Local Issues: The Issue, Perspective and Promise

            With Proposition B on the Missouri ballot recently passed, and a vice presidential candidate with a special-needs child, disabilities issues remain a hot topic within the local political climate.

Jamie Graham, a Kirksville community member with disabilities, said tears came down his face when he heard Sarah Palin speak.

            “Oh, yes!  I’ve got to vote for Sarah Palin,” Graham said.  “She’s our shining hope.”

            Nan Davis, executive director of the Adair County Senate Bill 40 Developmental Disability Board, said it worries her that Sarah Palin is just one voice.

            “Because of her son having a disability, I am so glad at least to think that it has encouraged awareness about disabilities,” Davis said.  “It scares me, though, because she’s one voice.”

            Graham, however, remains an avid Palin supporter. 

            “I’m going to speak up for all the disabled—I want to be their voice to vote for Sarah Palin.  All of these people without disabilities don’t understand why we need Sarah Palin so much,” Graham said.  “We need her so badly.”

            Local candidates in the upcoming election met Thursday, Oct. 23, to discuss disabilities issues in a forum held at the Kirksville Regional Center .  Proper funding for programs emerged as a constant concern among audience members and candidates.

            Davis said the Adair County Senate Bill 40 Board uses local tax-payer dollars and grants to provide resources for those with developmental disabilities and pay for what the state and other entities cannot, which includes personal care attendant services, transportation, home modifications, medical equipment and a variety of other things.   

            “We get requests all the time of things that are not funded,” David said.  “The Medicaid cuts have been huge, you know, to a lot of folks.”

            The cuts especially hurt coverage for dental and other healthcare needs, Davis said.  She added that it is difficult to find a dental provider who accepts Medicaid. 

            According to Davis , using funds to pay for medical needs is sad because the funding should really go toward home modifications and things that are not covered in other ways.

            Disabilities not only affect community members, but Truman students as well.  Robyn Esmahan, a senior English major at Truman, said her disabilities make it more difficult to transition into the next phase of her life.

            “I’m actually working on trying to find insurance, once my parents drop me, which is a lot harder when you have things like ADD, depression and anxiety,” Esmahan said. 

            Esmahan has a condition that keeps her from standing for long periods of time, which makes finding a job difficult. 

            “Any job I get, I can’t stand,” Esmahan said.  “I can’t work at Wal-Mart or any of the fast food places, or pretty much anywhere in Kirksville .”  

            Surgery on her ankle put Esmahan in a wheelchair for six months, most of which she spent at Truman.  She said, for the most part, Truman continues to work on becoming more disability friendly, but it still has a ways to go. 

            “Truman is completely sitting on a hill.  I found that out when I tried coming out of one of my classes and going down the sidewalk and I went straight down, almost into the middle of the street,” Esmahan said.

            She also said the doors do not always work and, sometimes, she would just have to wait for someone to pass by and open the door for her. 

            “Thankfully, Truman is full of really nice students when it comes to disabilities,” Esmahan said.   

            The women’s bathroom on the second floor of Baldwin Hall poses some difficulties for those in wheelchairs, Esmahan added.

            “You go in, you turn this way—yeah, try that in a wheel chair—especially if you don’t have anyone to help you,” Esmahan said. 

            Esmahan said, one time, the handles on the side of the wall in the wheelchair accessible bathroom fell when she was using them.  She said Truman could use some advice when it comes to disability renovations. 

            “Honestly, to update places like Truman, and actually just about anywhere, you almost need people who are disabled and have been through it because you’re less likely to notice if you haven’t been in that situation,” Esmahan said.  “People look at campus and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, it’s really disability friendly, you know, we have all these doors, things like that,’ but they don’t look at it from the eyes of someone who has tried to open those doors.”

            Davis stressed the importance of legislation on the lives of those with disabilities.   

            “If you think about it—people with disabilities—their lives are so affected by legislation, and they really don’t have much of a say what happens,” Davis said. “I wish legislators could meet individuals like Jamie more and just see, you know, these issues are really affecting someone’s life,” Davis said.