July is Disability Pride Month, and Easterseals Capital Region and Eastern Connecticut (CREC) is celebrating the month with a public service announcement that reads, “Disability Is Not a Dirty Word.”
There are many words, phrases and actions that are offensive to people with disabilities, but Easter Seals CREC says the campaign aims to raise awareness and remove stigma.
“This month is really about celebrating differences. Some disabilities are visible and some are not,” said Robin Sharp, president and CEO of Easterseals CREC. “One in four adults has some sort of disability. When we start judging people based on what we can see, we discount everything they are capable of.”
That’s the goal of Easter Seals CREC, and Sharp said the organization works hard to ensure that people with disabilities and veterans have the same access to life as everyone else, especially when it comes to employment.
“At Easter Seals, we believe everyone who wants to work should have the opportunity to work,” Sharp added.
Sharp said Easterseals CREC, based in Norwich, runs a secure document destruction business, a cleaning and maintenance business and a warehouse and fulfilment operation, all of which employ people with disabilities.
For Dave Stevens, it means more than a month: Born without a leg, he wants people to understand that this is normal for him.
“I am disabled every day and I’m proud of it. I was born without legs and I try to go out there and set an example,” Stevens explained. “I wake up every day and I have to get on the ground and crawl. We all have our own personal struggles and we live in your world and you don’t live in our world.”
Despite his disability, he has already achieved more than many.
“If a guy without legs can play college football, minor league baseball, work for ESPN and win seven Emmy Awards and do it all without legs, what’s the excuse?” Stevens added.
He is now working to impart his knowledge to military veterans by teaching them media and television skills.
“So we’ve opened up the program to veterans and their families. We also have a podcast, which features stories and features on Easter Seals and the disability community,” he explained.
The program is partnered with Easter Seals and Comcast/NBCUniversal, which Stevens said really adds to the program’s legitimacy.
“Thanks to Comcast and the grant, we now have an incredible facility to teach veterans and their families skills to thrive in the world,” he said. “It’s great to see our students now feel comfortable speaking in front of a microphone.”
To enroll in the Digital Skills for Veterans course taught by Stevens, click here.