The American Sign Language interpreter flew in special from Oahu to join about a hundred people waving signs on Friday in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Rice Street fronting the historic County Building.
“We have one deaf person,” said Nancy Romaine of the state’s Department of Human Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. “The interpreter was coordinated by the Hawaii State Council for Developmental Disabilities. This sign waving event is part of a statewide celebration of the 35th anniversary of ADA. Other islands are doing this at this same time.”
Romaine was joined by Amelia Kyewich-Kaneholani of the Hawaii State Council on Disabilities, Kauai County Councilmember Addisson Bulosan and his son, BAYADA Home Health Kauai, a large contingent of Easter Seals of Hawaii clients from the different parts of the island, and independent supporters.
“The ADA opened the door to access, but the real progress happens when laws meet action,” said Daintry Bartoldus, the executive administrator of the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities in a press release. “We work every day to make sure the spirit of the ADA lives on — not just in policy, but in real change: jobs with dignity, choices without barriers, and communities that include everyone.”
The Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities (also known as the DD Council) is a federally mandated, governor-appointed body charged with identifying needs, coordinating services, and advocating for policies that improve quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or I/DD, throughout the state. Its mission is rooted in the ADA’s vision of full participation and equity for all.
Kyewich-Kaneholani said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami was not able to attend the rally, but instead sent a ADA 35th Anniversary Day proclamation that said ADA was signed into law, “becoming a landmark civil rights measure that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and public and private places open to the general public.”
“The 1990 ADA law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, but we have much work ahead to actually do what the ADA law mandated 35 years ago,” said Rep. Terez Amato, who is described as “a dedicated advocate” by the House Majority Communications department. “I am grateful that our governor is an advocate for the disabled and kupuna communities.”
Amato was scheduled to deliver a proclamation at the Oahu rally that convened at the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda.
Source: The Garden Island