A new coalition of organizations and individuals has been formed to advocate for people with disabilities throughout Westchester County and the lower Hudson Valley.
Called the Westchester Disability Advocacy Partnership, the group plans to build awareness of the unmet needs of residents with a disability in terms of housing, employment, health care, public education, access and community inclusion.
The group, which already includes about 25 organizations serving people with disabilities, is co-chaired by Liz Mark, a longtime community advocate on disability and youth services matters, and Lisa Tarricone, systems advocacy director for the Westchester Independent Living Center.
Mark, a White Plains resident, is a past chair of the Westchester Council for the Disabled and past president of the Westchester Children”™s Association. Tarricone, a Peekskill resident, also works as a disability rights advocate for a statewide coalition instrumental in implementing several major pieces of legislation. Her work in election reform in Westchester has resulted in a court mandate stipulating full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for all polling places in the county.
Mark and Tarricone noted that in spite of passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and advances in access, technology and employment opportunities, people with disabilities still have an unemployment rate hovering near 70 percent and a poverty rate three times that of the general population. They said the partnership will ally with agencies and concerned individuals to cultivate viable support networks, heighten visibility and promote consumer advocacy to enhance the civil rights of all persons in Westchester with a disability.
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