Aging adults are a subpopulation of the disability community that grows every year, and ensuring they can live independently and with self-determination is a crucial part of our mission. Helping communities promote “aging in place” is vital to achieving independent living for older adults in general, but especially those who live with disabilities. “Aging in place” is a concept that focuses on enabling older adults to remain in their existing homes and communities as they age, instead of pushing them to relocate to nursing homes or other residential options. Aging in place considers both the individual needs of aging adults, such as modifications to a residence, and the community-wide changes that support inclusion, such as widening sidewalks and providing transportation options. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act turns 33 this week! With every anniversary, there is reflection – on what the ADA has achieved, and more importantly, how it raises the bar and challenges us to go even further for disability rights. As we recognize the incredible accomplishment of activists throughout history to develop and garner support for the ADA, how do we do even more to ensure access and inclusion? What does the next generation of advocacy and activism look like?

June is Deaf-Blindness Awareness Month! Deaf-Blindness is a “low-incidence” disability, which means that a small percentage of our population experiences it. As a result, it’s even more important that allies and advocates of the disability community understand how to make our communities and society more accessible to Deaf-Blind people. Learning about Deaf-Blind people throughout history, their activism, and key facts and resources pertaining to this disability will help to ensure that our collective actions toward inclusion also benefit people who are Deaf-Blind.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Mental health in America has always been an issue in need of greater support and advocacy, and today, it seems like more people than ever are living with mental health-related diagnoses. Children in particular are experiencing anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses at incredible rates. And, there isn’t one specific cause that we can tackle to make everyone’s lives better: lingering effects of the pandemic, financial stress, violence in our communities, increasing isolation, excessive social media use, and more have all played a part in today’s “perfect storm” of mental illness. One thing is for sure—our mental health is connected to every part of our lives, and it’s an issue our community leaders, organizations, and legislators should be paying attention to in order to help all Michiganders thrive.

Autism became a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders condition in the 1980s, and ever since, the condition and its impacts have been debated in fields from medicine to education. Early on, autism was a confusing and daunting diagnosis given to parents whose children existed on a seemingly endless spectrum—-from significant disability to nearly “neurotypical” behavior. One constant existed, though: the diagnosis, like many that result in any degree of disability, focused on what children or adults with autism couldn’t do or skills they were missing, not on their unique perspectives and experiences of the world. These negative perceptions led to treatments and practices designed to make autistic people “more like neurotypical people” by erasing their unique identities and perspectives, and harmed autistic people and their communities. 

At MISILC, we believe that independent living looks different for every person. And for many people with disabilities, a caregiver–professional or family–is often a critical factor in maintaining independence and achieving goals. That’s why advocating for caregivers as people and as a profession is so important to us. It’s part of our current State Plan for Independent Living and it's on the radar of every disability advocate and nonprofit we know, as well as our government leaders. The quality of life of the disability community depends on a reliable supply of dedicated caregivers, and currently, we’re all coming up short. 

Happy Black History Month! Throughout history, the work of all civil rights activists has intersected with people fighting for racial equity. Disability advocacy in particular has shared advocates, tactics, and sentiments with predominantly Black-led civil rights movements: MLK himself acknowledged that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and lamented discrimination in healthcare against Americans of color and many others. Disability advocates were inspired by civil rights peaceful protests and sit-ins and used these strategies to garner support for another type of diversity: disability. Legislation that affirmed the rights of people with disabilities–the Americans with Disabilities Act–ultimately became law in 1990.

The proposed $35.5 billion 2024 budget for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) would provide more than $300 million to increase wages for people working in nursing homes. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed $210.1 million to go toward increasing the wages of direct care professionals at nursing homes across Michigan. Another $90 million would be going to increase the wages of non-direct care nursing home staff. In all, this would increase the average by $1.50 per hour.