Restaurant Review from CCDC

You will not find restaurant reviews on the CCDC blog often, and almost never by me, but today is different.  CCDC took the members of our legislative team who were available to lunch today at Pizzability at 250 Steele Street to thank them for their many hours of tireless work this session.  They were an admirable team and deserved more than lunch.  However, lunch and our undying gratitude are what we can provide.  Our amazing community organizer Dawn Howard chose the location.

Like most restaurants in Cherry Creek North, it is physically small.  Unlike any other restaurant in that area where I have eaten, I did not feel in the way—even when I was objectively in the way.  In any space, when a bunch of us come in at the busy hour we can be..well…in the way.  It only takes a couple of wheelchairs, never mind some canes, walkers, dogs, and general klutziness to make us seem like we are taking over.   When we are doing an action that is exactly what we want, but when we go to eat out, whether individually or in a small group we do not want to feel as if our mere presence is an inconvenience.   So today we show up and our presence overwhelms the place both physically and logistically.  Yet we are greeted with warmth and genuine pleasure that we are there.   When I was objectively in the way blocking an aisle no one bumped into me, no one asked me to move, no one gave me “the look”.  No employee rushed to serve me quickly for the purpose of getting me out of the way.

Most of our crew had ordered but there were three of us left when I arrived.  The bill for three lunches in Cherry Creek North came to $16.   The food was good.  Most significant for me is that they had Gelato—I saw that and forgot about pizza.  The slices that my colleagues ate looked terrific.  They were big, and hot and had many varieties. Salads were an option also and non-alcoholic drinks appeared to be free with the pizza.  They had some alcohol for sale as well…soon they will have pairing suggestions.

As you might guess by the name, this is a restaurant that sells mostly pizza and most of the employees are people with disabilities, particularly people who appeared to have intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Most of the customers eating there today appeared to have disabilities as well.

My personal food tastes are more in line with other places in Cherry Creek North.  Earlier this week I had an hour in between meetings in that part of town and went somewhere else.  The food I like (and admit it is kind of ridiculous food) is more like an overpriced salad with things like goat cheese, grapes, and cranberries.  I had that with unsweetened tea (trying to be good diet wise) and while the food was delicious, and there was much more physical space in this place than at Pizzability, I felt completely in the way the entire time I was there.   It was uncomfortable.  While no one was rude or even unkind it was my presence was made people uncomfortable.   I had to ask several people to move to get to a space to eat.  I actually considered getting it to go even though it was raining and cold that day.  I am sure the people in this restaurant (staff and customers) would have been relieved had I just taken the food to go.  Today, when some of choose to sit outside at the tables (it was probably 60 degrees and felt lovely) they asked repeatedly if we were sure we were comfortable and offered to move things around if we preferred to be inside.  The offer was made in a manner that showed respect and that they valued our business.

There were other cool features.  The menus are paper and you circle what you wanted and write your name.  Accessible for Deaf folks and people that do not speak English, do not read, etc.  Some work would be required to make it accessible for blind folks (there is a menu online).  There was a “sensory corner” with various objects.  Each plate was different and they were painted by artists from the Access Gallery (an art gallery for disabled artists).

There did appear to be someone without a visible disability running things and the way she talked there was a training component for employees.  (I learned later on their facebook page that this is indeed a training program)The employees were working hard and seemed happy, and the work is real work that valued employees do in restaurants every day.  If part of the goal is to train workers for “integrated” jobs, I am sure that will work.  However, some employees may want to stay and be around others with disabilities.   Maybe some will become supervisors or trainers.  Maybe some will prefer to keep doing the great job they are doing today.

Is this segregated?  Maybe?  Not sure that it matters because it is a choice. Doing a good job and being paid for work, and continuing to learn and improve at one’s job is what adults do in our society.  Other groups have businesses that are primarily run by and serve specific communities.  They do not eschew customers from outside groups but they cater to their own communities.  This is how disenfranchized communities build economic power.  There are “pink pages” advertising gay-owned businesses.  There are Latinx and Black Chambers.  Why not promote and support more disability-run/disability positive businesses?  Non-disabled people can work and eat there but the atmosphere and culture stay disability positive.  Just like as a white person I can go to eatery owned, staffed, and patronized mostly by people of color.  I am welcome to show up but not to inappropriately take over the culture of the place (as white people often want to do).   Communities of color started and continue these businesses because there is an economic and cultural need for spaces that do not have to bend to the dominant culture.   That is cultural pride, not involuntary segregation.  We need to start understanding the difference.

We need businesses like this in our community..that is by and for our people.  Where non-disabled allies are welcomed but where our disability culture and our vibe will stay the dominant feeling.   We need to stop defining success by how much we interact with people who do not have disabilities.

I know that I preferred eating lunch in a disability positive environment, among not only my peers/colleagues with disabilities but among other customers and employees with disabilities.   I would rather eat in a place where I feel comfortable and welcome than in a place where I am obviously in the way.  The next time I happen to have an hour in between meetings in Cherry Creek North, Pizzability will get my business!  I encourage you all to do the same.  I am sure they will also welcome those of you without disabilities too.

2019 Legislative Session Wrap Up

This was a busy session as is typical whenever there is a new administration and many new legislators.  Despite some unfortunate partisanship that caused delays,  the reading out loud of 2000 page bills, hearings that occurred during a blizzard, and overnight sessions some great work did get done that will benefit the people of Colorado including people with disabilities.

Before talking about the bills, I want to call out the amazing CCDC team that worked at the Capitol this year.

• CCDC Board Co-Chair Josh Winkler showed his typical leadership working some bills very hard, following the budget, and mentoring some of our newer volunteer lobbyists. Other board members that participated in the process were Scott Markham and Dr. Kimberley Jackson.
• Our volunteer lobbying team consisted of Francesca Maes, Michael Neil, Jennifer Roberts, Haven Rohnert, and Linn Oliver with help from Jennifer Remington, Auralea Moore, and Tim Postlewaite.
• Valerie Schlecht did a fantastic job as our contract lobbyist for mental health issues and stepped up on several other issues as a volunteer. Dawn Howard our community organizer, AKA Cat Herder in Chief did a great job making sure everyone knew what was happening, where people were needed, etc.

CCDC wants to thank our many partners, in particular the Arc of Colorado, Arc of Aurora, Arc of Adams, the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, the Colorado Children’s Campaign, 9-5 Colorado, ACLU of Colorado, Colorado Senior Lobby, Disability Law Colorado, Colorado Common Cause, PASCO, and Accent on Independence Homecare amongst others.  We also want to thank Colorado Capitol Watch for a great product that made tracking the bills easier.

Because this was a year with many new legislators and many groups rushing to push through bills that had struggled in years past, many of which were bills we were going to support, CCDC made a deliberate decision to NOT run our own proactive bills this year but to focus on our coalition work, and building relationships with the many new Senators and Representatives.   We laid groundwork for policies we want to promote over the next few years while focusing on the many coalition bills and responding to bills that affected our community.    We followed 139 bills.  This report shares the highlights-not every bill that we worked on during the session.

Housing:

This is being dubbed the year of the renter.    There were many bills that helped renters, along with some that will fund affordable housing.

• HB 19-1085 Increases the property tax/heat/rent rebate program both the amount of the grant and the income limits for people eligible for this grant through July 2021.
• HB 19-1106 Limits rental application fees to actual costs
• HB 19-1118: Requires landlords to expand the notice before eviction from three to 10 days, hopefully giving people a way to either find a new place to live or cure the problem that led to the eviction
• HB 19-1135 Clarifies that income tax credits for retrofitting a home for accessibility are available when one retrofits a home for a dependent.
• HB 19-1170 Improves warranty of habitability in housing to make it work for tenants.
• HB 19-1285 and HB 1332 Affordable housing funding
• HB 19-1309 Creates mobile home park dispute resolution and enforcement program, also increasing time to move if there is sale or eviction.
• HB 19-1328 Responsibilities of landlords & tenants to address bed bug infestations.
• SB 19-180 Creates an eviction defense fund to help low-income people

Health Care:

• HB 19-1044 Allows for an advanced directives for behavioral/mental health.
• HB 19-1120 Multiple approaches to address and prevent youth suicide
• HB 19-1151 Revisions to the Traumatic Brain Injury Program funded by the Brain Injury Trust Fund.
• HB 19-1176 Enables a study of various methods of health care reform including an option for universal health care.
• HB 19-1189 Reforms wage garnishment laws to take into account medical expenses and medical debt.
• HB 19-1211 Reforms what health insurance companies can and cannot do regarding prior authorization. This is to stop insurance companies using prior authorization to harass doctors and deny patients.
• HB 19-1216 Measures to reduce the cost of insulin.
• HB 19-1233 Health care payment reform to promote increasing utilization of primary care.
• HB 19-1269 Mental Health Parity-variety of measures to require both private insurance companies and Medicaid to pay for mental health care appropriately.
• HB 19-1287 Increases treatment funding for substance use disorders
• SB 19-001 Expands the Medication Assisted Treatment pilot program
• SB 19-005 Gives state permission to request permission from the federal government to import drugs from Canada to give Colorado residents price relief
• SB 19-010 Funds professional mental health services in schools
• SB 19-073 Creates statewide system to allow electronic uploading of advance directive documents so in the case of emergency any hospital can ascertain the wishes of the individual. This is voluntary.
• SB 19-079 Requires some doctors to submit prescriptions of controlled drugs electronically
• SB 19-195 Creates a system to better coordinate children’s mental health policy
• SB 19-222 Increases mental health services for people at risk of institutionalization
• SB 19-238 Requires the 8.1% increase for personal care and homemaker be passed directly to workers, and sets up stakeholder group to address issues with personal care workforce.

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF BILLS RELATED TO THE COST OF PRIVATE INSURANCE AND HOSPITALS.  PLEASE CHECK OUT THE COLORADO CONSUMER INITIATIVE OR THE COLORADO CENTER ON LAW AND POLICY FOR REPORTS ON THOSE BILLS.

Good Government:

• HB 1062 Allowing sale of property at the Grand Junction regional center
• HB 19-1063 Allows information sharing between adult and child protective services and allowed people who are subject to adult protective services to see their own records.
• HB 19-1084 Requires that staff of legislative council prepare demographic notes on certain bills. For a handful of bills each future session the citizens and elected officials of Colorado will be able to have research on how a bill affects specific (often underrepresented) populations.
• HB 19-1239 Creates a grant program to do outreach for the 2020 census.
• HB 19-1278 A variety of changes to election law making it easier for voters
• SB 19-135 Requires a study of state procurement disparities to see if state contracting is being fair and inclusive to businesses owned by people of color, women and people with disabilities.

Education:

• HB 19-1066 Requires schools to count special education students in graduation rates.
• HB 19-1134 Research for better methods to identify dyslexia in young children
• HB 19-1194 Limits schools ability to expel and suspend children in and below the 2^nd grade
• HB 19-066 Creates grant program to help defray costs of high cost special education students

Employment:

• HB 19-1025 Limits employers’ ability to ask about criminal backgrounds (with appropriate exemptions) before employee goes through the application process.
• HB 19-1107 Creates job retention and employment support as part of the Department of Labor and Employment
• SB 19-085 Increases enforcement for those facing pay-based discrimination
• SB 19-188 Creates a study of Family Medical Leave

Transportation:

• HB 19-1257 and HB 19-1258 Brings to the voters a request for state to keep and spend excess revenue for transportation and schools
• SB 19-239 Creates a stakeholder process to address the changes in transportation

Justice Systems:

• SB 19-036 Creates pilot program to remind people of court dates
• HB 19-1045 Provides funding for an office of Public Guardianship
• HB 19-1104 Creates a right to counsel for parents who are facing custody loss to be represented through the office of respondent parent counsel.
• HB 19-1777 “Red Flag” bill that sets out when a judge can temporarily take away someone’s gun if they are at imminent risk of harming themselves or someone else. CCDC was initially concerned that this might be based on diagnosis, but it was not.  It is based only on behavior, has many protections and excellent due process.
• HB 19-1225: Prohibits money bail for some low-level offenses to avoid people being jailed for not having small amounts of money for non-violent crimes.
• SB 19-172 Makes it easier to prosecute people that abuse at risk adults and makes it clear that inappropriate confinement is abuse and illegal.
• SB 19-191 Creates defendants’ rights to pretrial bonds to reduce the number of people with low-level crimes sitting in jail just because they are poor.
• SB 19-223 Reforms regarding the competency process in the criminal court system

State Budget (aka the long bill SB 19-207)

• Increases personal care and homemaker rates for CDASS and IHSS by 8.1%
• Funds housing inspections for host homes in the I/DD system for basic life-safety issues
• Creates an Office of Employment First at JFK Partners
• State funded SLS and Family Support Services waiver slots
• Creates a Supported Employment pilot at HCPF for I/DD waivers
• Provides funding for HCPF customer service
• Provides funding for food and travel for HCPF Member Experience Advisory Council
• Provides state mental hospital funding for Disability Law Colorado settlement

Disability Specific:

• HB 19-1069 Allows Colorado to create our own certification system through the Colorado Commission on the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf/Blind CCDHHDB to adopt or develop a certification system for American Sign Language interpreters. This is address the shortage of interpreters, especially in the rural areas.  THANKS TO THE INDEPENDENCE CENTER OF COLORADO SPRINGS FOR LEADING THIS BILL.
• HB 19-1151 Revisions to the Traumatic Brain Injury Program funded by the Brain Injury Trust Fund. THANKS TO THE BRAIN INJURY ALLIANCE OF COLORADO FOR LEADING THIS BILL.
• HB 19-1223 Provides application assistance to people on the Aid to Needy Disabled program to help them obtain approval for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). THANKS TO THE COLORADO CENTER ON LAW AND POLICY FOR LEADING THIS BILL
• HB 19-1332 Funds the talking book library
• SB 19-202 Creates a path for accessible ballots for people who are print disabled to allow such individuals to vote in private in our all mail ballot system. THANKS TO THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF COLORADO FOR LEADING THIS BILL.

Overall it was a good year.  There were some disappointments, but there always are—now we have to make sure the bills we like get implemented and make sure people know about these new laws and programs.

Annual ADA Access Awards Luncheon on September 25, 2019

CCDC invites you to attend and support our 2019 ADA Access Awards Luncheon, to be held on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. (doors open at 11:30 a.m.) at the United Club in the Broncos Stadium at Mile High. At this event, we will recognize and honor community organizations and individuals who go above and beyond in their advocacy efforts for the disability community and who have done this work with equity in mind. All proceeds from this event benefit the programs of CCDC all year-round.

Our thrilling keynote speaker this year is Dr. Phil Mitchell, M.D.!

Pictured here at a July 2017 TEDX Talk is Dr. Phil Mitchell.

A board certified emergency physician who has practiced in the Denver metro area after completing his residency at Denver Health Medical Center where he served as chief resident, Dr. Mitchell joined the CCDC volunteer board of directors in 2018. Dr. Mitchell completed medical school at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey and was appointed to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society in his third year. Dr. Mitchell has served as the medical director at Parker Adventist hospital for over a decade. Currently serving as the VP of Medical Affairs for DispatchHealth, he has devoted his time to developing clinical treatment guidelines, creating mechanisms to provide high level, acute, and post-acute care in the home in an evidence-based and compliant manner, and educating midlevel providers in home-based acute care medicine. In July of 2017, Dr. Mitchell delivered a TED talk at TEDx Mile High titled, “The ER Housecall for the 21st Century”.   We are so appreciative of Dr. Mitchell’s time and acceptance of our invitation to be our keynote speaker in 2019.

Along with the keynote address, CCDC will honor four Coloradans who have made major contributions to advancing social justice for people with all types of disabilities.  At this luncheon, CCDC will also pay tribute to Carrie Ann Lucas, a nationally renowned disability rights activist who passed away this past spring.

Sponsorships are available and start at $500 each. To learn more, email Director of Development Laura Gabbay at lgabbay@ccdconline.org or call 720-249-2208.  To RSVP click here.

Event Date: 09/25/2019 – 11:30am – 1:30pm
Event Location: Broncos Stadium at Mile High, United Club Level (inside the stadium), 1701 Bryant Street, Denver, CO  80204

Our special thanks to 2019 Champion Level Sponsors, AOI Home Care and Rocky Mountain Health Plans!

Update on DOJ Project Civic Access Settlement Agreement, Denver Curb Ramps and Denver Sidewalks

One year ago today, the Department of Justice reached an agreement with the City and County of Denver (“City”) under Project Civic Access (“PCA”), the Department’s initiative to ensure that cities, towns, and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). That agreement covers accessibility to numerous programs, services, activities and facilities throughout Denver. The agreement specifically addresses Law Enforcement and Effective Communication, Polling Places, Emergency Management Procedures and Policies, Physical Changes to Emergency Shelters, Web-Based Services and Programs, New Construction, Alterations and Physical Changes to Facilities, Programs for Victims of Domestic Violence and Abuse. Many of the deadlines for compliance occurred today, one year after the effective date of the agreement. Click on these links to review the DOJ Press Release and for the DOJ Settlement Agreement. Also, attached is a PDF version of the Agreement with all of the one-year deadlines highlighted.

The Settlement Agreement contains one error in that it states that “On January 20, 2016, Denver and the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center [“CREEC”] reached a separate agreement addressing accessible sidewalks and curb ramps in Denver.” It is correct that CREEC with the assistance of CCDC reached a class action settlement agreement with the City regarding curb ramps, but sidewalks were not addressed. Click on the link to review the Curb Ramp Settlement Agreement. Click on the link here to see CREEC’s Website. This Settlement Agreement provides for comprehensive curb ramp replacement throughout the City. CCDC is unaware of why the issue of sidewalks was excluded from the DOJ Settlement Agreement with the City because the case involving curb ramps was never intended to address sidewalks and was approved by the court as a class-action settlement on September 9, 2016 before the DOJ Settlement Agreement. Click the link here to review the Order Granting Final Approval of Settlement. The rules and regulations that apply to curb ramps are different from those that apply to sidewalks.

With respect to sidewalks, according to a recent article published in the Denverite, the City has launched a project to install sidewalks where they don’t exist and make additional sidewalk repairs. At this time, CCDC does not have additional information regarding the sidewalk project. Click on the link here to see the Denverite article regarding sidewalks.

According to the Denver Office of Disability Rights’ (“DODR”) website, “The Denver Office of Disability Rights coordinates the City and County of Denver’s efforts to ensure compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Our role is to ensure that all City services and programs are accessible to people with disabilities.” Information is provided on the DODR website regarding curb ramp renovations and installation and the City’s plan for sidewalks and transportation. The  DODR is also listed as the agency to which all notifications or communications under the DOJ Settlement Agreement are to be made. Click here for the link for the Denver Office of Disability Rights. The address and other contact information for the DODR is:

Denver Office of Disability Rights
201 W Colfax, Dept 1102
Denver, CO 80202
Fax: 720-913-8470
E-mail: disabilityaccess@denvergov.org

Kevin Williams
Legal Program Director
CCDC Civil Rights Legal Program
kwilliams@ccdconline.org

Listening Tour Report

CCDC held a listening tour around the state in 2018. Please find the report here…if you want the exhibits and the presentation used during the tour please email me at jreiskin@ccdconline.org. We are not posting it because even though the information about “what is happening next” was accurate at the time, it has already changed. We are attaching the handout we gave about how to determine the validity of news sources.

We are still seeking feedback and would love your feedback on this report.

CCDC Civil Rights Legal Program Director Featured on KDVR

CCDC’s Civil Rights Legal Program Director, Kevin Williams, was featured on KDVR’s Monday night broadcast in remembrance of President George H.W. Bush.

“President Bush said himself the greatest thing he did during the course of his presidency was to sign the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Kevin said during the interview.

Click here for the full story.

Help CCDC with our 2020 Strategic Plan

The CCDC Board of Directors is writing/updating our strategic plan.  This is the first of several surveys we will have to get members input.  If you get this survey via an email from CCDC then you are a member.   https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5J5PLQW

If you get this survey from another source then you are NOT listed as a member and should join as a member.  It is free and you can choose what topics, if any, about which we will contact you.   You can join at www.ccdconline.org

Your feedback is important.  This survey is about our organizational values.   Our current plan summary is attached.   stratplansummary

The next survey will be about our VISION.

Thank you for your time.

Congratulations to Jared Polis and Other Winners

CCDC wishes congratulations to our new Governor Jared Polis and looks forward to working with this new administration.   Our expectations of a new governor are clear and doable.   We look forward to advancing the rights of people with disabilities so that we can show our capabilities as full citizens.  This means a dramatic increase in the number of people with disabilities who are employed.  This means a dramatic improvement in the high school graduation of students with disabilities and making sure that students go to college or some sort of vocational program.   This means a government that values people with disabilities by having high expectations and providing appropriate supports.   This means a government that involves us at every level…on boards, commissions, as employees in state agencies, and on the transition team.    Governor-Elect Polis stated last night that his administration will be inclusive.   We expect to be part of this inclusion and to have disability representation in historic proportions and stand ready to help make that happen.

CCDC congratulates all of the representatives and senators that won their seats as well and we look forward to working with all of you on these same goals.

We will be solidifying legislative priorities for the next two years soon but among them will surely be:

1) Increasing protection for renters such as statewide source of income discrimination protection and habitability laws.

2) Extending the Mediciad Buy-In for Working Adults with Disabilities to people over the age of 65 and for more than 10 days in between jobs, even if we have to use state funds.   With the federal government giving the states carte blanche we should be able to get approval.

3) Getting safety protections for people living in host homes.

4) Consumer direction for all HCBS services.

5) Improving our case management systems, especially transition from institutions.

We will be focusing on money for solid transportation that has a focus on transit and affordable housing that is inclusive of everyone including those with very low income.   We will be working on increased accountability around behavioral health and overall health care in the Medicaid program.

On a federal level with the Democrats having a majority in the house, we will be holding Congresswoman DeGette accountable for her promises to us to fix the Electronic Visit Verification mess and exempt consumer direction and family caregivers.   We will also expect help with improved access to quality complex rehab equipment (power wheelchairs) including accountability for repairs.

While Colorado definitely went blue, this does not mean that CCDC will stop working with our Republican allies.   We have always been and always will be a bipartisan organization.  Our issues cross both parties.  Disability does not discriminate.

CCDC was very proud of the VERY STRONG voter turnout in the disability community.   Approximately 90% of our members had already voted before Monday and we are sure the rest voted Monday or Tuesday.     Voting is the first step of realizing NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US.

I Voted — It was Easy!

In past years, CCDC always had a policy that people with disabilities should show up at their polls and vote in person. That way, the general public could be made aware of our presence in the important electoral process. In those days we had all sorts of issues with accessibility of polling places. Just getting to the polling place was often difficult. There were issues around accessible parking. Certainly, there were issues regarding the accessibility of the polling machines themselves, making them inaccessible to a large number of people with disabilities. As we probably all recall, many lawsuits have been filed and are still filed related to these issues.

Of course, the times, they are a-changin’. Now, it is far more common to vote by mail or drop your ballot off at a ballot box. The mail makes me nervous, so I went to my local ballot box. Of course, I took someone with me, a camera, a tape measure and other devices because I was certain that the ballot box would not comply with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (“Standards”). Courts have ruled that compliance with the Standards equals compliance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I don’t understand why I would have been so skeptical.

I was amazed and surprised when I approached my ballot box. First, there was a designated accessible parking space within close proximity to the box. It is clear that they marked this space off specifically for this purpose. The ballot box itself met all of the specifications for reach ranges and other accessibility requirements under the Standards.

I am not sure exactly how this system works for those who are blind or those who have limited hand function (although it does not break any secrecy or confidentiality violations if someone else drops it in the box for you), and I need to investigate that matter further, but the box itself was fantastic. It is a pleasure to be able to vote with such ease.

I apologize to those of you who have seen the ridiculous pictures of me voting that have circulated throughout many media, but here are some more.

-Kevin Williams, CCDC Civil Rights Legal Program Director

CCDC in the News: Ride-Hailing Apps are for Everyone, Except Those Using Wheelchairs

CCDC members Jaime Lewis, Julie Reiskin, and Nicole Bishop have been featured in a Westword article published on October 2, 2018, highlighting the lack of accessibility with ride-sharing apps such as Lyft and Uber.

The challenge with ride-sharing apps and accessibility is that the apps are software companies, not taxi services, and drivers are not required to provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Both Uber and Lyft claim to be exploring the option of letting users request wheelchair accessible vehicles.

“I don’t want to fight Uber or Lyft. But if they don’t take responsibility [for providing accessibility], we’re going to have to do it for them,” says Lewis. Neither Uber nor Lyft have wheelchair-accessible vehicles available in Denver at this time.

Thank you, Jaime, Julie and Nicole for advocating for our members!