People with disabilities must watch from the sidelines and just try to get what is left over

 In 2015 and 2017, Human Rights Watch research in the Central African Republic in Bambari and Kaga-Bandoro displacement camps found that residents with disabilities, particularly those without family members, struggled to get food due to the often chaotic and disorganised nature of food distributions. A camp resident with a disability said, “Everyone is mixed and people start to fight with each other after a few minutes, so we people with disabilities must watch from the sidelines and just try to get what is left over.”

Displaced persons with disabilities

 In 2019, in Cameroon, Human Rights Watch interviewed displaced persons with disabilities, of whom only 9 of the 45 interviewees received humanitarian assistance. In all but one case, aid was distributed by local charities in urban centers and not in rural settings. In urban settings, people with disabilities also face overcrowding and difficulty accessing water and sanitation facilities. One UN employee based in the South-West region in Cameroon told Human Rights Watch, “There are large swathes of the Anglophone regions where the crisis has hit the local population hard, but where aid organizations are yet to deliver anything.”

Obstacles to access to assistive devices, such as wheelchairs

 Israel’s 13-year closure of the Gaza Strip, along with neglect by Hamas authorities, significantly encumbered the lived experiences of tens of thousands of Palestinians with disabilities. Electricity shortages often leave Gaza residents without electricity for 9 to 14 hours per day. These restrictions affect the entire population but have a disproportionate impact on persons with disabilities. They may not only be confined to their homes but may also be prevented from fleeing during fighting.

Some Gaza residents reported in 2019 that they were unable to charge their scooters, trapping them in their homes. Even if their wheelchairs or other mobility devices were working, they often cannot leave their homes or access other buildings due to a lack of ramps and elevators.

Others reported obstacles to access to assistive devices, such as wheelchairs and hearing aids, largely due to Israeli import restrictions, shortfalls in local authorities’ and aid groups’ provision of necessary devices, and a lack of expertise in Gaza to repair damaged assistive devices.

A young man with an artificial leg that broke

 A young man with an artificial leg that broke when he fled into the forest after clashes was forced to leave the leg in the forest and has since walked on crutches.

Mom with a disability

One single mother with a physical disability who struggled to flee the South-West region in Cameroon did not have access to an assistive device. She used a small tree branch as a walking cane to support herself.

BLIND ABANDONED

 The daughter of a 75-year-old man said that she had to abandon her father, who is blind and has a mental health condition and a physical disability, at home in the deserted village, with little access to food and water, because she could have otherwise been killed by armed forces if she did not escape quickly enough.

KILLED DUE TO DEAFNESS

 A 43-year-old man with hearing and intellectual disabilities who lived in the North-West region of Cameroon was killed by Rapid Intervention Battalion soldiers because he did not answer their questions. “He was shot in the head and the chest,” a witness said.

NO SCOTTER TO FLEE

 During Israel’s military offensive in Gaza in 2014, a 26-year-old woman with a physical disability was unable to flee with the rest of her family when a missile struck her house. She was wounded in the leg,

and her mobility scooter was destroyed. She managed to flee to safety only when a relative returned to help her.

Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) For USA PWDs What is a PASS?

 Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) For USA PWDs

What is a PASS?

It is an SSI provision to help individuals with disabilities return to work.

If you receive SSI or could qualify for SSI after setting aside income or resources so you can pursue a work goal, you could benefit from a PASS.

How does a PASS help someone return to work?

The government basis SSI eligibility and payment amounts on income and resources (things of value that the individual owns).

PASS lets PWDs set aside money and things they own to pay for items or services needed to achieve a specific work goal.

The PASS objective is to help PWDs find employment that reduces or eliminates SSI or SSDI benefits.

How does PASS work?

The applicant finds out what training, items, or services they need to reach a work goal.

A PASS can include supplies to start a business, school expenses, equipment and tools, transportation, uniforms, and other items or services you need to reach your employment goal.

The applicant finds out how much these items and services will cost.

PASS can help the participant save to pay these costs. PASS lets PWDs set aside money for purchases, installment payments, and down payments for things like a vehicle, wheelchair, or a computer if needed to reach their work goal.

How do you set up a PASS?

Decide on your work goal and determine the items and services necessary to achieve your work goal.

You can get help in setting up a plan from a vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselor; an organization that helps people with disabilities; Benefits Specialists or Protection and Advocacy organizations who have contracts with the government; Employment Networks involved in the Ticket to Work program; your local Social Security office; or anyone else willing to help you.

Contact local SSA office, SSA worksite, or third parties shown above to get a PASS form (SSA-545-BK) to complete.

Bring or mail it to the Social Security office.

SSA usually approves plans prepared by VR.

If your goal is self-employment, you must also submit a business plan.

What happens to the PASS?

SSA sends the PASS to agency employees who SSA has trained to work with PASS.

A PASS expert works directly with the applicant. The PASS expert looks over the plan to see if the work goal is reasonable.

SSA reviews the plan to ensure that the applicant needs the items and services listed on the PASS to achieve their work goal and are reasonably priced.

If the plan needs changes, the PASS expert discusses the changes with the applicant.

If SSA does not approve the PASS, the applicant can appeal the decision.

United Nations 53 PWD Entrepreneurs Study

The United Nations wanted to know which of 53 entrepreneurs with disabilities it studied failed to compare it to the failure rate of entrepreneurs without disabilities. One problem - none failed. The U.N. found that entrepreneurs with disabilities' failure rate are far less than entrepreneurs without disabilities; this was known in 1989! 

The Story Of Leaders With Disabilities Started In The Ancient World

The story of leaders with disabilities started in the Bible and in ancient Egypt, Greece, China, and Rome. In the ancient world the wealthy sometimes elevated family members with disabilities to positions of power. For example, King David gave to a family member with a disability power.  Also, in antiquity military service was a method by which soldiers with acquired disabilities achieved power. Before the birth of the Roman Empire other societies produced leaders with a disability. 

Then in 80 BC a young man with a neurological disability with a great purpose would transform the world and who impacts humanity today - the man was Julius Caesar. He used conquests and politics to achieve wealth and power. Politics is the most effective strategy to achieve political power for past and current people with disabilities.