Portland observer., July 18, 2012, Page 8, Image 8

(The
Page 8
Sundays at the Elks
Beginning Sunday, July 1,2012
6PM - 10PM
Jarliani» (Obstruer
Tired of Being Invisible
continued 4L from front
equal access to em ploym ent, lo- true. U nder the ADA, they are
cal governm ent, public access, meant to be made accessible un-
acknow ledging that any single and com m unication.
less it doesn’t preserve what is
solitary person can wake up and
The city o f Portland's D isabil- historic about the building.”
find them selves a person with a ity Program was re-established in
The Old Church is a really great
disability.”
2006 in the Office o f Neighbor- exam ple, she said. “They built a
According to Cheron, people hood Involvem ent to connect, ramp, and they hired an architect
with disabilities have historically support and encourages collabo- to see how to do this. It preserved
been viewed as the largest burden rative civic engagem ent between its historical value, but it d id n ’t
on society.
the people o f the disability com - preserve the historical oppression
“We saw back in the holocaust m unity, neighborhoods and city o f people with disability.”
that people with disabilities were governm ent.
T h ro u g h th ese c h a lle n g e s ,
the first ones sent to the gas cham-
Although Cheron, who was be- Cheron said she realized her per-
bers and even earlier, people with ginning college when the ADA sonal desire to help others living
mental health issues or develop- was enacted, doesn’t rem em ber with disabilities within her own
m ental disabilities, were institu- much ofw hat it was like before the community.
tionalized because society d id n ’t law, she said there are many rea-
“In that process I started to get
know what to do with them or see sons why challenges still rem ain, involved with organizations and
them as equal m em bers,” she said.
“People d o n ’t really truly un- did som e testifying before the
Cheron said the first really signifi- derstand the way the law is meant county around housing. Through
cant law to address issues was the to work,” Cheron said. “We still that, I met people here in the city
civil rights law that basically said have lots o f places in Portland working for the Housing B ureau,”
everyone deserved equal treatment that aren ’t accessible.”
she said. “There was a part of me,
and equal access to government ser­
Cheron said one o f the reasons as a person with a disability, that
vices, including people of color and for this is because there are sev- thought, shouldn’t I start with my
people of disability.
eral ways o f getting around the com m unity first? And so th at’s
“It was the first law that said law th at h a p p e n s m o re th an what I did.”
Billy Webb Elks Lodge #1050
governm ent needs to be equal and people realize.
Although there is a long way to
(503) 284-4853
fa ir to e v e r y o n e ,” she said .
“The other day I w ent to the go, Cheron said the city has made
N TILLAMOOK ST, Portland, Or 97227
“People with disability, because store with a friend in northw est some great strides to make Port-
of that law, now have equal ac­ Portland. D id n ’t call ahead o f land m ore accessible. “The city
cess to governm ent and govern­ tim e,” she said. “Part o f my privi- has a com m ission on disabilities,
ment services.”
lege is that being an adult after the And that has been put into reso-
She said, how ever, the law ADA, I make the presum ption lution in 2009 and they have been
d id n ’t ensure those living with a things will be accessible, but of- doing some really good w ork,”
disability that they would have ten tim es, I am confronted with she said.
equal access to their doctor’s of- naivety, and I can ’t get into things
“Out o f my office, we do dis-
fices or grocery stores, because because there isn ’t a ram p or a ability self preparedness for emer-
those aren t governm ent entities, way inside.”
gency, and a voluntary emergency
C o m p rised o f seven title s ,
Other challenges, said Cheron, reg istry w here we e n co u rag e
Cheron said the ADA ensures include difficulties like she faced people to put their inform ation
finding housing when she first into, so if there is a m ajor disaster
moved to the city after graduating the information can go to respond-
from Portland State University, ers or voluntary responders.”
where she received two masters in
Cheron said she is proud o f the
public administration and conflict work she has done, but increased
resolution.
efforts are necessary.
“When I graduated and moved
“As baby boomers are getting
out here I got student housing, older, more and more people are
which was w heelchair accessible, using mobility devices. This is the
But when I graduated I needed to first time in history when we are
find housing in Portland, and this looking at such a large number of
Truly making a difference in the lives of
was a huge challenge,” she said, people aging at one time,” she said.
“Partly because there is not a ton
“Starting this year, approxi-
Auto Accident victims and Injured Workers for nearly 20 years.
o f accessible housing, and where m ately 8,000 baby boom ers turn
If you or someone you know has been in an accident,
it is, there is not a grand list to 65, which can translate into one
call us so we can help you with your needs. (503) 284-7838
show them .”
out of every two people over the
Cheron said, currently, there is age of 65 with some form o f dis-
som ething called housing con- ability.”
W? are located on the
nections, which is a good start.
Although some people look at
comer ofM LK and Russell
but it is inventoried by landlords, disability as a m edical model, or
Street, on the second floor
who often d o n ’t understand what people look at that it is som ething
above the coffee shop.
accessible features are.
wrong, Cheron said she believes
I kept being told the rentals were a disability is only as challenging
accessible, but they weren’t, she said, as society makes it, because if
“And It took me over a year after society rem oved all the barriers,
graduating to find housing.”
then it w ouldn’t be an issue any
Especially in Portland, the ADA longer.
S’*
P
rem ains controversial, she said,
“It is the physical barriers and
Prkins Area
before explaining how the pro- social barriers that keep people
cess o f historical preservation has with disabilities from being part of
S3
revealed resident priorities.
the dom inant culture,” she said.
“There is this idea that build- “My hope for the future is that we
ings that have historic value d o n ’t continue to elim inate these barri-
need to be accessible because ers, so disabilities become some-
Russell St
they are grandfathered in or his- thing that is less stigm atized and
torical,” she said. “But that is not relevant,” she said.
Schedule of Events:
July 1
Sunday Night Jazz
Featuring Shirley Nanette
July 8
Karaoke
July 15
Sunday Night Jazz
Featuring Shirley Nanette
July 22
Karaoke
6
July 18, 2012
Advertise with diversity in
7ie Portland Observer
Call 503-288-0033
Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC
Zchon R. Jones, DC
333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212
(503) 284-7838