How to Advocate for Your Family Member with a Disability
1 in 4 people in the United States lives with a disability. This means that almost everyone knows or is related to someone with a disability. Whether it’s your family member, friend, co-worker, or neighbor, it is important to empower them and treat them the way you would like to be treated.
Family members hugging and smiling at each other outside.
Offering to do things that a family member with a disability can easily do isn’t helpful, and it’s often insulting too. If you want to help your family member and others who live with disabilities, advocating is a wonderful way to get involved. Showing your public support and educating yourself on the policies and efforts that affect people with disabilities may lead to an outcome that gains them better services or rights in the future.
If you want to advocate effectively, you’ll need to learn the laws, ask questions, and get involved in local efforts. There are a ton of organizations that you can use to learn more about disability rights and get involved.
Organizations, coalitions, and resources to help you advocate for your family member with disabilities:
Disability Rights South Carolina: https://www.disabilityrightssc.org/
Hire Me SC: https://www.hiremesc.org/
Family Connection of South Carolina: https://www.familyconnectionsc.org/
Able SC: https://www.able-sc.org/
Walton Options: https://www.waltonoptions.org/
AccessAbility: https://www.abilitysc.org/
ADA National Network: https://adata.org/guide/americans-disabilities-act-questions-and-answers