On Wednesday, August 2nd, Roads to Freedom Center for Independent Living invites you to CILebrate the 33rd anniversary of the signing of The Americans with Disabilities Act.
Festivities will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Roads to Freedom CIL is located at 23 East 3rd St., Williamsport. Come celebrate, learn, and share. This event is FREE, and everyone is welcome! There will be food, games, entertainment, and community resources. A representative from the PA Department of Health will be on-site to provide education and vaccines/boosters.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. According to the US Department of Labor, the ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state, and local government services, and telecommunications.
The ADA is divided into five titles that relate to different areas of public life. These titles (or sections) include:
Title I (Employment) Equal Employment Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants or employees.
Title II (State and Local Government) Prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in all programs, activities, and services of public entities.
Title III (Public Accommodations) This title prohibits private places of public accommodation from discriminating against individuals with disabilities.
Title IV (Telecommunications) This title requires telephone and Internet companies to provide a nationwide system of interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services that allow individuals with hearing and speech disabilities to communicate over the telephone. This title also requires closed captioning of federally funded public service announcements.
Title V (Miscellaneous Provisions) The final title contains a variety of provisions relating to the ADA as a whole, including its relationship to other laws, state immunity, its impact on insurance providers and benefits, prohibition against retaliation and coercion, illegal use of drugs, and attorney’s fees. This title also provides a list of certain conditions that are not to be considered as disabilities.
According to the Roads to Freedom website, communities that take pride in their accessibility for all understand the importance of including and consulting the disabled community on matters that impact them. Disability advocacy is a non-partisan subject. Our elected leaders, especially on the local level, need to be cognizant of the disability community they serve. “We are not invisible citizens within our community.”
Roads to Freedom Center for Independent Living invites you to join their fight for accessibility in solidarity with North Central PA ADAPT and anyone else working on improving access for people with disabilities in all communities.
Roads to Freedom CIL is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and can be reached at 570-327-9070 or can be found online at cilncp.org.
