[stylist] Reflections on the 24th anniversary of the ADA

Sun Aug 3 17:30:58 UTC 2014

Donna,
This is truly a horror story about thick skins in the shakers and movers.
Thank you for making us more aware of these daily problems, and where we
should apply pressure.
Jackie

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Applebutter
Hill via stylist
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2014 8:00 AM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: [stylist] Reflections on the 24th anniversary of the ADA

Hi All,
The following article is from:
http://donnawhill.com/2014/07/30/ada-24-pwd-complaining/
Enjoy,
Donna

ADA: 24 years - Why People with Disabilities are Complaining

by Donna W. Hill 

Americans with disabilities are supposed to have equal rights. They are
protected by federal law from discrimination in areas such as employment,
public accommodations, transportation and government services. The landmark
legislation establishing these rights and the framework to procure and
ensure them, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), celebrated its 24th
anniversary on Saturday. As a writer and a person with a disability, I was
curious how or if this occasion would be marked. 

so on Monday, I Googled "ADA 24th anniversary." The first thing that was an
actual news media story was John Michaelson's Saturday article for Iowa's
KMAland "Iowa Recognizes Advancements with 24th Anniversary of ADA." It was
the 6th item in the Google Results. A couple other articles from Iowa and
one from St. Louis followed before the .orgs started showing up again.

ADA: the Most Important Thing You Need to Know

Becky Harker, executive director of the Iowa Developmental Disabilities
Council, summed it up in Michaelson's article, "... one of the issues is
that the ADA is complaint-driven. So, until somebody complains, there's
really no enforcement. And I don't think that people with disabilities
understand that, always."

Harker needn't have been so specific. I don't think the public at large gets
that either. If someone ploughs into your car on the highway, the police
show up and investigate the incident. The government, not the victim, takes
charge of the crime and the administration of justice. It may just be a
fender-bender, and you may not be hurt beyond a shake-up, but if the police
find the cause of the accident to be a drunk driver, they don't ask you if
you want to press charges. The person involved you in an accident, but they
were a menace to anyone on the road. 

For people with disabilities, however, incidents of discrimination that may
have far-reaching implications for their lives do not so easily fall into
the government's lap. And, no, there's no one to call to get the process
started and no one to take down your account of what happened. People with
disabilities must fight for these rights pretty much all by themselves.

Dealing with ADA Violations

If a person with a service dog, for instance, is barred from entering or
asked to leave a restaurant or motel, and if that person is unable to
convince the employee of the truth of the law, the person often has to
simply leave. Even local police cannot force the business to honor the ADA.
The justice process doesn't start until the victim files a complaint with
the Department of Justice. At that point the wheels of justice are set in
motion.

And, that happens in a timely manner, right? Because, the DOJ has this great
system, a partnership with the business community whereby disputes are
resolved quickly and fairly through mediation. Well, maybe not quite.

Access Denied: Guide Dog User Tossed from Motel Room

 Donna & her guide dog Hunter walk along path in Redwoods. There's a glowing
mist: Photo by Rich Hill
<http://dewhill421.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/donna-hunter-on-path-in-redwo
ods-glowing-mist-ws-0299.jpg?w=560> 

I had an incident a year ago. My husband, my guide dog and I were thrown out
of a motel room we had already occupied. The reason given by the motel
employee and his building manager was that they believed it was OK under the
law to restrict service dogs to rooms set aside for pets, and we were in a
room in the "no pets" section. Do you think it should be OK to put the guide
dogs in with the pets? Well, if you do, you can talk to your elected
representatives and try to get it changed. 

Meanwhile, that's not how "equal access" is being interpreted by the courts.
Such restriction subjects people with disabilities to the ill-mannered,
unkempt beasts that all too often pass for pets. It's dangerous, but more
importantly - at least to the law - is that it does not represent equal
access. Worrying about whether a future occupant of the room may be allergic
to the service dog isn't a valid reason for segregating service dogs either.

OK, so we file a complaint. Then, what? First you get an acknowledgment that
DOJ received your complaint and advising you that it may take 90 days till
you hear back from them, because of the high volume of complaints. So, you
wait. I waited nine months. Then, I wrote, called and cc'd my US Senator.
Shortly thereafter, we received a letter asking us to agree to mediation. We
did, and the motel owner did as well. Then, mediation started with one snafu
after another. 

It's been over 14 months since the incident, and nothing is resolved. As
time permits, I hope to do a post or two on some of the many problems with
the mediation process, but suffice it to say for the moment that "justice
delayed is justice denied." 

-- The Heart of Applebutter Hill - a novel on a mission:

http://DonnaWHill.com <http://donnawhill.com/> 

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