That's right, it was a "long form" with questions about disability in it.
Already 5 of you have said you didn't get it. There was also some in 1997,
I've been looking at census data to get info for the following article.
Please DO NOT FORWARD without my express consent!

Tamar Raine
[log in to unmask]

Discrimination in the housing industry

Why is the building industry so dead set against making homes and apartments
accessible for people with disabilities? Why are they the third largest PAC
in Washington, DC? Surely a beautiful door can be three feet wide. Surely
there are ways of making ramps, grab bars, and kitchen counters both
beautiful and accessible. Surely there don't need to be so many obstacles to
accessible homes? If this were the Sixties, and if a doorway could
discriminate against a person of color, perhaps the builders would have built
houses where people of color couldn't even get into, much less be able to use
the bathroom or the kitchens.

The US Census says there are at least 53 million people with disabilities
now, but in ten years that number will explode as baby boomers age, and the
ravages of life, such as car accidents, work accidents, MS, Lupus, diving
accidents, or other sporting accidents catch up to people who have been able
to walk all their lives. And while I have faith that one day nanotechnology
will free many of us from our wheelchairs, that day is decades away.
Approximately 12 million of us either use wheelchairs, or walk with the
assistance of walkers, canes, and crutches. This is probably a low estimate
since not every person received a questionnaire regarding disability, which
is another whole issue in itself.

The numbers game seems to be what people pay attention to: So, here is
something for the builders to consider: We may be a small minority, but when
you add to our numbers the fact that every one of those 12 million people has
at least one family member, the number of people actually affected by
inaccessibility jumps to 24 million, and then factor in at least one friend
each, 36 million are directly affected. What this means is that when a person
with a mobility disability wants to get together with a friend or a family
member, they have to go to a great deal of trouble to locate an accessible
place. The same goes for our community centers, libraries, civic centers,
churches, synagogues and ashrams. When you lock a person with a disability
out of a home, an apartment, or a church, you are also locking out the
possibilities for positive and mutual exchange. You're locking out the
Stephen Hawkings, the Franklin D. Roosevelts, the Helen Kellers of this
world.

I have struggled with inaccessible apartments for the last six years of my
life. The bathroom doorways are always impossible for a wheelchair to even
get inside. I am somewhat able to manage, but life would be much easier if I
didn't have to struggle. I have friends and pen pals who cannot even consider
such a situation. My dad moved into an "accessible" apartment recently, But
you can barely get a wheelchair inside the bathroom, much less use the
bathroom sink or mirror from the side of your wheelchair. In other words,
it's a joke.

We will be emerging as a people when the last person with a disability is let
out of an institution. Our society will be judged on how well we care for our
people. We want our dignity, our freedom. We have the right to live, play,
work, shop, vote, and worship as you do. Please take us into consideration
when you draw up plans, when you build or rebuild places. They can be both
beautiful and accessible. I challenge you to be creative, be bold, be
accessible! Join us in tearing down the last barriers!