For Better or Worse:

The National Health Care Bill

Listen 28 minutes

Will people with disabilities, seniors and low-income
folks benefit if the health care bill is passed?

After nine months of political wrangling and back door
deals, the US congress was set to put a universal national
system for health care insurance in place. Then,
Massachusetts’ voters sent a Republican to congress --
and everything changed.

As we linger in the morass
of Congressional uncertainty,
we talk with BOB KAFKA,
a national organizer for the
grassroots disability organization, ADAPT.

He’ll tell us what to celebrate
if the bill is passed,
and why we can be happy
if it is not.

With an essay by Shelley Berman.
Hosted by Adrienne Lauby and Ruthanne Shpiner.

Original air date: 1-29-10

(If you know the cartoonist who did the picture above, please tell us.)

Sticks and Stones

Listen (28 min)

Shocking Statistics: Teenagers and middle aged people with disabilities suffer criminal violence twice as often as the able-bodied. Women are two time more likely to experience violence if they live with a disability. And, there is more. . .

Horrific Social Context:
People with disabilities
not served well or at all
by domestic violence agencies.

Cover art by Carli Scales

Little or no attention to abuse and violence
by traditional disability non-profit agencies.
Widespread perception of disability as a weakness,
dependency and less-than-human condition.
Centuries of documented mistreatment.

Moving Past
Shock and Horror
to Defiance and Resilience:
The stories from a new book,
Sticks and Stones,
edited by Marsha Saxton,
lay out the problems and offer strategies
to confront this multi-pronged beast.

Editor, Marsha Saxton

CAPE: Curriculum on
Abuse Prevention and Empowerment

Hosted by
Adrienne Lauby and Leah Gardner.

original air date: Jan 15, 2010