The Foundation for PM&R partners with ADA 25 Chicago to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
ROSEMONT, Ill., June 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Foundation for PM&R is proud to announce that we have joined over 150 Chicagoland corporations, nonprofits, and government entities as program partners of ADA 25 Chicago to commemorate and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act–the groundbreaking civil rights legislation that promised people with disabilities access to education, employment, housing, transportation, and government programs and services–we have much to celebrate. People with disabilities are living independently in the community, being educated with their peers, working as doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. They are raising families, traveling, and participating in sports and recreation.
However, our work isn't done. Despite 25 years of progress, people with disabilities still have higher poverty rates, lower employment and poorer educational outcomes than those without disabilities. The promise of full participation and economic self-sufficiency is still unfulfilled.
The ADA 25 Chicago Partners Network are organizations committed to fulfilling that promise. They are developing new programs, initiatives and ideas within their organizations that seek to increase opportunity, equality and accessibility for people with disabilities. And the Foundation for PM&R is proud to partner with these organizations as we launch our new initiative, The Americans with Disability Fund.
The Americans with Disability Fund was created to honor the legacy of physiatrists like Henry Betts and Stan Yarnell–visionaries who understood that for people with disabilities, the end of a stay in rehab was really just the beginning. They knew that in order for people with disabilities to have successful lives post-rehabilitation, there had to be an inclusive, integrated society to return to–and they made it their life's work to create such a society, advocating for accessibility initiatives and disability rights legislation.
The Americans with Disability Fund will continue this important work–through partnerships with physiatrists, disability advocates and others–that will help achieve that goal of a fully inclusive and integrated society where people with and without disabilities can live, work and play side by side.
To learn more about the Americans with Disability Fund and the Foundation for PM&R, visit www.foundationforpmr.org, or contact Linda Mastandrea, Fund Manager, at 773-875-4674. To learn more about ADA 25 Chicago, visit www.ada25chicago.org.
SOURCE Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
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