Disabled Community Focus Group
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Disabled Community Focus Group
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accessible transportation for emergencies or on short notice , as both Handitran and Via are ride share services that operate during limited hours , not at all on Sundays , late nights , early mornings , or holidays , and absent the option of transporting passengers directly to their destinations in such scenarios . Finally , participants expressed a desire for the promotion of disability-specific resources , as residents with newly acquired disability are left not knowing where to turn . Additionally , the need for a sense of community or “ finding one ’ s tribe ” echoed throughout the group . The promotion of online disabilityrelated communities would go a long way in helping the population to experience a sense of belonging and involvement .
Quote Highlights More representation of people with disabilities on City Boards and Commissions .
• “ I feel like what ’ s really important is we need to be included in decision making and in planning because it ’ s very paternalistic it ’ s patronizing to assume you know what other people need when you haven ’ t asked , so we need to be at the table .”
• “ It ’ s the system . That tells them what to do and how to do it and everything they should be doing the parents of deaf kids they need the perspective of a deaf person who has a baby . Who will listen , and serve as a role model .”
• “ Let ’ s the top priority for the deaf and what ’ s most important for the deaf community is to always have deaf role models and talking about themselves to the community , somebody who is deaf themselves to share their story and their experiences to talk about what ’ s best . And to give advice for and about the Deaf community themselves . One of the big misconceptions and errors in education is that the deaf community isn ’ t involved like this meeting now is open .”
Training of Arlington Police to work with different types of disability .
• For instance , the Deaf community needs an interpreter brought out to the scene for further communication . - “ Of course , I ’ m definitely trying to let him know that I was deaf , that I could not hear a thing . I was saying I can ’ t hear you , and the policeman was trying to force me to read his lips . In that situation , I was trying to clearly write to him because I was needing and wanting to communicate , and the policeman refused to write with me . And it just became aggravating . He asked me to get out of the car and from his perspective . He thought that I was resisting the police officer because he asked me to get out of the car . I was getting really nervous and paranoid about it and I didn ’ t know if he was gonna try to arrest me . So I just didn ’ t know what was going to happen at that point-- like an arrest or something . And so he was screaming at me and I kept saying , I ’ m deaf .”
- “ I ’ m just going to have to say it as African American , we do see profiling . We do struggle with that . I do worry about my husband . Every time he leaves home . You know and even my daughter who ’ s 22 I say to her , don ’ t give the police a reason to stop you . Because that might not end well .
Unity Council Report 113