Musicians Living with a Disability

Listen 28 min

A sampling of musicians who found success as they lived with significant disabilities. From pop star Michael Bolton and his profound deafness in one ear to a one-arm drummer with the hard rock band, Def Leppard...

Chick Webb. At a young age, he contracted spinal tuberculosis that left him with a hunchback and little use of his legs.

Rick Allen. Def Leppard drummer, one arm amputee.

Rick Allen, smiling, with one arm in the air. Photo by Matt Becker

Michael Bolton. Vocalist, deaf in one ear.

Jeff Healey. The Jeff Healey Band. Lost his sight to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes.

Derek Pavaricini, autistic prodigy, Pianist.

Susannah McCorkle Jazz & pop vocalist who killed herself because of her mental illness.

Leah Gardner and Eddie Ytuarte spin the tunes and talk about the artists.

Twenty Years of the ADA

Listen (28 min)
Marilyn Golden, policy analyst for Disability Rights
Education & Defense Fund, discusses the merits
and history of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

People in the U.S. are celebrating the 20th anniversary
of the ADA.

Has this law significantly moved the disability rights
movement forward?
Are there some things that cannot be achieved with
the ADA?

Hosted by Eddie Ytuarte and Leah Gardner.

20th Anniversary of the ADA

By Adrienne Lauby

A few days ago, I heard of a 90 year old woman who refused an IV line because the doctor said she would have to go into a hospital if she had it put in. She wanted to spend her last days at home.

What the...?!?!

I know, and many of you know, that this is a non-issue. There are ways for people who need I.V. treatments to have them at their homes.

A few days ago, I heard that a local homeless advocate wanted to set up a campsite, so those who are homeless would have another choice than sleeping in doorways or sidewalks. But the city didn't think it would work.

What the...?!?!

The L.A. County jail continues to be the largest institution for those with emotional disabilities in the nation. The county where I live, one of the richest in the U.S., has no in-patient treatment for people with emotional disabilities.

What the...?!?!

Twenty years after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed, problems like this, problems with common sense solutions, continue to fester.

ADAPT is a national group with a history of nonviolent direct action group dedicated to bringing people with disabilities out of institutions and into the community. They said it very well:

"...knowing that you are protected against discrimination in employment means nothing when the hub of your life is a bedroom you share with a stranger. Knowing that buildings and public accommodations are accessible means nothing when the facility staff won't let you leave; and even having access to lifts on buses - as dear to our hearts as that is - means nothing when you cannot afford to go anywhere on the allowance that is left over after the institution has taken its share of your money."

The ADA is not a failure. The ADA brought us accessible buildings, bathrooms, sidewalks, buses. It gave many children and young adults the opportunity for education, travel and social lives. Despite the business whining that ADA access is too burdensome for their bottom line, the ADA brought people with canes, sign language, protective masks and wheelchairs into our public spaces. Picture by Neil Marcus. The text reads, "Disability is not a brave struggle or courage in the face of adversity; Disability is an Art. It's an ingenious way to live." The image is a pen & ink drawing of a human and a wheelchair.

I celebrate this anniversary with a re-dedication.

Freedom for people with disabilities is not about bringing more workers into a capitalist system. Freedom is about dignity and membership in the human community. I dedicate myself to the fight for this freedom.

Today, people who could live in the community are forced into for-profit institutions because society believes their physical condition is too troublesome to care for individually. People with mental and emotional disabilities are offered few treatment options and, if they end up on the street, their final destination is often jail.

We have no choice. We must stand with those who are not yet among the free.

Morningstar Vancil

LISTEN (28 min)

Morningstar Vancil photo courtesy Fabled Asp

To celebrate 2010, The Year of Honoring Lesbians With Disabilities, Morningstar Vancil speaks candidly about her life as a lesbian stage-3 cancer survivor.

Vancil is a butch activist dyke of mixed race who lives with multiple disabilities. She’s traveled with a burlesque show and carried the banner of gay rights into the national American Cancer Society. Morningstar Vancil confronts discrimination and physical difficulties with joy and self respect.

Also, Marion Abdullah, co-chair of the Fabled Asp project, the organization responsible for the Year of Honoring Lesbians with Disabilities.

Hosted by Raphaella Bennin.

Fabled Asp

The 20^th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabi lities Act

July 26^th is the 20^th Anniversary of the American's with Disabilities Act and we’re celebrating!

Photo of vets, man in wheelchair in front

Don't miss the

First Annual West Coast Disability Pride Parade and Festival next Saturday, July 24^th in San Jose. The festival headlines Tristian Thunderbolt a Native American Deaf entertainer and the Disability Pride Quilt will be on display. To find out more: go to the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center at www.svilc.org

For the anniversary itself, a week from Monday, Hayward will celebrate from 4-7 pm in the Hayward City Hall Plaza with Mary Lou Breslin speaking, and the City of San Francisco celebrates in the North Light Court of their own City Hall. In SF, there’s speeches by Judy Hueman, Tom Ammiano and others; another chance to see the Disability Pride Quilt and even make your own square. And a Superfest screening in the SF Library. For more information check out www.itsnormal.org

Arnieville Protest of CA Budget Cuts

Listen (28 min)

At the
Arnieville Tent City
people with disabilities
and seniors engage
in a living protest
against the continued
cuts in California's
human services.

Two weeks long
and counting...

Photo of Bruce Allison and Jon Reed
by Helen Walsh, Diverse Disability Media

Guests: Marg Hall and Jana Overbo from Arnieville,
Scott Graves from the California Budget Project

Hosts: Eddie Ytuarte and Leah Gardner

Photo: Large banner reads "Our Homes Not Nursing Homes!"

original air date: 7-2-10

Berkeley's Emergency Services for People with Disabilities

Listen 28 min
It's tax-payer supported & wildly innovative.
It gets people out of trouble. It saves lives.

It's also a nice chunk of money in a community where money is as scarce as a trouble-free wheelchair.









We talk to Bonnie MacFadyen, Executive Director of Easy Does It (EDI) and Yomi Wronge, Executive Director of the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Berkeley. Both have made proposals for the almost-a-million dollar city contract.





Eddie Ytuarte &
Adrienne Lauby host.


Ayanna Keeton, EDI Services Coordinator.


Other photos: Electric wheelchair abandoned at curb, an emergency attendant helps a man to eat and wheelchair repair shop. All courtesy EDI
Original Air Date: June 18, 2010

When Home Is (or could be) an Institution

Listen

A discussion of the film, Far from Home,
with director Elissa Moon showing at Berkeley's Superfest.
Saturday, June 5, 2:10 pm
Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way @ Shattuck,
Berkeley, CA,

A documentary focused on the political and personal realities of living in San Francisco's Laguna Honda, the largest nursing home in the U.S. Laguna Honda houses thousands of people living with severe physical disabilities.

Plus, coverage of the ArnieVille Sleep Out, a protest of California's proposed budget cuts, cuts that could leave many seniors and persons with disabilities homeless or institutionalized. With Syndy Sharp, Hannah Jo Karpilow, Thomas & Nicholas McMullan, & Marissa Shaw.

After a cold night, ArnieVille residents soak in some rays.
Photo: Dan McMullan

We've all heard the adage, home sweet home.
It's that place we long for when we've been away where we seek rest, recreation and a break from the outside world.
(Nicholas & Thomas McMullan, photo by their dad, Dan)
Leah Gardner and Eddie Ytuarte ask the question:

"What does home mean for people who live with disabilities?"

Original Air Date: June 4, 2010