The Voiceless Minority

Your friendly neighborhood super advocate is back! This time I have a question. Have we reached a point where it is okay to tell a “casual lie” rather than the truth? You may ask what made you pose the above question. The answer is sad but simple. During a recent follow-up appointment with my pain management doctor, I began talking to his nurse. I have been to the office several times in the last few months because my pain pump needed to be replaced. On this particular occasion, I found it easy to talk with the attending nurse for that day. For privacy purposes, I will not give her name here.  Throughout my appointment, we chatted easily. She asked me general questions about my education and other topics, and I did the same. As the appointment progressed, it eventually came out that I was a disability blogger. I told her about this blog and mentioned that we had a Facebook page. She seemed genuinely interested, so I invited her to like the page and add me on Facebook. Truth be told...

Your friendly neighborhood super advocate is back! Since I last posted a lot of things have happened in terms of disability related issues and content. This post is the first of several posts to come. They will discuss a wide variety of topics including dating and relationships as well as finances and the low expectations society still has for people with disabilities.  Today’s post will highlight a recent encounter that I had at Wal-Mart. The encounter reinforces the idea that there is still a narrow view of disability in society. Let me set the scene.   As I often do, I was shopping at my local Wal-Mart a couple weeks ago. Most of the time I go in to the store with my caregiver or I pick up the groceries I have preordered. On this day, I did not go in, instead I decided since I only had a few things to pick up I would have my caregiver run in for me. As most of you know, I currently live in Florida. The weather in Florida often fluctuates between warm and extremely hot ...

Recently Former FL SAND President Eddie Hall who is already a powerful advocate in Florida was given the opportunity to take his advocacy to a new level when he received a grant from the Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center or as it is commonly known SARTAC. This piece will highlight how when presented with the opportunity Eddie took full advantage of it not only to further pursue his own interest in recreation but at the same time, he has furthered his lifelong passion to make the outdoors accessible for all.  I have known Eddie for several years now. We are both very involved in disability advocacy. Although I thought I knew Eddie I learned a great deal not only about his advocacy but on a deeper level I learned about what drives his passion for disability-related issues during an interview I conducted for a piece I was writing for Florida Self-Advocacy Central. At the beginning of the interview, Eddie explained why he became a disability advocate, to begin with...

To all my regular readers I want to say welcome back and thank you for your continued support. To anyone reading this blog for the first time welcome, please make yourself comfortable and grab a seat or a parking space for your wheelchair and a beverage and enjoy what is to come. In January 2014 I wrote a blog entitled “Aide Care System; The Hurtful Loop Holes” I have included the link to this blog at the bottom of this piece. That piece discussed a crucial problem when it comes to aide care that people with disabilities still face in 2023, however one area it did not cover in great detail was the lack of funding for aide care waivers. The waiver goes by different names depending on the state you live in. I currently live in Florida. Here the waiver is known as the Home and Community-Based Services Waiver. The waiver in theory like all the other waivers started out with good intentions but to be quite honest good intentions don’t pay the bills. In my previous blog on the subject, I tal...

Recently I finished a book entitled “Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter” by Kate Clifford Larson. I was turned on to the book by my girlfriend Samantha Lebron. She knows that I love history, especially political history. When I first began reading the book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Kennedy family has been written about extensively. I thought this would be another look at the Kennedy family through the lens of politics, and, to some extent, it was, but it was much more than just a book about politics. As I got deeper into the book, I realized the book was about something more. It was on a deeper level about the history of the treatment of people with disabilities in the United States. Although Rosemary Kennedy was born to one of the most affluent families of the 20th century, unbeknownst to her she would face prejudices not only from the outside world but even from some members of her own family. Without recounting the whole book which I highly recommend you should read, I w...

It has been nearly eight months since there has been anything new posted on this blog. A lot has happened in eight months hiatus. I have finished my master's degree program in Teacher Education. However, due to the trials and struggles that have occurred during that process, which can be read about in earlier entries, my focus has drifted away from teaching and advocacy for persons with disabilities. Most of this blog has been dedicated to advocacy and discussing various issues that people with disabilities encounter. However, the point of view of the author, me, has changed. A lot of the writing in earlier entries came in a time of my life when I was unhappy with the circumstances faced with. I have since re-evaluated The Voiceless Minority. There was a time where I thought about abandoning the project altogether if I'm honest. However, I decided I would resurrect the blog at this time and take it in a slightly new direction. It will still address social issues, but I will als...

       It has almost been a year since The Voiceless Minority started. At that time, we have published nearly 50 blogs here on the blogger website.         As the New Year begins for The Voiceless Minority, it is time that we make a move. We are moving our web address and hosting over to word press. The new address will be: http://thevoicelessminority.wordpress.com/        Nothing about the blog will change content-wise; the only thing that will change is the look and the usability of the blog. There will be an archive section for those of you who haven’t got a chance to read all the old blogs on the blogger website. There will also be a contact page and a discussion page so that those in the community or those interested can interact with one another. Please post resources or questions you may have!         Finally, we hope that this move will allow...