Disability Rights Iowa is celebrating 40 years of advocating for and protecting the civil rights of Iowans with disabilities.
The group’s executive director, Katherine Johnson, said lack of employment opportunities, access to health care and long-term support for people living in the community remained major concerns.
“I don’t think there’s one specific issue facing Iowans with disabilities,” Johnson said. “Many of the issues are the same ones we’ve been dealing with for years.”
The group has worked to ensure access to public facilities and voting, and most recently, DRI filed a lawsuit seeking improvements to mental health care for children at Boys State Training School in Eldora and an end to certain penalties.
Johnson says he hopes the nonprofit will have strong relationships with all 99 counties in the state within the next 40 years.
“We take very seriously that we’re here for all Iowans with disabilities, and I mean essentially about 400,000 Iowans who self-identify as having a disability,” Johnson said, “We want to be known by all Iowans with disabilities and know that we’re a place they can go to for help and support.”
The organization will celebrate that tradition tomorrow in Des Moines with its 40-34 Equal Access Festival, which also marks the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, led by then-Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a key architect of the ADA.
Johnson made the comments this week on Iowa Public Radio’s “Talk of Iowa.”
(Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)