Gretchen Carr
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Kaci Messeder
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Detroit Disability Power / NonUM
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Oral5
Session: Session 3 – 1:40pm – 2:30 pm
Room: Breakout room 2
Authors: Gretchen Carr, Kaci Messeder
Presenter: 5
Abstract
Detroit Disability Power is a membership organization that works to leverage and build the political power of the disability community to end disparities people with disabilities face in regards to housing, employment, education, transportation, healthcare, and more. A large part of this mobilization is establishing a policy platform clearly outlining policy related to different issue areas, or “buckets†(such as education, transportation, healthcare, etc.) that DDP suggests legislators include in their law-making. DDP’s policy platform provides a roadmap for how policy can better include people with disabilities across all identities. In conjunction with these suggestions, DDP evaluates pending legislation, analyzing whether it supports or inhibits the disability communities. This research further developed the education and criminal justice policy “buckets†and entailed formulating an introduction statement, outlining policy suggestions for each issue area, and tracking relevant legislation. The introduction statement sets the tone for the policy bucket by referencing key statistics pointing to why these issues exist and why the following policy suggestions are imperative solutions to include in legislation. The policy suggestions themselves are the culmination of research into issues resulting from the intersection of education and disability or criminal justice and disability. Lastly, the updates to DDP’s legislation tracker represent the basis for where these policy suggestions can be implemented or where these suggestions are born out of. Along the way, smaller projects were undertaken such as reaching out to state representatives, sharing the education platform across organizations, and researching the impact of COVID-19 on the disability community to advocate for greater, and more accessible, protections amidst the ongoing pandemic. Instrumental to this entire process is the DDP lens: a unique perspective key to this line of research. The DDP lens encompasses an intersectional approach to policy and an understanding of the “differences that make a difference†(Kathy Obear). The former is critical as an intersectional approach asks how decisions affect all members of a community, observes the nuances and multiple identities held within the community, and uses this information to represent these differences in policymaking. The latter refers to the idea that within each person is a multitude of identities that uniquely situate them within our society, form their access needs, and influence their views. It is critical to keep these differences, whether they are socioeconomic status, religion, family status, race (to name a few of many), in mind when crafting policy. Effective policy goes beyond encompassing these differences; it addresses these differences to bring about equity and generate benefits for all.
Interdisciplinary, Public Health, Social Sciences
