April Advocacy Update
Take Action Now!
Disability Access to Transportation Act The DATA bill increases funding for transportation programs; allows for an additional stop, as part of a current paratransit trip; and improves the consumer reporting of accessibility complaints at the Federal Transit Administration. Take action!
Air Carrier Access Amendments Act United Spinal believes that the Air Carrier Access Amendments Act includes a number of new protections that will make air travel more accessible to people with disabilities. Please contact your members of Congress today and ask them to support this bill. Take action!
Increase Funding for SCI Model Systems For over 50 years, the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems program has been the backbone of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary system of care, research, and resources for people with SCI. The services they provide encompass the entirety of the rehabilitation process from emergency services at injury through a person’s return to full participation in the community. In addition to comprehensive care for individuals with SCI, these Model Systems conduct a wide range of research and provide information to patients, professionals, and the public both nationally and internationally.
Over the last two decades, however, federal funding for SCI Model Systems has not kept pace with the SCI community's needs. In 2000, when there were approximately 200,000 Americans living with SCI, there were 18 SCI Model Systems. In 2021, with approximately 300,000 Americans living with SCI, there are only 14 SCI Model Systems. Federal funding has not increased since 2006. The purchasing power of these federal funds has not kept up with inflation or the growth of the SCI community. An increase in funding for these programs is long overdue, and the time to make our voices heard is now. United Spinal is asking Congress to restore the number of SCI Model Systems to 18, and to provide a funding increase to the SCI Model Systems program in fiscal year 2022 that accounts for inflation, the growth of the SCI community over the past 20 years, and the addition of four more SCI Model Systems. United Spinal is also asking Congress to support a funding increase for the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), which serves as the premier source of spinal cord injury-related statistical data in the United States, as well as the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC) in fiscal year 2022. The MSKTC works with the NSCISC and the SCI Model Systems programs on research, and on translating the data collected into useful fact sheets on various topics related to spinal cord injury that are used not only in the United States but in countries around the world.
United Spinal is grateful to Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) for agreeing to lead a Congressional sign-on letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies in support of increased funding for these critical programs. Please contact your members of Congress today and ask them to support this critical funding request for our community.Take action!
Have you encountered barriers when trying to visit local stores or restaurants?
It's super easy to file a complaint with the state Architectural Access Board (AAB), and you don't need a lawyer!
Visit the AAB website at www.mass.gov/architectural-access-board-complaint for more info. For technical assistance on filing a complaint, send an email to Michael Muehe, Access Analyst for the Boston Center for Independent Living at mmuehe@bostoncil.org.
Transportation
We’ve been busy this month speaking up for the SCI community in meetings of the Boston-region Metropolitan Transportation Organization (MPO) and the MBTA’s Riders’ Transportation Access Group, and for commenting on their tools and plans. We’re striving to ensure that the needs and desires of wheelchair users are “baked into” designs for the region’s transportation future, and that improvements to existing systems are appropriate and do not lag. Here are two ways you can give input:
The MBTA is testing a new type of wheelchair securement system for buses. You can help test it and give feedback.
The MBTA is updating their accessibility training for MBTA subway employees, and would like your feedback on your experience with accessibility on the subway—please take the survey.
If you’re interested in learning more, contact Advocacy Representative Abby Swaine at abby.swaine@gmail.com.
Interested in getting notifications about our advocacy efforts or being an advocate on the state or national level? Click here to receive email alerts from our Advocacy Representatives!