The BTPM Disabilities Beat is dedicated to promoting equity and acceptance by amplifying marginalized voices, holding corporations and governments accountable, and combatting misinformation and stigma through education about the disability community.
Coverage highlights the often-overlooked implications of economic, educational, policy, and environmental factors on the disability community, offering regional and national perspectives. Key topics include:
- Economic Disparities: Examining wage gaps for employees with disabilities and employment opportunities
- Civic Participation: Investigating the accessibility of ballot machines and voter resources
- Mobility and Accessibility: Addressing paratransit availability and infrastructure needs
- Policy Impact: Analyzing legislation and its effects on the lives of people with disabilities
Hear reports from the Disabilities Beat every Wednesday on BTPM NPR during Morning Edition and All Things Considered for impactful reports in about 5 minutes. These stories aim to spark meaningful conversations and drive positive change in our communities.
The BTPM Disabilities Beat is funded in part by the Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation.
Latest from the WBFO Disabilities Beat
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Disabilities Beat: As advocates speak out, one-house budget rejects involuntary commitment expansionWhile the Governor had proposed expanding who could be involuntarily committed, the legislature has decided to omit those changes in their proposed budget. This comes shortly after advocates traveled from around the state to speak out on the issue. -
This week we continue our series Voices of Disability Pride with an interview between freelancer Mason Ald and community leader Sam Mattle. Mattle is the executive director and founder of the Center for Self-Advocacy, a local organization which advocates for equity and empowers people with disabilities. -
How do you empower young people with disabilities to take control of their lives? One local rural peer-led agency will soon pilot what they believe could be the answer. -
This week on the Disabilities Beat, WBFO’s Emyle Watkins spoke with Ify Chikezie, a staff attorney at the NYCLU about what a repeal of HALT would mean for incarcerated disabled people who are currently protected from solitary confinement under the law. -
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This week on Voices of Disability Pride, we feature disability rights activist Julie Farrar. We discuss the importance of mentorship, confidence and connection in self-advocacy and activism. -
WBFO Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins sits down with Dr. Sami Schalk, a disability scholar, professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, and author of “Black Disability Politics." They discuss her book and the intersections of race and disability. -
![A clipping from the Chicago Sun Times on Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Featured Letter:
[image caption] Participants in the "Free Our People March" travel last week along Route 40 in Maryland, about the halfway point between the start in Philadelphia and its destination in Washington. Photo courtesy of Tom Olin
[Headline] Disabled get on the move for freedom
We just celebrated the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. Forty years later, people with disabilities still have a dream of escaping nursing homes institutions and going back to the community.
About 150 disabled activists-- many in wheelchairs--convened at 4 to begin a 150 mile march on Philadelphia to Washington. [s] two-week "Free Our People March" will end at Washington [k] in our nation's capital today to [m] the need for more home- and community-based attendant services, and to call attention to the institutional bias that lingers in this country. More than 80 percent of Medicaid long-term care dollars are spent keeping people institutionalized, while less than 20 percent as- people who want to live in their homes and apartments, where they are much happier.
[pulled quote] We have a dream to live independently
[text resumes] There's federal legislation that would address this issue: the Medicaid Community Attendants Service and Supports Act. Introduced by Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), H.R. 2032 would assist people with disabilities--regardless of age--in nursing homes back into the community, using the same Medicaid funding that's used to keep them institutionalized. Statistics show that people are much happier and productive living in their own homes instead of languishing in nursing homes.
The major obstacles of MiCASS's passage in Congress are the nursing home lobbyists in Illinois and around the country. Profit is their bottom line, and they have deep pockets to buy off legislators. They continue to be a threat to the civil rights of people with disabilities. They disregard the quality of life for people stuck in their institutions; they see the almighty dollar sign and don't hear the cries of the people who want out.
About 5,000 people with disablities will descend on Washington Park to rally for justice and the right to live in the mainstream community. We have a dream to live independently, free from segregation, as Dr. King could have related to. It's time to have our dream realized.
Larry Biondi,
independant living advocate,
Progress Center for Independent Living, Forest Park](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ad233fa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/786x438+0+169/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F79%2F9e%2Fe3cbdf7e4734ba49acbb4c469809%2F20201127153858-818e5d9a-xx.jpg)
This week on the Disabilities Beat, WBFO’s Emyle Watkins speaks with Stephanie Orlando, from Western New York Independent Living, about what is at stake for disability programs if funding is paused — or ends. -
This week President Donald Trump attempted to institute a freeze on federal spending that would have wide ranging impacts for the disability community. -
New York State has begun the process of moving hundreds of thousands of consumers and their personal care aides from the hundreds of organizations that currently run the consumer directed personal assistance program, or CDPAP, to only one company, PPL, by April 1st. On today's episode, we hear from consumers who are concerned with the speed and transparency of the transition. -
![A clipping from the Chicago Sun Times on Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Featured Letter:
[image caption] Participants in the "Free Our People March" travel last week along Route 40 in Maryland, about the halfway point between the start in Philadelphia and its destination in Washington. Photo courtesy of Tom Olin
[Headline] Disabled get on the move for freedom
We just celebrated the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. Forty years later, people with disabilities still have a dream of escaping nursing homes institutions and going back to the community.
About 150 disabled activists-- many in wheelchairs--convened at 4 to begin a 150 mile march on Philadelphia to Washington. [s] two-week "Free Our People March" will end at Washington [k] in our nation's capital today to [m] the need for more home- and community-based attendant services, and to call attention to the institutional bias that lingers in this country. More than 80 percent of Medicaid long-term care dollars are spent keeping people institutionalized, while less than 20 percent as- people who want to live in their homes and apartments, where they are much happier.
[pulled quote] We have a dream to live independently
[text resumes] There's federal legislation that would address this issue: the Medicaid Community Attendants Service and Supports Act. Introduced by Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), H.R. 2032 would assist people with disabilities--regardless of age--in nursing homes back into the community, using the same Medicaid funding that's used to keep them institutionalized. Statistics show that people are much happier and productive living in their own homes instead of languishing in nursing homes.
The major obstacles of MiCASS's passage in Congress are the nursing home lobbyists in Illinois and around the country. Profit is their bottom line, and they have deep pockets to buy off legislators. They continue to be a threat to the civil rights of people with disabilities. They disregard the quality of life for people stuck in their institutions; they see the almighty dollar sign and don't hear the cries of the people who want out.
About 5,000 people with disablities will descend on Washington Park to rally for justice and the right to live in the mainstream community. We have a dream to live independently, free from segregation, as Dr. King could have related to. It's time to have our dream realized.
Larry Biondi,
independant living advocate,
Progress Center for Independent Living, Forest Park](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fe5f95e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/786x438+0+169/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F79%2F9e%2Fe3cbdf7e4734ba49acbb4c469809%2F20201127153858-818e5d9a-xx.jpg)
Additional WBFO Disabilities Reporting
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The closing of a prominent Buffalo pain doctor's clinic several years ago raised questions. But forgotten in the mix was what happened to his chronic pain patients, that came to him with a legitimate concern? The aftermath of Dr. Eugene Gosy's clinic closure has highlighted the challenges Americans face in getting chronic pain treatment while our country confronts the opioid epidemic. -
Governor Kathy Hochul’s Executive Budget included $1 million for Special Olympics New York. WBFO’s Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins first reported in December that the organization was asking the state for at least $1.5 million in the next budget to prevent program cuts. Watkins spoke with their CEO after the budget was released to get her reaction. -
On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul shared her vision for New York in her State of the State address, which often previews what may be included in her budget proposal. WBFO’s Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins spoke with the head of a local disability services agency to get her reaction. -
Ahead of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's State of the State address, one disability organization is asking the state to make a change that could rescue important programs for people with disabilities. -
Delaware North committed to a $100,000 donation to support unified sports programs in local schools. -
If you’ve ever been to a fundraiser at a restaurant, you know it’s a chance to have a great time with friends and support a cause. But for a local woman with a disability, a trip to Tully’s Good Times in Cheektowaga for a Special Olympics fundraiser, ended up being a bad time, as she was left to eat her meal off of a chair. -
One hundred years after a league we all know, the National Football League, was founded, another league launched with the hope of expanding access to football. WBFO’s Emyle Watkins shares how this new sport held a national tournament in New York State for the first time ever this October. -
Five months after WBFO published an investigation into at-its-face violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Buffalo quietly welcomed its first full-time ADA coordinator. WBFO’s Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins sat down with her to learn more about her background and goals for the city. -
This back-to-school season, Walmart announced sensory hours. WBFO asked parents and neurodivergent adults if these sensory hours were helpful to their experiences. -
Summer - it is a time of year widely romanticized in books, movies and TV. Grand adventures, grand gestures, falling in love…. But how much feels really authentic, like something you could have gone through? This summer, a local author has a new book that brings a fresh and relatable take on the great summer romance novel. WBFO’s Emyle Watkins has more.
