Fight for barrier free SC continues at 10th Annual Advocacy Day

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — A large crowd gathered at the Statehouse Tuesday morning for the 10th Annual “Advocacy Day” — aimed at fighting for equal rights and justice for people with disabilities.

The event encourages more access and independence for people with disabilities by advocating for more job, housing, and transportation opportunities across the state.

“People with disabilities make up the largest marginalized community in the world, and in South Carolina in particular, that’s one in three people in our state. One in three people has a disability. So these issues we’re talking about today, they don’t exclusively impact a small group. One in three, that’s someone at your dinner table. That’s a neighbor, that’s a teacher, that’s a mentor. Everyone is impacted by disability rights issues. And that’s why we have such a big crowd here today because we have many allies with disabilities, many non disabled allies, rallying for the rights of people with disabilities,” says Mary Alex Kopp, the Vice President of Able South Carolina.

But according to advocates, certain solutions should already be in place.

“We’re reminding our governor that even though we signed the employment first initiative act two years ago, we still haven’t had that Oversight Commission for Employment First that should contain nine members — including people with disabilities — still hasn’t been formed, so we’re going to our governor and saying, ‘We signed that bill two years ago, Time’s ticking, we’ve got to get started on that,” says Kopp.

According to Kopp, South Carolina is currently in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by not having ADA Coordinators at specific state agencies.

Lawmakers have a chance to change that through a new proposed bill known as the Public Agency Restructuring Bill, or S-915.

“There is a section within that bill that would create a disability focused department that would have a Director of Community Living Integration that would take on some of these issues that we face as people with disabilities related to barriers to our rights,” Kopp says.

Helen Perkins works with children with autism between the ages of two and seven. She says it’s the access to care received later in life that’s not up-to-par.

“What I’d like to see is that age group in between 18 and 40 where they have the support that they need. They have access to education they may want to have, they have access to employment they need, they have access to the services, to the insurance they need to be provided, assistive equipment that they can’t get because they don’t have any funding to get that. Those are the things I want to see,” says Perkins.

Advocates are asking folks to reach out to their local legislators and help people with disabilities fight for better access and independence across the state. You can text JOBS, HOUSE, TRANSPORTATION, OR INCLUSION TO 72572 from your mobile phone for more information.