Disabled Rights Group Takes First Step in Challenging Status Quo [video]

Before any social issue can be solved, it must first be raised, brought to light and a group of people must take responsibility for bringing about change.

The Citizens Coalition for Equal Access took the first step in that process Wednesday night by hosting a community conversation on issues of accessibility and inclusion surrounding disabiliity. As in a conversation, there are two sides to the coin: they are issues people with disabilities face and they are issues within the able-bodies world.

The Citizens Coalition, or CC=A, is made up mostly of people with disabilities, many of whom live at New Horizons Village in Unionville. The group has been working to improve accessibility and increase awareness surrounding accessibility issues for several years, beginning with a grassroots effort to have automatic doors installed in Farmington’s post offices.

After tackling physical accessibility issues, the group began discussing how to break down the intangible barriers people with disabilities face. Friend of the group Sen. Beth Bye suggested a community conversation and the group set to inviting individuals from varied groups in town. State Sens. Beth Bye and Terry Gerratana, state Rep. Bill Wadsworth, Town Councilors Mike Demicco, Nancy Nickerson and John Vibert, police and town staff, residents, Farmington High Schools students and members of the medical community accepted the invitation, participating in the discussion held at UConn Health Center and hosted by its A.J. Pappanikou Center.

Members of CC=A performed skits, acting out their experiences of discrimination [see videos]. Then participants broke up into focus groups to discuss the problems in Farmington of both accessibility and inclusion – and how to fix them.

The biggest challenge is drawing the larger community into the conversation, many agreed during the discussion. Some said fear, ignorance and isolation need to be dispelled to move the agenda forward. Both mean bringing people with disabilities together with able-bodied people.

Dr. Peter Deckers, Dean Emeritus and former Vice President of the UConn Health Center, told the group that the country’s health care system is unable to well serve people with disabilities for a number of reasons.

“The disabled confuse our science. They disrupt our efficiencies. We’re told we have to see 25 patients in an afternoon… but it’s difficult to deal with disabled patients. It disturbs our organizational and economic guidelines – taking care of disabilities is expensive. You fail to adjust to our tight, rigid protocols… it makes us uncomfortable,” Deckers said.

He closed by saying people with disabilities deserve the best care and finding innovative ways to serve them could hold great potential for UConn. But while they’re waiting, the disabled community must continue to work aggressively to solve its own problems, he said.

CC=A members hope the larger community will join in. They’re already planning their next move.

CC=A members who performed in the skits shared their personal stories, including , , and . Click on each one's name to read his or her story.