Commentary: We as a community must work more closely and be more cognizant of our positions and how we can use those to help others.
Ed.: The essays, analyses and opinions presented as Community Voices express the perspectives of their authors on topics of interest and importance to the community, and are not intended to reflect perspectives on behalf of the Salish Current.
A couple months ago, I had an experience I’ll never forget. I was sitting in a church meeting, when a young teenager jumps off the stack of chairs neatly piled in the back of the room. He rushes forward, past a group of girls trying to hide their phones behind songbooks, and into the middle of the meeting hall. He’s clutching two pieces of paper. On one sheet, scribbled out in purple marker, are the words, “I am sad.” On the other sheet, “I want to die.”
The young teenage has a mental disability. He doesn’t seem to understand social cues or how to interact with other people. The other parents talk about him in hushed tones, as if he’s something to be gawked at: a circus attraction. This all happened in a community that’s prided itself on inclusiveness, welcoming, and most importantly, acceptance. It made me consider how we, each members of our own embedded communities, create the social networks and constructs that can decide individual outcomes.
In Washington state, many bills have been passed improving the standard of living for people with disabilities. Last year, SB 6125 passed, preserving the records and memories pertaining to the historical treatment of people with disabilities in Lakeland Village, a state operated Residential Habilitation Center in Medicine Lake. Most recently, SB 5253 passed, extending special education services to students with disabilities until they turn 22.
However, more controversial bills have also been passed. Notably, SB 5393, which shuts down two out of the four residential habilitation centers in Washington, was signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson this year. It shuts down the Rainier School in Buckley, Pierce County, and the Yakima Valley School, in Selah, Yakima County. Proponents have argued that it ends discrimination against disabled peoples, while opponents argued that shutting them down harms the vulnerable residents of those facilities.
Disability rights is still a nationwide issue. According to FBI data, hate crimes against Americans with physical or mental disabilities have steadily risen to 29.5% in five years. President Trump’s attacks against DEI don’t just affect people of color or the LGBQTIA+ community; it affects everyone who doesn’t align with the Trump administration agenda. His new policies may cause regressions in accessibility successes in the federal government. Disabled people protesting Medicaid cuts in wheelchairs were zip tied to their chairs and forced out of the Capitol. All this is to say that the fight for disability rights doesn’t end with just legislation. It starts with us.
We as a community must work more closely and be more cognizant of our positions and how we can use those to help others. Local successes like the High School Transition program are great, but more than half of those with intellectual disabilities (52%) still have no engagement with higher education or employment outside of high school. It’s not enough to simply say that we as a community are committed to fostering an environment of diversity, equity and inclusion; we must make sure our actions are reflective of the words that come out of our mouths.
There is still legislation being considered in the legislature that would massively improve the quality of living for those with disabilities. HB 1165 would expand access for property tax exemptions to retired persons with disabilities, veterans with disabilities, and seniors. SB 5681 aims to lower the age at which people with disabilities can receive employment and community inclusion services from 21 to 19. There is ample opportunity to make a difference statewide, whether that be by contacting our representatives or going to the hearings in person.
— By Henry Zhu
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