5 Political Campaigning Tips for Candidates With Disabilities

 

Many people with disabilities want to see changes in their communities. However, running for office to enact those changes can seem like a daunting task in a society with so many barriers. But people with disabilities can make a positive impact by getting involved in politics. And with resources from advocacy organizations like Indiana Disability Justice, running for office and winning is entirely possible! If you’re interested in launching your own campaign, follow these steps to turn your dream of running for office into reality.

 

Register for the Ballot

 

First, you’ll need to research ballot access rules for candidates in your state. Each state has its own rules, and you’ll have to meet every requirement and submit all of the necessary paperwork to earn a spot on the ballot. Once you’ve taken care of these tasks, it’s time to assemble your team!

 

Choose Your Team

 

You can’t run your campaign entirely on your own – you need a great team around you! Even if you have a limited budget, Aristotle recommends hiring a fundraiser, a campaign treasurer or accountant, and a voter contact manager at a minimum. You could also consider bringing a campaign consultant or digital marketing expert on board.

 

Before choosing your team, you’ll want to establish an organized system so that you can keep track of staff productivity and even pay them easily. Choosing platforms that manage field personnel effectively through GPS mapping can give you better visibility of their activities on the campaign trail, which, in turn, makes it easier to schedule staff movements and shuffle tasks when needed.

 

Finalize Your Platform

 

You might have vague ideas for key policy items in your platform, but now is the time to stamp out the details. By conducting research on local voters’ positions and concerns, you’ll be able to determine which issues are most important to the people in your community. This will help you polish your platform and decide which policy proposals to highlight in your advertising strategy.

 

Promote Your Campaign Online

 

Today, political campaigning has gone digital. While print, TV, and radio advertising still matter, campaigning online is a low-cost option that will expand your reach. You’ll need to build a campaign website, set up social media accounts for your campaign, send out an email newsletter with campaign updates, and invest in paid advertising across popular social media platforms. You can also use social media to network with organizations that fight for disability justice and let them know about your campaign!

 

Plan Accessible Campaign Events

 

You can move forward with a variety of fundraising methods, but fundraising events will allow you to spend time with your potential future constituents face-to-face. Get in touch with venues in advance to discuss your necessary accommodations. And to ensure your events are accessible for all who wish to attend, EventMB recommends planning for ease of movement, providing appropriate signage and interpreters for those who are visually impaired or deaf, and making sure that service animals can accompany their owners.

 

At events, you can form real connections with your voters. While it is not a requirement, you can even share your story of living with a disability and how it has informed your political views and overall campaign platform.

 

Today, the voices of people with disabilities are needed to influence change. By getting involved with the political process, people with disabilities can shift policy and transform society for the better. With these tips, you’ll be well prepared to get your own campaign off the ground!

 

Are you looking to connect with other people with disabilities or find supportive resources? Indiana Disability Justice is working for education, policy change, and advocacy. Subscribe for email updates through our website today!

 

Photo via Pexels

About the Author:

Ed Carter has worked with clients of all ages, backgrounds and incomes. About 10 years into his career, he saw a need for financial planners who specialize in helping individuals and families living with disabilities. www.ablefutures.org

COVID and Being Medically Fragile with a Disability


Hi, my name is Meishy and I live at home with my mom, Cheryl. She is helping me write
this because I am a quadriplegic and unable to write and dysarthric and unable to speak. However, I want to tell you about my experiences of surviving in the world of Covid 19. I know all of you are having to survive this as well, but I am on a ventilator 24 hours a day, so if I get this virus, I have a 99% chance of dying, so that is scary to me. I want to tell you about all the things people have done to try to protect me and keep me safe so you know what people can do to help keep you safe too.


I have not left my room since February 18 of last year when I went to see Dr. Tolley at the pain clinic at Riley Hospital. That was right before Covid burst on the scene. In March I was told by my doctors that I needed to stay in my house and not leave for any reason; that my mom, who is a nurse, and my nurses would need to take care of any problems at home. The doctors made sure that I had all the medications that I needed (antibiotics, meds to thin my mucus, etc.) were on hand so they could be started if I needed them so I did not have to make a trip to the emergency room. I am a palliative care patient because I no longer have any veins that are good enough for IVs, so all my antibiotics must go through my stomach tube.
I have needed these medications a couple of times during my isolation period, and it has been wonderful to not have to go to the hospital to get them. My doctors have also been great about doing all my doctor visits via virtual visits. Mom holds the phone up and we talk with the doctor about what has been happening with me and we are able to do our appointments that way. It has been amazingly effective.
Another important thing is that the only people that I have seen since I left the house are my mom, my two nurses, Steve and Shannon, my therapist Jaime, and my aunt Susan. All of them do things like wearing masks and gloves when they get close to me if they are not feeling well. Mom even had to take care of me in November when she had Covid and managed to keep me from getting sick. She wore her mask, her gloves, and washed her hands a lot. She also kept herself in the other room except when I needed something bad, just so she could keep me safe. I did not get sick at all.
I cannot say it has not been a little lonely, but I have my iPad and my DVDs to keep me busy and happy. Those are the things that I really enjoy. I plan to keep on doing what I am doing for as long as I need to do it, and I hope you will all do the same. Please remember that masks and social distancing do work. I am proof of that and stay safe.

Woman with brown skin and long black hair, wearing a pink dress with a fierce look on her face.

About the Author:

Meishy was born in Philadelphia and lived in a foster home there until she met her adoptive mom. They flew home to be a family on 9/20/2001, right after the planes started again. Meishy attended Shelbyville High School. She loves all things Disney, but especially the princesses. She spends her days watching movies and surfing the internet.

Movement

Joyful Sweep

Joyful sweep is when the body is sweeping off of the surface. When you look at the image you cannot see the full body, but you see different pieces of limbs moving throughout the surface. There are small pockets of paint, mostly primary colors, coming together and depicting a human figure moving softly through the surface on a white background. Pencil markings are scribbling throughout the surface in the background. The figure is playing some type of sport almost as if he is playing soccer.

Freedom Dance


Freedom Dance is moving through the atmosphere without the effect of gravity. White and yellow are the most dominant colors throughout the surface. These colors create warmth throughout the painting.The figure is far to the upper right side of the canvas. Depicted in tan and maroon, the figure arches upward from the bottom right corner of the canvas towards the upper left corner. The figure stands on one leg with the other leg reaching out the side and arms stretched getting ready to fly.

Développé  

Développé is when the body is transferring all the energy from within to the surrounding spectators. The delicate figure is mostly surrounded by a white surface. The figure with her leg stretched upwards is depicted in a peach and orange tulle skirt that explodes outwards to express the movement of the dancer. The main focus point of the painting is the center where all the movement originates. Her arms and hands are stretched upwards as if she is reaching for the sky.

About the Artist: Johnson Simon

A man with medium brown skin, with short black hair, wearing glasses, and smiling broadly in front of a white background.

I have always been interested in body movement and when an opportunity was presented to me to attend a dance recital exhibition nine years ago on the Western Michigan University campus, I was excited to attend.  Viewing the dancers and their freedom of movement inspired me to display movement in my painting.  I was stimulated to create my first dance focused expressionistic painting.  Dancing is to me, the art of moving lightly and quickly with the skill of communicating my emotion.  As someone with a disability, movement impacts me on a daily basis.   In order to help gain more knowledge of motion and movement, I used several sources of movement for research and to enhance ideas. I watch several videos of dancing to help in determining the type of movement I wanted to present in my painting.  I studied the movement of people: walking, running, swimming, and sky diving.  I then had my own walking and stepping up and down stairways videotaped. I discovered that my walking has a rhythm to it.  To further enhance my study of movement I attended several dancing classes to sketch the dancer’s movements for effect.  My painting is a representation of me dancing.  I am able to make broad and sweeping motions with my paint brush and transfer that motion and feeling of movement onto the canvas to express myself.  In my artistic work, I am able to move freely about without limitations.  I use bright colors to represent the body movement throughout the surface.  

My artwork is a way for me to express or transfer how I would move freely and uninterrupted. I can run, walk, jump, and I can dance without being bound to limitations when I paint. Zm and draw. I believe the paint brush is an extension of me and represents my idea of movement on canvas.

www.artbyjohnsonsimon.com

Taking Up Space

*Image description* Child in a pink wheelchair with blue jeans and a pink shirt that reads ‘Warning! I always win at musical chairs’ with her hands atop her head, and her mouth open wide in a silly face.

Too much. Too loud. Too vocal. Drawing attention. Advocating loudly. Never satisfied.

In the space of a few weeks, these words became loud in my mind. Back to school meant lots of conversations, text, and e-mails. Needs. Disagreeing with people, and working really hard to come across diplomatically. My mind bent over gasping for air while trying not to throw up. Not because it was bad. Or, received poorly. But, because advocating is hard. And, scary. Necessary. While invoking fears that if things are pushed too hard, too loudly, or we just take up too much space, my children could suffer the repercussions. Part of me wants to apologize for speaking up at all. Making waves. I can feel it. It’s too much space out of a whole lot of kids with needs. We’re not staying in our area.

A trip to the park buzzing over the excitement of a new swing. One I can roll a wheelchair up on, and watch my daughter lean back and smile in the breeze. I pull up, and immediately feel all the blood rush to my face. They’ve built a swing. A whole separate area for kids with disabilities. I can’t believe it. How did this happen? So I speak up. I arrange meetings and have hard conversations. I listen, and try to understand. I tell them what I want, knowing the cost is astronomical in a Midwestern city that has lost its factories and is struggling to survive. And, I know, I’m taking up too much space in the financial agenda of a city.

We’re out. My daughter is excited. She makes her noises. Grunty and screechy. Over and over. It’s loud. People move away or stare. They don’t know how to respond to it. She’s just communicating. We’re used to it. But, all of a sudden, I know. Too much space. We are occupying more than our share of the noise level.

Sunday morning. Front row during worship because that’s where my daughter wants to be. She can see all the instruments. The singers. There’s room to dance. And, a few times, she makes her way on stage and just sits there, watching everyone, dancing, and sometimes even singing. I breathe deep and purposeful to slow my heart, thankful I can’t see anyone behind me. She darts quickly to make an attempt at grabbing the guitar, and I sprint on stage and grab her. This sort of thing repeats a few times, amidst her other antics of trying to get me to hang her upside down, do flips, and use me as a jungle gym. I can feel it. Sweat is starting to pour out of me. We’re taking up more than our share of space. Drawing attention away from the things people want to be focusing on.

The tears are no longer staying just behind the surface. They spill out onto my cheeks. I’m reminded how long it took for people like her to be allowed any space in society at all. Their space used to be one that hid them away. Gave them less area than was theirs. Took a family, an education, self worth, outdoors, human interaction, dignity, and at times, their lives.

I drop her off at Sunday school, and slink into the back of the church. The weight of the past week of advocating, and feeling too much settles in. I’m self conscious from the worship time, and uncertain whether bringing her in for it, no matter how much she begs, is truly the right thing to do. Our pastor stands up, talks a little about the set up of Sunday school, who goes where, when. And, out loud, in front of everyone, welcomes my daughter by name to be part of worship as she sees fit.

It’s okay for her to take up more space now. To grab back what was denied to so many before her. To loudly declare that she is alive, and has worth. This is her time. Her place. And, we will be here, taking up more than our share of space.

About the Author:

Image Description: Andrea has long light brown hair and is smiling broadly. She is wearing a white top, a silver necklace, and dangling earrings. Trees are in the background.

Andrea Mae is a mom, advocate, writer, and special education aid. She spends time caring for her three children: juggling therapies and specialists, reading, hiking, kayaking, hammocking, eating Reese’s, and being followed around by her dog-Daisy.. She is active in her neighborhood and community, advocating for the rights and needs of people with disabilities, and speaking on the topics of disability and theology. She is currently obtaining her degree in special education.