For the past several months, Jennifer Tennican / JenTen Productions has been volunteering with a new nonprofit, YES! Access. It’s a story-first, disability-led movement stewarded by co-leaders Meg O’Connell and Tara Cunningham. More than 80 percent of their volunteer team identifies as disabled, neurodivergent, or chronically ill. The YesAccess team comes from across the nation, representing …
community
July is Disability Pride Month
Disability Pride Month commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990. Over 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. live with a disability — that’s more than 70 million people. The first Disability Pride celebration took place in Boston in 1990; the first parade was held in Chicago in 2004. Barriers still exist in health care, employment, public access, and representation …
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Turn Awareness Into Action is the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month. According to an article by the Clinical Director of the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (IOD), “One in five people in the US experience a mental health issue each year – no one is immune to this. This includes people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD).” Here’s a short …
