Tag: Accessibility & Civil Rights

A yellow pedestrian street sign with a large button to activate walking lights attached to a pole.

Advocacy Priorities Work to Build Equity

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, health care, education and employment depends on ongoing work of… Continue Reading Advocacy Priorities Work to Build Equity

Budget spelled out in Scrabble letters.

Advocating for Action in the State Budget

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

Absentee ballot is handed from one person to another.

Voting for Everyone

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 securely. They may not be able to cast their ballot… Continue Reading Voting for Everyone

Person holding sign that says "design matters, build safer streets."

Knowing Where to Advocate

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 first step, that is often not the most efficient way… Continue Reading Knowing Where to Advocate

Road sign with accommodation written on it

When and How to Request Employment Accommodations

Most public and private employers are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. These adaptive tools and strategies allow employees to perform the essential function of their jobs and fully participate in the workplace environment. Why might employees with disabilities not have these necessary ways to… Continue Reading When and How to Request Employment Accommodations

A person’s hands use an accessible voting machine.

Overcoming Barriers to Voting

Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired staff serve on statewide coalitions that empower people with disabilities to have accessible voting and transportation options. One of these coalitions is the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition (WDVC). Among other activities, the WDVC shares real voter experiences with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC). In turn, WEC shares… Continue Reading Overcoming Barriers to Voting

A woman holds up an absentee ballot envelope.

Make Your Voting Plan

Voting absentee is a safe option during the COVID-19 pandemic, but requires a witness. Someone who is blind or visually impaired may also need an assistant to ensure their ballot is marked correctly. According to a study by Rutgers University, voting among people with disabilities increased by 8.5 percent in 2018. This meant that nearly… Continue Reading Make Your Voting Plan

A slide showing 353,000 car deficient households in Wisconsin.

An Advocacy Update: The New Wisconsin Non-Driver Interagency Advisory Council

  The speakers in this video, titled “WisDOT Working to Improve Transportation for Wisconsin’s Non-Drivers” are: Jennifer Jako, ADRC of Baron, Rusk and Washburn Counties; Denise Jess, WCBVI; and Carrie Diamond, Easterseals National Aging and Disabilities Transportation Center. The Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired advocated for an advisory council to bridge the… Continue Reading An Advocacy Update: The New Wisconsin Non-Driver Interagency Advisory Council

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A yellow pedestrian street sign with a large button to activate walking lights attached to a pole.

Advocacy Priorities Work to Build Equity

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, health care, education and employment depends on ongoing work of… Continue Reading Advocacy Priorities Work to Build Equity

Budget spelled out in Scrabble letters.

Advocating for Action in the State Budget

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

Absentee ballot is handed from one person to another.

Voting for Everyone

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 securely. They may not be able to cast their ballot… Continue Reading Voting for Everyone

Person holding sign that says "design matters, build safer streets."

Knowing Where to Advocate

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 first step, that is often not the most efficient way… Continue Reading Knowing Where to Advocate

Road sign with accommodation written on it

When and How to Request Employment Accommodations

Most public and private employers are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. These adaptive tools and strategies allow employees to perform the essential function of their jobs and fully participate in the workplace environment. Why might employees with disabilities not have these necessary ways to… Continue Reading When and How to Request Employment Accommodations

A person’s hands use an accessible voting machine.

Overcoming Barriers to Voting

Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired staff serve on statewide coalitions that empower people with disabilities to have accessible voting and transportation options. One of these coalitions is the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition (WDVC). Among other activities, the WDVC shares real voter experiences with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC). In turn, WEC shares… Continue Reading Overcoming Barriers to Voting

A woman holds up an absentee ballot envelope.

Make Your Voting Plan

Voting absentee is a safe option during the COVID-19 pandemic, but requires a witness. Someone who is blind or visually impaired may also need an assistant to ensure their ballot is marked correctly. According to a study by Rutgers University, voting among people with disabilities increased by 8.5 percent in 2018. This meant that nearly… Continue Reading Make Your Voting Plan

A slide showing 353,000 car deficient households in Wisconsin.

An Advocacy Update: The New Wisconsin Non-Driver Interagency Advisory Council

  The speakers in this video, titled “WisDOT Working to Improve Transportation for Wisconsin’s Non-Drivers” are: Jennifer Jako, ADRC of Baron, Rusk and Washburn Counties; Denise Jess, WCBVI; and Carrie Diamond, Easterseals National Aging and Disabilities Transportation Center. The Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired advocated for an advisory council to bridge the… Continue Reading An Advocacy Update: The New Wisconsin Non-Driver Interagency Advisory Council