Everyday change rarely happens. But back on February 26, 1987, President Ronald Reagan officially declared Proclamation 5613 making March National Disabilities Awareness Month. The proclamation called for people to provide understanding, encouragement and opportunities to help persons with disabilities to lead productive and fulfilling lives.
Lifespire has dedicated itself to this high calling, not only through its service to hundreds of thousands of individuals with developmental disabilities, but also in support of their parents, siblings, family members and friends.
70 years ago when Lifespire was founded, its founders, Ida Rappaport and Harry Kamish, gave what they had, served with what they knew, and loved those they could by what they did.
But that message was only sustained by individuals willing to come around and make the necessary changes to the educational, cultural and legislative apparatus.
All Change Begins with Facts
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 6 million Americans who are said to have developmental disabilities.
In the state of New York, there are over 127,000 individuals with developmental disabilities receiving some sort of supportive services. But that number would clearly increase by thousands as there are many individuals who are not receiving the services that they could or should be getting. Consequently we understand the function and the purpose of March being Disabilities Awareness Month.
There are various sources that identify the number of individuals who need some sort of assistance, and according to the US Census Bureau, back in 2010 there were nearly 57 million people, 20% of the US population, living with some type of disability. And of those 57 million 38 million, had a severe disability.
Ways we can make a difference during the month of March:
- Awareness – Become aware of the rights people with disabilities have with respect to the Disabilities Act of 1990.
- Volunteer or give financial support.
- Education - Every supporting organization or institution has a responsibility to consistently provide an educational function with respect to serving individuals with developmental disabilities. This is an ever-ongoing learning experience.
- Legislation – With this high demand for services and assistance for individuals with developmental disabilities, and awareness of this need, legislation is an obvious and clear pathway to moving the ball forward in this area. One of the ways that services and support can be recognized is by the inclusive coverage through the health care system. Currently now drug companies do not underwrite or cover the cost associated with individuals with developmental disabilities.
When President Ronald Reagan officially declared March National Disabilities Awareness Month, it was a continuum of the belief that more needed to be done to provide understanding, encouragement and opportunities to help persons with disabilities to lead productive and fulfilling lives.
Thirty-five years later, the effort and zeal for opportunity is still alive this March of 2022. March is more than the first month of spring: it is the month designated to remind us that our daily choices must recognize the new opportunities to enrich the lives of the intellectually and developmentally disabled to be realized afresh. We are all called to be activists and advocates for those we know and for those we may never know.
As Lifespire stands with those who serve and are served, it joins the thousands of other organizations and NGOs and government agencies that provide not just a network but a net to make sure no one falls through.
Lifespire seeks to maintain a heightened awareness of the issues that individuals with developmental disabilities face daily.