lily h   •   about 15 years ago

Please affirmatively include Americans who Roll

Please! Make Civil Rights Accessibility a Tier One requirement for all HHS Healthy Living Innovations awards.
The Civil Rights class of Rolling Americans should be equally integrated within any and all community events right from the start.
For example:  our city's mayor knowingly planned and executed the 2011 Winter Farmer's market exactly in a facility that was cited, last year, by the Access Board, as being inaccessible right at the door.  That's not exactly fulfilling the Let's Move! call for action-to make healthy food affordable and accessible at the local level... is it?!
Did you know that...
Americans with disabilities deal with the following unvoiced, largely hidden health disparities:
o      66.2% are overweight or obese, a 20% increase over the general population.
o      37% have not exercised in the past month, a 60% increase above the general population.
o      40% are more likely to be cigarette smokers than the general population.
o      200% to 400% are more likely to be substance abusers (50% of those with traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries are substance abusers).
o      400% elevated risk of developing diabetes.
o      4.6% of deaf people infected with HIV/AIDS—four times that of the African American population, the most at-risk racial group.
o      Three times more likely to commit suicide.
 
So!
Please affirmatively count us in.  Please, don't give an HHS Healthy Living Innovation Awards to any entities and municipalities that are known to be, or are currently being investigated for, violating our civil rights.  If, for example, a city or town has an open Project Civic Access, Section 504, or ADA title II complaint sitting on the desks of the Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights... please, don't make that city a winner! 
 
We've already been around that block too many times- and the stress is, like, killing us.
Thank You.