To the Editor:
When I saw the opinion article “In Covid-19 Crisis, Philanthropy’s Attention Must Focus on People With Disabilities” (April 30) by Darren Walker and Rich Besser, I was simultaneously thrilled and terrified. The new Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy, which they help found, has proven to be caring and effective.
At the same time, however, disability groups on the front lines have noticed unfortunate, unintended consequences of the council and its $10 million collaborative Disability Inclusion Fund. Despite repeated urging to the contrary, it has caused a dangerous reaction among some philanthropists, who feel that if these major players are “doing” disability, their own involvement is not needed. However, there is an urgent role to play at every level, including by small funders like me.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that 90 percent of the hospitalizations caused by Covid-19 are of people with underlying conditions. Yet, as the pandemic has stalked individuals with disabilities, many funders have continued to reject proposals by organizations that serve people with disabilities. A note referring disability organizations to the Disability Inclusion Fund’s rapid-response effort often accompanies those rejections.
While I am thrilled that such a fund exists, and a nonprofit I lead even has applied for its support, this $200,000 effort alone cannot solve the needs of tens of millions of people. The U.S. Census says there are 61 million people with disabilities in our nation. That means the Disability Inclusion Fund’s Covid-19 Fund offers about 0.3 cents per person with a disability. No single fund can solve life-or-death issues facing people with disabilities today. Therefore, all funders need to intentionally include people with disabilities in their work that is applicable — from hunger to education, homelessness to employment.
The disability community urgently needs foundations’ financial support and leadership as a convener and a connector. Needs can range from simple to complex and lifesaving: access to masks and gloves in nursing and group homes, for personal-care assistants and for individuals with disabilities; peer and community support to protect mental health; accommodations during the transition to remote work (e.g., captioning on online platforms for people who are deaf or hard of hearing and screen-reader accessibility for people who are blind or who have low vision); safe availability of food, including for the 11 million people with disabilities who rely on SNAP; and the right to medical care during times of system overwhelm.
Since the start of the crisis, significant progress has been made by the disability community and its allies. As elected officials rushed forward with the CARES Act, initial drafts would have accidentally thrown millions of people with disabilities off of SSI payments and stripped them of their medical coverage. A workaround now enables people with disabilities to receive a total of $10.2 billion dollars through individual $1,200 payments without losing health care access to Medicaid, which is asset limited.
Other lifesaving priorities are beginning to be addressed. When the pandemic started, only six states allowed people to use SNAP for online food purchases and delivery. People who are blind, use wheelchairs, and have other disabilities who are at high risk for Covid-19 may not be able to socially distance.
Today, at the urging of the disability community, more than a dozen states are working toward online SNAP so millions more people are no longer forced to choose between starvation and a deadly contagion. On this issue alone, so much work remains. More than 30 states still don’t offer this lifesaving option.
That is but the beginning. Check writing has been a key role of philanthropy — but so, too, is building partnerships between groups and leaders. Since the pandemic started, my husband and I have used our donor-advised fund to send money to more than two dozen organizations. Our biggest impact has been in helping them apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans, to partner with each other, and to reach out to decision makers on public policy. As the world is learning, Covid-19 response is a marathon, not a sprint.
Moving into the second phase of this crisis, in addition to continuing our fight for access to protective gear, medical equity, and food, the disability community is expanding advocacy to prevent 7 million students with disabilities (the majority of whom are people of color) from being denied access to education. Once schools reopen, many children with underlying medical conditions will need to remain safely at home. It is vital for them to have access to a full curriculum, just like anyone else. Education funders are urgently needed to fight for appropriate and accessible online education and support.
In the weeks ahead, there will be a major battle for the next round of federal funding to address the pandemic. It will be vital for state and local governments to get the money they need to enable home- and community-based support for people with disabilities to live as independently as possible.
As communities, nonprofits, and employers adapt, people with disabilities risk being pushed further into the margins. This largely happens unintentionally, as well-meaning people and groups create more barriers to inclusion and success.
A major study conducted before the pandemic showed that less than 20 percent of nonprofits and funders are fully accessible to people with disabilities. That is why, in conjunction with 18 philanthropy-serving and nonprofit organizations, RespectAbility, a nonprofit I head, offers free online training on how to include people with disabilities in your work. More than 700 leaders already have completed the full free program, and readers are encouraged to do so, too.
It is vital for people with disabilities to bring their experience, skills, and innovations forward to help solve the challenges that affect all of us. From climate-change activist Greta Thunberg, who is autistic, to others who are on the forefront of positive change, people with disabilities have a lot to contribute.
More hands (or prosthesis) are needed, and grant makers can be the ones to help.
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
President
RespectAbility
Rockville, Md.
Mizrahi is also co-founder of the Mizrahi Family Charitable Fund.
To the Editor:
The recent op-ed from Rich Besser and Darren Walker shone a critical spotlight on the entrenched and persistent inequalities faced by people living with disabilities.
Covid-19 has changed our lives in many ways, but few have felt the challenge more acutely than those living with paralysis. A lack of resources can create disconnect among likeminded people and prevent the expansive collaboration needed to achieve real change. But now, more than ever, nonprofits, public-health experts, and philanthropists need to join forces and advocate for individuals too often excluded from the public conversation.
Perhaps there will be a silver lining within so much despair: One of the pandemic’s clearest lessons is that people can be productive in working from home. Many talented people are overlooked or denied professional opportunities because their disability requires accessibility. If work inclusivity increases, it will be a much needed — and long overdue — victory for those living with paralysis.
Peter T. Wilderotter
Chief Executive
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
Short Hills, N.J.