Last fall, three young men of Palestinian descent were shot while out for a walk. All three survived, but one, Hisham Awartani, suffered a spinal cord injury and is now paralyzed from the waist down. His mother, Elizabeth Price, shares an update on his health and explains the accessibility modifications their family has made to their Burlington home.
Modifying homes to accommodate aids like wheelchairs can be a challenging process in Vermont, where much of the housing stock is older and not ADA-complaint. Edie Perkins, executive director of the Kelly Brush Foundation, became paralyzed from the chest down seven years ago following an accident. She worked with an architect to build an accessible home.
Vermont does have a number of legal protections for people with disabilities. Big Hartman, executive director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, explains how their office handles discrimination complaints, which are often related to housing. Rachel Batterson, director of Vermont Legal Aid’s Housing Discrimination Law Project, outlines the housing rights of people with disabilities.
Broadcast live on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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