Let’s Continue to Open Doors in Cape May County

Almost seven years ago, shortly following the Freeholders’ establishment of a new Office of Disabilities in Cape May County, the Herald offered me the opportunity to submit articles on disability issues on a regular basis, as a representative of that new office. I have enjoyed and appreciated that privilege and the support of the Freeholders during my time in Cape May. Most recently, family obligations have required me to relocate to north Jersey, where I hope to continue efforts to “open doors” for the disabilities community. I trust that the Freeholders and the Herald will continue that vital work here.
Underlying the individual topics I’ve explored in this column has been my desire to highlight three important needs that challenge the larger community if it is sincere in including individuals with disabilities as full members in county life. These challenges are the need for awareness, the need for access, and the need for advocacy.
Most individuals and families that cope with disability have learned to roll with the daily challenges of living and to savor even the smallest achievements. And in the face of extremely challenging circumstances, more often than not they manage to maintain a hopeful attitude toward the future. But ever-changing funding levels and Federal and state policy decisions sometimes negatively impact their ability to even maintain their status quo, never mind gaining any ground. These families increasingly need an informed “village” – aware of the extent of their needs – to help them in their struggle. The continued support of such events as our annual Disabilities Awareness Day by the county and the Herald and many others in the community is a great step in the right direction.
In 2015, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the original ADA legislation, which was designed to create and ensure access for people with disabilities in our country. Certainly, as with all civil rights initiatives the U.S. has legislated, the ADA has achieved some progress over the intervening years. But much remains to be done to improve access to public spaces, to transportation, to affordable housing, to employment – in a word, to opportunity – for those with disabilities in our communities.
On a case-to-case basis in our county, when individuals and businesses are made aware of accessibility issues, they usually respond. The annual publication of the County Beach Access Brochure, for example, has not only been a service to the public but also a record of the individual community efforts to improve access each year to our beautiful seashore.
It has been extremely inspiring to me over these past eight+ years in Cape May County that a good number of the calls I’ve received at the office are from individuals seeking information or help for a friend with a disability. This one-on-one advocacy is such a healthy step in breaking through the isolation that too often can separate an individual with a disability from the mainstream of community life.
Too, local social service agencies and committees continue to try to stretch reduced funds to meet the needs of these citizens, and volunteers faithfully provide support to organizations that focused on service to the community. Cape May County is also blessed with legislators who are sensitive and responsive to the needs of those with disabilities. May all this good work continue and flourish!
In her recent book, “Composing a Further Life,” Mary Catherine Bateson summarizes the vision of those who continue to hope for the fulfillment of the spirit of the ADA legislation:
“The modern disability movement and the legislation it led to in 1973 and 1990 were primarily concerned not with mandating support and benefits but the possibility for interdependence; the basic theme was the effort to increase the ability of people with disabilities to participate and to become contributing members of society.”
This would seem to be a rather modest version of the American Dream ¬– to participate and to contribute. Hopefully, all the wonderful people of Cape May County – by their awareness, their efforts toward accessibility, and their advocacy – will continue to make it happen.
Pierson has been a contributing writer during her tenure with the Cape May County Department of Aging and Disability Services.