems as we can*.
We need you to help us during the week of July 21-27, the week of the
23rdanniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
* Please take some time during this week to visit a local train station.
While there, please fill out a survey on whether the train station is
accessible to people with physical disabilities, hearing and visual
impairments.

*NDRN will be holding a webinar at 3 pm EDT on Monday, July 15, where you
can learn about the survey and what you need to do to participate.  To sign
up, please go to*
http://app.certain.com/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x1561592ad08 and
fill out the form.



Please spread the word!  Thank you for participating.





Eric Buehlmann

Deputy Executive Director for Public Policy

National Disability Rights Network

900 Second Street, NE

Suite 211

Washington, DC  20002

202-408-9514 ext. 121 (p)

202-408-9520 (f)

202-408-9521 (tty)

www.ndrn.org

Facebook: The National Disability Rights
Network<https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-National-Disability-Rights-Network/109074605801200>

Twitter: NDRNadvocates <https://twitter.com/#!/NDRNadvocates>
_______________________________________________
il-talk mailing list
il-talk at nfbnet.org
http://host.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/il-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
il-talk:
http://host.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/il-talk_nfbnet.org/rcubfank%40sbcglobal.net