Dignity V. Grief

Missing two weeks of blogging and podcasting is never ideal, but I am officially back, and new content is on the way.

An article from Disability Scoop regarding a flag flown at the US Capitol to honor a 22-year-old who tragically died at a day program hits incredibly close to home. I spent over 10 years attending a series of disability day programs. Because I have the physical ability to speak clearly, I would often find myself stepping up to be the voice for my peers who were non-verbal. When tragedies like this happen, lawmakers rush to find legislative fixes, but we need to talk about what actually works.I

I strongly agree that more oversight is needed to protect vulnerable individuals, and we absolutely need higher standards in training our staff. However, some of the specific legislation being proposed—like mandating surveillance cameras everywhere—is deeply flawed. Cameras and surveillance systems cannot prevent tragedies.

Not all individuals are the same, and blanketing communal spaces with constant surveillance will deny us our dignity and privacy without due process. This article hits home on a painfully personal level. During my time in the system, I attended far too many funerals for my fellow brothers and sisters from day programs and group home settings. Tragically, sometimes there is no one there at those services besides the other residents.During

During the pandemic in 2020, so many of these individuals passed away in isolation. To the general public, they weren’t seen as people with lives, stories, and friends—they were just numbers going up on a screen.We

We must do better to honor their lives, protect their privacy, and raise the standards of the care they receive.

sources:

https://share.google/EQgO4hdQdOFVkCjoT