Learn
Learn about Ableism
Ableism is a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be ‘fixed’ in one form or the other. Ableism is intertwined in our culture, due to many limiting beliefs about what disability does or does not mean, how able-bodied people learn to treat people with disabilities and how we are often not included at the table for key decisions.
Learn about Disability First Language
Read Enjoying the Ride by Mitch Sturgeon, a 3i HoME Board Member
Mitch was five when he learned his mother would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. If he hadn’t grown up with such an inspirational mother, however, he wouldn’t have been prepared for what would come. At 35, the same age as his mother when she had her accident, Mitch began experiencing symptoms of primary progressive multiple sclerosis, a particularly disabling form of MS, and his physical challenges grew to resemble his mother’s. In the ensuing years, he muddled through the ethical swampland of clinical trials, navigated the minefield of experimental treatments, and became a popular blogger and disability advocate.Equal parts entertaining and inspiring, Enjoying the Ride tells an extraordinary mother and son story, provides a behind-the-scenes view of the lives of disabled people, and reveals the previously untold story about the night Mitch’s mother was injured.
Watch “My Disability Roadmap”
“Samuel Habib is a 21-year-old community college student with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, living in Concord, New Hampshire…He attended high school prom, played sports, got his high school diploma, and he’s pursuing a degree at a local community college.
But for Samuel and millions of other young adults with disabilities, the path beyond public school and into adulthood is a precarious maze. It’s difficult to meet new people and impossible to get his 350-pound wheelchair inside his friends’ homes and cars.
Samuel is struggling to navigate the ableist bias of the physical and social environment. But he’s determined to avoid the statistical realities for most adults with disabilities: unemployed, isolated, and living with their families—or in institutional settings. He decides to travel to meet some badass adults with disabilities and make a film that charts how they built full adult lives—as a roadmap for himself and others.
DISABILITY ROADMAP features the rarely experienced point of view of a young adult using a wheelchair and communication device…(and) captures Samuel’s interviews as well as the extensive planning and effort behind Samuel’s complicated daily life and travels. As co-director with his filmmaker father Dan Habib, Samuel was involved in all aspects of film production and had final say over the content in the film.”
Take Action
Attend Maine’s Disability Pride Maine event!
Friday, July 8 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM at The Pavilion at Mill Park, Water Street, Augusta
After a 3-year hiatus, Disabilities Rights Maine is excited to announce the return of Disability Pride Maine! Join us for a celebration of disability, activism and community.
Follow 3i Housing of Maine on social media
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Disability Pride Month?
Disability Pride Month is celebrated annually in July, the month that The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990. Disability Pride Month is a time for all disabled people to unapologetically celebrate our bodies as they are. Whether you are disabled or an ally, Disability Pride Month is full of so much to celebrate.
Is there a Disability Pride flag?
In 2019, Ann Magill designed the Disability Pride flag, but because of its recent creation, it is not yet widely used by the community.
The flag’s design features bolt lightning bolts and colors representing diverse parts of the disability community — and a black background representing suffering, rebellion, and protest.
The Black Field: Mourning for those who’ve suffered and died from Ableist violence, and also rebellion.
The Zigzag Band: How disabled people must move around and past barriers, and our creativity in doing so.
The Five Colors: the variety of Disability, our needs and experiences (Mental Illness, Neurodiversity, Invisible and Undiagnosed Disabilities, Physical Disability, and Sensory Disabilities).
The Parallel Stripes: Solidarity within the Disability Community, despite our differences.
What hashtags should I use in my posts on Disability Pride Month?
The hashtags 3i HoME are using to celebrate Disability Pride Month include:
#disabilitypride #disabilityawareness #disabilityrights #disabilityadvocate #disabilityinclusion #abilitynotdisability #inclusionmatters #disabilitypridemonth #3ihousingofmaine