Category: disabilities

So Much to Give Inclusive Café: A Special Place of Joy, Hope and Great Food

CEDARS, Pa.—So Much to Give Inclusive Café is a unique full-service restaurant with a welcoming environment for people with disabilities who are among their staff. The cafe in Cedars, eastern Pennsylvania, officially opened on Jan. 21. Kathy Opperman, founder of Pillars of Light and Love, which is the owner of the café, said they had…


Opponents of Assisted Suicide Express Alarm at Committee Report Recommending MAID for ‘Mature Minors’

Opponents of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) expansion are expressing alarm about a new report on MAID with 23 recommendations, including one that the federal government offer assisted suicide to “mature minors” if they face a natural death that is “reasonably foreseeable.” The report, “Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Choices for Canadians,” was tabled…


Train Operator Amtrak Agrees to Pay $2.25 Million to Passengers With Disabilities Over Inaccessible Stations

Train operator Amtrak has agreed to pay $2.25 million to more than 1,500 people and fix inaccessible stations as part of a disability discrimination complaint, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. The DOJ filed a complaint against Washington, D.C.-headquartered Amtrak in December 2020 over alleged violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, enacted by…


Biden Admin to Eliminate $5.8 Billion in Federal Student Debt for Borrowers With Disabilities

The Biden administration on Thursday said it will discharge more than $5.8 billion in student loans, a move that aims to help ease the financial burden on hundreds of thousands of borrowers who have permanent disabilities. According to the announcement by the Department of Education, those classified as totally and permanently disabled (TPD) by the…


When the Mind Manifests Mobility Trouble

A health setback like an injury or arthritic flare-up can influence how much you move. But these physical limitations can easily be compounded by something even more powerful: your mind. Such physical ailments can force people to move less than they are actually able to. This decreased movement then compounds over time. While it might…


Eating Disorder Puts Wheels in Motion for New Charity

Don Schoendorfer’s perspective and faith took a 180 degree turn when a family member was diagnosed with bulimia in 1994. An MIT-trained engineer by trade, he encountered a problem in his life that he couldn’t fix with his technical knowledge. Up until that point, Schoendorfer said, everything else—his job, finances, and relationships—was under control. He…


Southern California Charity Distributes Free Wheelchairs Across the World

Don Schoendorfer’s perspective and faith took a 180-degree turn when a family member was diagnosed with bulimia in 1994. An MIT-trained engineer by trade, he had encountered a problem in his life that he couldn’t fix with his technical knowledge. Up until that point, everything else—his job, finances, and relationships—was under control, Schoendorfer said. He…


Ontario to Provide Transportation for Seniors and People With Disabilities to Get COVID Shot

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced that the government will invest $3.7 million as part of the 2021 Budget to provide transportation for seniors and people with disabilities to get their COVID-19 vaccinations. “It is critically important to ensure that our most vulnerable get the protection of a COVID-19 vaccine and that’s why we are doing…


Orange County Works to Make Vaccination Process More Accessible and Diverse

Orange County health officials say they’re working to make the vaccination process easier for region’s disabled and minority communities. The Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) said Feb. 4 that it was adding an Americans with Disabilities Act lane at Soka University to make the inoculation process easier for disabled residents. Rather than standing in line, those…