{"id":351167,"date":"2010-02-22T16:14:55","date_gmt":"2010-02-22T21:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogs.rj.org,2010:\/rac\/\/2.2488"},"modified":"2010-02-23T19:29:45","modified_gmt":"2010-02-24T00:29:45","slug":"fair-treatment-community-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/351167","title":{"rendered":"Fair Treatment, Community Choice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JDAM<\/span>The following post is the text of a speech that was presented on Monday to Members of Congress by Alex Howard, Jenna Silver and Emily Hernandez. All three are members of Temple Ahavat Shalom in Northridge, California who attended the RAC’s Bernard and Audre Rapoport L’Taken Social Justice Seminar<\/a> last weekend. <\/em><\/p>\n

We are here to discuss the critical issue of our country’s lack of disability rights. Currently, 54 million Americans are forced to face the daily struggle of living with a disability. Those in this tragically large number are very limited when it comes to being active members of society. In fact, they are compelled to be quite the opposite. <\/p>\n

In order for this 17 percent of Americans to receive essential care such as medication and therapy, many of them must leave their homes and families to live in government funded institutions. This leaves 70 percent of disabled unemployed, and deprived of opportunities to utilize their unique skills and contribute to American society. Not only is this deprivation immoral, it is denying our nation the chance to benefit from their potential input.<\/p>\n

Our goal today is to encourage support for The Community First Choice
\nOption amendment to improve the lives of those suffering from
\ndisabilities. This Amendment strives to alter government funding for
\nthe disabled from segregated institutions to local programs in which
\nmembers can receive proper care within their own household. This way,
\nthey are not forced to become outcasts as a means of survival. <\/p>\n

As members of the Reform Jewish Movement, it is crucial for us to
\nadhere to our beliefs in fair treatment within our community. We are
\ntaught, “You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block
\nbefore the blind.” By making institutions the only place for the
\ndisabled to obtain the care they need, our nation is restricting, or
\n“placing a block,” in front of their ability to pursue relationships
\nwith others, as well as careers. An important part of Jewish values
\nincludes an obligation of uniting all members of a community. <\/p>\n

I feel like this is a very important issue to advocate because it
\nimpacts me on a personal level. I have three brothers who have autism,
\nso I know firsthand the importance adequate programs have on their well
\nbeing and happiness. My mother struggled to find a job for my oldest
\nbrother, Justin. She was successful in doing so, however it required
\nintensive research and “knowing the system”. He currently works at the
\nMarriot hotel, which has a commitment to employ those with special
\nneeds. I can’t tell you how thrilled he is to be able to go to work
\neveryday, and take on responsibilities for himself. He has the
\nopportunity to utilize his skill and become an active member in
\nsociety. He was extremely fortunate to have received this opportunity,
\nfor it is a rare thing to find in our current system in helping the
\ndisabled. <\/p>\n

I feel it is very important for everyone who is disabled to receive
\nthis same opportunity as Justin did. It shouldn’t be so that one must
\nknow how to “work the system” in order to be active in a community.
\nPeople who are not fortunate enough to find these seemingly hidden
\nprograms shouldn’t be torn apart from their children by sending them to
\nplacement homes so they could receive the vital care they need.
\nPrograms, and information about the programs, need to be directly
\npresented to families. I hope that through the Community First Choice
\nAmendment, others with disabilities will feel the same satisfaction as
\nJustin does in having a role in society.<\/p>\n

We ask that you will support the Community First Choice
\nAmendment to the Health Care Reform bill in order to provide those 54
\nmillion with the chance to not only participate as active members of
\nthis country, but for the first time, be encouraged to do so as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following post is the text of a speech that was presented on Monday to Members of Congress by Alex Howard, Jenna Silver and Emily Hernandez. All three are members of Temple Ahavat Shalom in Northridge, California who attended the RAC’s Bernard and Audre Rapoport L’Taken Social Justice Seminar last weekend. We are here to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4316,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-351167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}