Disability Advocacy Day Brings Experts, Allies Together

In 1957, a little girl named Cindy Bentley was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and heroin in her system. She was instantly sent to the Southern Wisconsin Center for Intellectual disabilities in Union Grove. Because of the lack of resources for children with disabilities, she grew up in an environment of abandonment and abuse. Though she had a biological family, Cindy was sent to foster care; however, her foster mother left Cindy with burn scars on her melanin skin. Doctors gave Cindy 24 hours to live. To everyone’s surprise, she survived and became the head of an organization called People’s First of Wisconsin. 

“This what I say all the time: God saved me for something good,” said Cindy Bentley.

The annual Disability Advocacy Day in Madison brought together residents from all over in support of people with disabilities, including People’s First of Wisconsin. The event was organized by The Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability, a coalition of over 20 state groups. The program started with a briefing of current issues affecting people with disabilities. 

According to the Department of Health Services, there are currently 2,318 eligible children with disabilities waiting for available resources to help support their way through the community. Advocates want laws that make access to children long-term support programs equal to adult long-term care services. 

“I teach a class at Hamilton High School and we’re finding out that they don’t know how to speak up for themselves in the right way,” said Bentley. “It’s more of a challenge for young people with disabilities because they are way sheltered, parents are afraid something will happen.” 

The Survival Coalition held a rally at the State Capital to advocate for more investments in quality education for children and youth. The school system has lacked funding for special education services in Wisconsin. Protesters argued for up to 60% of an increase for special education. 

“When I was younger doctors and teachers thought I wouldn’t amount to nothing and now I actually work teaching people with disabilities social skills,” said People’s First of Wisconsin Vice President Ashely Mathy.

According to Stopbullying.gov, there are as many as 25% of reported bullying incidents involving students with disabilities or special needs. Protesters fight for increased funding for mental health and transition services in public schools. This helps to better safety for students with disabilities. 

“I decided I didn’t want to have what people treated me like, I wanted a better world and I know that there is still so much we need to do about differences and disabilities,” said Mathy. “I want the world to accept those differences.”

The event also had Senate and Assembly visits inside the State Capital where advocates spoke about voting accessibility for people with disabilities. They noted that all polling places must be fully accessible by law and demanded increased funding for the Accessibility Supply Program to fix accessibility issues at polling places. This comes weeks before a lawsuit in Wisconsin over the lack of electronic absentee ballots for people with disabilities for the upcoming election. 

“This unconstitutional defect in Wisconsin’s absentee ballot system is well-known yet remains unaddressed,” the lawsuit alleges. 

Disability Rights Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission to allow them to receive and return absentee ballots electronically.

At the end of the event, advocates began debriefing about their experience and how they plan to continue this Disability Advocacy Day for many years.