Why Memphis Needs an Office on Disability

Memphis needs a dedicated office to coordinate disability policy

By Tim Wheat

Local businesses, city and county governments and residents with and without disabilities all need to know about the civil rights of people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Amendments Act are both powerful federal laws that outline the civil rights for people with disabilities. 

People with disabilities are a growing and important part of our community. We are not going away. However, in Memphis and Shelby County, we have no coordination of public policy, 

Because of the federal laws, lawyers stand in to speak for people with disabilities and consistently aim for MINIMAL COMPLIANCE. The least allowable by law. Local planners and lawyers look to comply with federal law and nothing more. In our area we are not guided by the input and advice of the community that deals with these issues every day. 

Disability CONNECTION Midsouth has a mission to educate, advocate and unite our community. We are asking that the Mayor create an Office on Disability to include people with disabilities, coordinate local policy and inform the community of the civil rights of people with disabilities. 

We were disappointed to learn that the new mayor did not have a person with an obvious disability on the transition team. The long-time motto of the Independent Living movement has been “Nothing About Us Without Us.” Still we hope that Mayor Paul Young will be able to keep his promise to create a local Office on Disability.

The Memphis area desperately needs the Office on Disability. While the population of people with disabilities is growing in our area, the impact of the disability is also being felt more in employment, housing and transportation. Often, people with disabilities are the poorest of the poor and many of our group are over 60. We need to be proactive in including people with disabilities in everything.

Not including people with disabilities often leads to isolation and segregation. It makes our community into a burden and a problem rather than participants in solutions. An Office on Disability can create a coordinated, efficient and common-sense approach to disability issues in the Memphis Area. 

The Office on Disability can be charged to ensure that every program, service, benefit, activity and facility operated or funded by the City is fully accessible to people with disabilities. This protects against non-compliance and expensive lawsuits against the City. The Office on Disability may also oversee the implementation and local enforcement of the City's obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the further development of the Memphis ADA Transition Plan.

The Office on Disability may also provide an ADA grievance procedure that includes the disability community. The office may also help the City communicate policy and priorities to the disability community by not only including people with disabilities, but advice on effective and accessible communication.

Likewise, the Office on Disability may be critical to training and guidance for all City Departments, public information, program policy development and legislative initiatives. The Office may also create a public forum for the disability community so all residents are more involved and knowledgeable.

Significantly, the Office on Disability can help our community coordinate our response to emergencies and disasters. People with disabilities may have specific and unique needs in times of crisis and a good use of the Office would be to synchronize the assistance and to appropriately plan for distinctive needs.