Category: Advocacy Update

Accessible voting equipment, where the voter can hear the ballot and use a tactile device to make selections, allows people with vision loss to privately and independently cast a ballot. If you think about your personal voting experience during the last year and focus on… Continue Reading New Report Shows Need to Advocate for Voter Accessibility

A safe, walkable community. A well-placed bus stop for access to transportation. An equal opportunity to cast your ballot.

Each of these issues has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts by people who are visually impaired or blind throughout Wisconsin. Continue Reading Advocating Within Your Own Community

The $91-billion, two-year Wisconsin state budget is still in the hands of the legislative Joint Finance Committee (JFC), more than four months after being proposed by Governor Tony Evers. This isn’t unusual, and the Council is monitoring the JFC as it continues to work through… Continue Reading The Time is Now to Advocate for State Budget Priorities

The number of fully vaccinated residents across Wisconsin is now 30 percent. Yet, substantial COVID-19 vaccine accessibility hurdles remain for people who are blind or visually impaired. Registration accessibility remains a big issue. Also, non-drivers are facing problems securing transportation to vaccine appointments. Through its transportation, accessibility and health care advocacy… Continue Reading Advocating for Equal Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine

Accessible Pedestrian Signals like this one make streets safe for everyone in your community. The Council’s advocacy priorities get reviewed each year to develop strategies that will achieve policy goals that benefit people with blindness and visual impairment. Making progress toward equitable transportation, accessibility, voting,… Continue Reading Advocacy Priorities Work to Build Equity

Getting where you need to go reliably on schedule is key to having a job, accessing healthcare and getting to a store for necessities. Reliable transportation can also link you to family and friends. Legislators may not know that nondrivers face many barriers to accessing transportation. About 65 percent of people who are blind or visually impaired are unemployed, and a comprehensive public transportation system is a critical to the ability to start and keep a job. Continue Reading Advocating for Action in the State Budget

Voters who are blind and visually impaired in Wisconsin face many challenges when casting a ballot. These voters encounter hoops others do not have to navigate including getting a ballot in a user-friendly format and finding a way to fill it out and return it… Continue Reading Voting for Everyone

Say you need to navigate an unsafe intersection regularly that would be vastly improved with an accessible pedestrian signal. How would you go about advocating for the upgrade? Who could you contact? While you might think that reaching out to your legislator is the best… Continue Reading Knowing Where to Advocate

What is the best way to affect positive change? There are several facets of advocacy: education, self-advocacy, litigation and lobbying. Knowing where to start can help you be most effective in your advocacy efforts. This piece will focus on self-advocacy, which is often the quickest and… Continue Reading How Self-Advocacy Can Educate and Affect Positive Change