By Justin Harford
During our week at the 2014 conference of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) advocating for CareerACCESS, a series of programs and supports designed to make it easier for young adults with disabilities to find and hold a job, it was evident that it had the support of those for whom it was designed. In fact, a group of approximately 10 such young adults, with backgrounds in law, advocacy, the nonprofit sector, and research enthusiastically joined up with the CareerACCESS initiative when they learned what it was about. Yet based on many conversations that the CareerAccess team had with directors of government agencies, think tanks and nonprofits it was also evident that the higher-ups would need to hear from those supporters before anything could move forward.
Young adults’ stories exchanged over the course of the conference gave the designers of CareerACCESS and those for whom it was created a sense of the imperative nature of the problems created by the present Social Security system. I listened with interest as they recounted their own challenges with the way things are, and noted how much I could relate from personal experience. A disability rights attorney from Florida reflected on how many more paid internships she would’ve had as a law student, if she was not living under the fear of losing access to Medicare, which at the time was providing her with much needed and irreplaceable medical support. Another individual expressed concerns for how his new state of residence would pull his health care upon finding out about the modest income from his nonprofit job. By the end of the week, the initiative was invigorated with the youthful energy of those who had pledged their unique abilities and skills toward its passage.
Now, the conference is over, but the youth team continues to work toward the implementation of CareerACCESS. Twenty-year-old Tailor, a student at American University and intern at 2Gether-International is interested in researching and compiling a policy report, which will make the case for CareerACCESS. Daniel, an employee of Paraquad, a Missouri nonprofit serving people with disabilities, spoke about the importance of CareerACCESS at a meeting involving key leaders of federal agencies including the Department Of Education, Social Security and Health and Human Services, and is now connecting with young adults in his area to garner more support. Systems Change Advocate Andy Arias of Orange County California spoke with several representatives from his state, inspiring many to ask how they could help. He has also volunteered to help raise funds for CareerACCESS to move forward. I also spoke to Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s staff, and defended my resolution, calling upon NCIL to advocate for the elimination of the inability to work test in determining Social Security eligibility, which ultimately got adopted.
CareerACCESS has passed the taste test, but it cannot go forward without public support, so we need people like you to lend a hand. Our blog at http://www.ourCareerACCESS.org, where young adults with disabilities write about the barriers that the current system has placed in their path to economic self-sufficiency, always needs more entries. Please contact us if you are interested in sharing your story. Members of Congress also need to know that their constituents support these kinds of reforms. Finally, the initiative always needs more supporters, so make sure that your friends and family know about the issues in Social Security for young adults with disabilities and the solutions proposed by CareerACCESS. You can follow CareerACCESS on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on its progress and how to get involved. Also, you can sign and share the CareerACCESS petition.
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