Ability Matters

If you ask the National Organization on Disability, they’ll tell you that “It’s ability — not disability — that counts.”

And to prove it, each year the organization recognizes a city that takes proactive efforts to design programs, services and facilities that are accessible for residents and visitors with disabilities. This year, the recipient of recognition was the city of Houston, Texas, which has been given the NOD’s Accessible America Award for 2007.

Rik Opstelten, special assistant to the chief of staff and administrator of the Accessible America Award, said Houston was chosen above all others for establishing programs that “demonstrate an understanding of community demographics relative to disability, promote accessibility, create a welcoming attitude, promote participation in government and decision making, promote access to employment, including people with disabilities in emergency planning and promoting their personal preparedness, and inspire other communities.”

Such qualities, Opstelten says, are exemplary of what the judges hope to see from every Accessible America applicant.

“Houston, as well as all other winning cities, is being recognized not for one area of concern, but for the comprehensive nature of their efforts, spanning the promotion of a culture of inclusion to the promotion of employment opportunities, and the inclusion of concerns for people with disabilities in emergency planning,” Opstelten said.

Houston’s efforts, which won the prize and a $25,000 check, include:

• The Parks Advisory Review Committee, which works to make parks and recreational areas accessible;
• The ADA Taxicab Committee, which works to ensure accessible transportation is available;
• The Persons with Disabilities Business Enterprise Program, which promotes entrepreneurship in persons with disabilities;
• The Business Partnership Breakfast, which promotes the positives of employing people with disabilities;
• A comprehensive emergency management plan for citizens with disabilities;
• Coordinated efforts to provide and ensure parking for disabled persons.

Upon learning of his city’s newest distinction, Houston Mayor Bill White lauded his city for providing what Tom Ridge, chairman of NOD and former secretary of Homeland Security, called “a community that has enriched its civic life by the full participation of citizens with disabilities.”

“Houston is a great city of opportunity and that means opportunity for everyone, including our disability community,” White said. “We work hard every day to make sure it stays that way, and we are honored that the National Organization on Disability has recognized it.”

As for NOD, Opstelten said the organization is proud to continue honoring areas of the country that “do more than meet ADA standards, but rather go above the letter of the law, and create communities that see their citizens with disabilities as key contributors to a vibrant civic life.”

Such areas include former award winners Berkeley, Calif.; Cambridge, Mass.; Venice, Fla.; Irvine, Calif.; Phoenix; and Pasadena, Calif.

The Accessible America Award is administered through NOD’s Community Partnership Program and is funded by grants from organizations including the AARP, UPS and the Chrysler Foundation. The award is presented annually. NOD will begin accepting applications for 2008 this month, and the deadline for entries is Oct. 31, 2008.

For more information on NOD or the Accessible America Award, visit the NOD Web site at www.nod.org.