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On Anniversary of ADA, Justice Department Proposes Changes To Improve Digital Accessibility

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Accessibility in the News — 7/28/2023.

The Justice Department has proposed a new rule under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to improve accessibility for people with disabilities to web and mobile apps and clarify ADA obligations for public entities, particularly state and local governments, as more of their activities shift online. This rule is crucial, especially in light of the increased reliance on web and mobile apps for essential services during the pandemic. The proposed rule aims to ensure that people with disabilities can access vital public programs and services, such as employment and education resources, voting information, health and emergency services, and transit schedules. It is the first time the Justice Department has issued a proposed rule on website accessibility under the ADA, signifying a significant milestone in advancing accessibility in the digital sphere.

 

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Feature Stories

 

Justice Department Advances Proposed Rule to Strengthen Web and Mobile App Access for People with Disabilities

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Register and Reginfo.gov and The Hill and ABC and CNN and StateScoop and NY1 and Washington Examiner and USA Today and Disability Scoop and MeriTalk

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta Delivers Remarks on the Web Accessibility Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  U.S. Department of Justice

The Justice Department sent to the Federal Register for publication a notice of proposed rulemaking under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that aims to improve web and mobile applications (apps) access for people with disabilities and clarify how public entities – primarily state and local governments – can meet their existing ADA obligations as many of their activities shift online. Across the United States, people routinely rely on web and mobile apps to access a variety of vital public programs and services like employment and educational resources, voting information, health and emergency services, parking, and transit schedules…

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Works to Make it Easier for People with Disabilities to Access Public Services Online

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  The White House

A Proclamation on Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 2023

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  The White House

FEMA Celebrates Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary with Accessibility Advancements

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  FEMA

For more than three decades, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been a driving force in moving America closer to the promise of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for the 61 million individuals with disabilities in our country. Because of the ADA and its protections against discrimination in public accommodations, employment, transportation, and community living, millions of people with disabilities have grown up with the promise of the same rights and chances as their peers without disabilities — and our communities, our economy, and our country are all stronger as a result…

National News (U.S.)

 

Rocky Mountain ADA Center: Supporting accessibility and equal rights for people with disabilities

July 19, 2023   |  Source:  Wyoming News Now

Rocky Mountain ADA Center, one of the ten centers across the nation, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, is playing a crucial role in providing free technical assistance, information dissemination, and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Representing six states, including Wyoming, the center aims to promote accessibility and equal rights for individuals with disabilities. The ADA, signed into law by President George Bush in July 1990, celebrates its 33rd anniversary this summer…

Report finds accessibility lacking for Metro Detroit voters with disabilities

July 20, 2023   |  Source:  Michigan Radio

A new report has found many polling places in Metro Detroit were not fully accessible for people with disabilities in the last midterm election. The report by Detroit Disability Power and The Carter Center audited 261 polling places across 15 jurisdictions in Southeast Michigan during last year’s midterm elections, finding that 84% of the polling places appeared out of compliance with accessibility requirements. The report looked for accommodations including an accessible parking area with a clear pathway into the building, an accessible entrance into the building, a fully accessible voter assist terminal, and an accessible booth for casting paper ballots privately…

The imperative for accessibility in advanced air mobility

July 20, 2023   |  Source:  Vertical Magazine

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has made definite improvements for accessibility in public buildings, buses, trains and subways, and we comply with these in our design work every day. The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), on the other hand, has not done as much to improve travel accessibility for those who need it. Operators say it’s too hard and too expensive, and they have a point. It is a challenge, but challenges need to be addressed with clarity, focus and creativity…

How to make cannabis websites ADA compliant

July 20, 2023   |  Source:  MJBizDaily

For people with disabilities, being able to navigate a website is just as important as the accessibility to buildings that’s required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Signed into law more than 30 years ago, the ADA eliminates discrimination against people with disabilities in all public places, including office buildings, public transportation, schools and any other public place. While there isn’t a law that specifically calls for company websites to comply with the (ADA), the expectation has developed over time in case law…

Suit filed over streetcars’ accessibility for wheelchairs

July 20, 2023   |  Source:  WWL-TV

After a fun morning at the playground, 7-year-old Oscar Edmunds and his 2-year-old sister Arabella squirmed with excitement. They were about to ride New Orleans’ historic streetcar down St. Charles Avenue. Arabella loves it, and thanks to changes made in December 2020 to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Oscar can now use wheelchair lifts on two of the six or seven streetcars to join her. A few passed the stop at South Carrollton Avenue and Sycamore Place on April 30 without an ADA-compliant lift…

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Will Sensory-Friendly Saturdays Make Retail More Accessible?

July 21, 2023   |  Source:  RetailWire

Saturdays in July and August, most Walmart stores across the nation are providing sensory-friendly hours between 8 and 10 a.m. Some areas have already started implementing this “quiet” time, but in locations where school starts after Labor Day, July 22 will be the first day for customers. “We are striving every day to create a culture where everyone feels they belong,” Walmart’s executive vice president of general merchandise, Julie Barber, stated in a press release. “This year, Walmart is taking steps toward creating a quieter shopping environment that’s more enjoyable for customers who live with sensory disabilities.”…

Less than 5% of housing is accessible to older, disabled Americans

July 21, 2023   |  Source:  CNBC and HousingWire

Casey Holds Hearing on Affordable, Accessible Housing for Older Adults and People With Disabilities

July 20, 2023   |  Source:  Senator Bob Casey

Despite a sizeable elderly and disabled population in the U.S., there is not enough affordable housing to accommodate those individuals. “For millions of Americans, adequate housing is more of an aspiration than a reality,” said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who serves as chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, at a Thursday hearing. “In particular, too many older adults and people with disabilities cannot afford accessible housing,” Casey said.

About 26% of the U.S. population — or about 61 million people — have a disability, Casey said. At the same time, 1 in 5 Americans will be older than 65 by 2030…

Chicago TikTok star works to spread awareness of rare form of color blindness

July 21, 2023   |  Source:  ABC7 Chicago

A Chicago social media star is creating content and positive change through TikTok. Natasha Caudill lives with a rare form of color-blindness. During Disability Pride Month, ABC7 Chicago is exploring how Caudill is using her platform to spread awareness. “I think that people hear the word ‘disabled,’ and they immediately think that’s a negative word,” she said. Caudill has 1.3 million followers on TikTok, and they all follow her journey throughout Chicago as a young woman living with a disability…

How a Makeup Pro Is Making Beauty More Accessible

July 21, 2023   |  Source:  HealthCentral

What happens when a top professional makeup artist finds that the tools of her trade are not easy to manipulate—even for her—as a chronic condition begins to impact her motor skills? A new category of inclusive beauty products is born. Terri Bryant, 50, founder of Guide Beauty, spent her career painting the faces of Hollywood’s A-list and teaching others the art of precise makeup application. “My arm and hand always felt like a natural extension of my mind’s eye,” she explains. “I could look at my client’s face, envision how the makeup should look, and was able to execute it with ease and confidence.”…

Messaging your doctor through a patient portal might cost you

July 21, 2023   |  Source:  Shots – Health News- NPR

If you wanted to talk with your doctor before the pandemic, you generally had to schedule an in-person appointment. But the sudden, rapid expansion of telehealth means patients generally can now text or email their health care providers. “When you wanted to get a Zoom visit or an audio visit, you needed to sign up for the patient portal, and I think a lot of people became aware that they could message for the first time” during the pandemic, says A Jay Holmgren, a researcher in health care information technology at the University of California San Francisco…

Yamaha class action alleges website not fully accessible to blind, visually impaired visitors

July 24, 2023   |  Source:  Top Class Actions

Yamaha Corporation of America operates a website that is not fully accessible to blind and visually-impaired visitors in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and New York City law, a class action lawsuit alleges. The Yamaha class action lawsuit notes that there are about 8.1 million visually-impaired Americans, including 2 million blind Americans, according to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau report. Plaintiff Luis Mercedes says he is legally blind and requires the use of screen-reading software to read website content on a computer…

Report calls for improved oversight of disability accessibility in HUD-assisted homes

July 24, 2023   |  Source:  104.5 WOKV

Hundreds of thousands of homes that are supposed to be accessible to people with disabilities are still reported to lack the necessary accessibility features, according to a new watchdog report. That report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the federal department in charge of overseeing fair housing issues needs to improve data collection to make sure the homes are compliant. It said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) “does not systematically collect data on requests for reasonable accommodations” for households that take part in its three largest rental assistance programs…

What you need to know about hearing aids, PSAPs and ‘hearables’

July 24, 2023   |  Source:  The Washington Post

Financial Assistance for Hearing Aids: A Complete Guide for Older Adults

July 2, 2023   |  Source:  National Council on Aging

Thanks to rules the Food and Drug Administration put in place last fall, hearing aids are now divided into two key categories: prescription and over-the-counter. OTCs can be further divided into two types: self-fitting and preset. You may also come across devices known as personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) and “hearables” in retail stores and online. These aren’t considered hearing aids but could be helpful in some instances. Here’s what you need to know about each of these kinds of hearing devices…

Adventure Is Accessible When You Think Outside the Box

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  Atlas Obscura

“Come on in, find A seat—I’ve already got one,” Kory Macy says with a sly grin, nodding at her wheelchair as she leads the way into her living room. A wide window looks out onto a picturesque, wooded area on the north side of Madison, Wisconsin—but it’s what’s inside that catches the eye. The modest apartment she shares with her husband John and two cats is full of framed art, photos, and other souvenirs from her travels across five continents. There’s an entire wall of selfies: dogsledding across a snowy landscape, sitting on a Galápagos beach as seals laze in the background, steering an adaptive bicycle, kayaking, skydiving…

US, Europe grapple with providing accessibility to visitors with disabilities

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  CNA

Border restrictions may no longer be a hindrance for travelers post-pandemic, but other challenges still plague people with disabilities. As the peak travel season ramps up and holiday-makers in the United States and Europe jet off on vacation, people with access needs are limited in where they can go. Americans with mobility disabilities spend US$58.2 billion a year on travel. However, 96 per cent said they faced problems with accommodation, while 86 per cent experienced issues with flights, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people conducted by research firm MMGY Travel Intelligence…

Sen. Markey, Rep. Eshoo reintroduce CVTA to make communication technologies accessible for Americans with disabilities

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  Senator Edward Markey and Yahoo

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and author of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (CA-16), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today announced the reintroduction of the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility (CVTA) Act. This legislation would update and strengthen existing accessibility regulations secured through Senator Markey’s CVAA to stay up-to-date with the proliferation of new technologies…

For the first time, Wauwatosa raises the Disability Flag at City Hall

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

For the first time in the city’s history, the Disability Flag was raised July 24 on Wauwatosa City Hall’s flagpole. All week, the flag, also known as the Flag of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, will be raised in celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Signed into law on July 26, 1990, the ADA gives civil rights protections to people with disabilities. But there’s still work to be done when it comes to awareness and education, said B.J. Ermenc, member of the Wauwatosa Commission for Persons with Disabilities…

A Mississippi law limits who can help mail-in voters. A federal court struck it down

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  NPR

A U.S. District Court in Mississippi temporarily blocked a voting law in the state Tuesday that was set to go into effect July 1. The law, known as Senate Bill 2358, creates new restrictions for who can assist someone while voting by mail. Voting rights and disability rights advocates, who filed the lawsuit, argue Mississippi’s law violates a federal protection that allows a voter to choose who helps them cast a ballot. In his order striking down the law, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate wrote, “voting polls are expected to extend outstretched hands of welcome and provide unfettered access to conscientious citizens.”…

U.S. Department of Transportation Requires Airline Lavatories to Be More Accessible for Wheelchair Users

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  U.S. Department of Transportation

New Single-Aisle Airplanes Will Have Accessible Lavatories

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  United Spinal Association and The New York Times and USA Today and The Hill and CNN and ABC and Simple Flying and PaxEx.Aero and Travel + Leisure and TravelPulse and Thrillist and Axios

The US is requiring more planes to have accessible restrooms, but change will take years

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  AP

On the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced a new rule which requires airline lavatories to be more accessible. This rulemaking, authorized by the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), would require airlines to make lavatories on new single-aisle aircraft large enough to permit a passenger with a disability and attendant, both equivalent in size to a 95th percentile male, to approach, enter, and maneuver within as necessary to use the aircraft lavatory…

How Many Disabled People Vote Over the Internet? We Need Better Data

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  Center for Democracy and Technology

Policy decisions around voting technology have a huge impact on the security, fairness, and accessibility of elections. These decisions must be made from a fully informed perspective, particularly when the outcomes may disproportionately impact marginalized communities. One of the thorniest decisions in election administration is who—if anyone—should be able to vote over the internet. To better inform this decision, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) should collect data on the availability of internet voting options to people with disabilities and on how many disabled voters take advantage of these options…

With executive order, Healey aims to make state more digitally accessible for people with disabilities

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  Boston and Mass and Boston Herald and WWLP and Governing CommonWealth Magazine and Government Technology and NHPR and StateScoop

Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order on Wednesday creating the Digital Accessibility and Equity Governance Board, which will work to make the state government’s digital services and resources more accessible. “In Massachusetts, we strive to be a model for equity, inclusion, and accessibility,” Healey said at a press conference. “When someone logs in to their device using whatever assistive technology they need, we need to make sure that state government is there for them seamlessly.”…

Deafblind Lawyer Haben Girma: It’s Important to Think about Accessibility All Year

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  Yahoo

Haben Girma, the first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, advocates for people to celebrate her community and take action for accessibility for more than a month. Girma is an author, public speaker, and human rights lawyer advancing disability justice. “Disabled people are talented. Disabled people deserve dignity and respect. I know this, you know this, but a lot of our policies and designs have not been inclusive of disabled people,” she told MAKERS. Disability Pride Month is designated to honor the history, achievements, and experiences of people with disabilities…

Disabled people of color continue to fight for accessible housing

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  Prism Reports

When social entrepreneur Micaela Connery first began researching housing models for people with disabilities, she was “shocked.” She saw that the majority of disabled program participants “were white and middle-to-high income. The majority of people who are getting access to programming is white disabled people.” While less than 4% of U.S. housing units could be considered livable by people with moderate mobility disabilities, Black and Latinx people with disabilities, especially the aging population, tend to have an even more difficult time finding housing suited to their accessibility needs…

The MTA is expanding accessibility in subway stations and on buses

July 27, 2023   |  Source:  New York Daily News

July marks Disability Pride Month and we want to highlight some of the advances we’ve made. We were proud to be part of a turning point in history, with the MTA’s historic commitment to make 95% of all 450-plus subway stations accessible to wheelchair users by 2055 approved in federal court. To get there, the MTA has pledged to make an average of 10 stations accessible every year from now to 2055, a massive undertaking which requires billions of dollars of investment and will improve our system for millions of New Yorkers…

Jack Fact — By 2060, adults over 65 will make up a quarter of the US population, according to the US Census Bureau’s projection.

Hit The Road Jack —  How to find accessible accommodation for your UK summer stays  and EFFEKT creates treetop walkway accessible to “all nature lovers”

International News

Calls for property websites to list accessibility features as people with disabilities struggle to find rentals

July 18, 2023   |  Source:  ABC- Australia

Rachel Kayrooz needs to move from her newly marked-up rental in Queensland’s south-east, but can’t find anywhere accessible to go. The community worker has functional neurological disorder (FND), which makes her susceptible to seizures, and needs a home with space to manoeuvre her walker.  It also needs to be affordable. The rent for the home she shares with her 20-year-old daughter has gone up $110 a week, and she has had to cut back her work hours because of her condition…

Affordability and accessibility key at this year’s fringe

July 19, 2023   |  Source:  Winnipeg Free Press- Canada

Chuck McEwen considers himself one of the luckiest people in Winnipeg entertainment. “My job is putting on a party,” the executive producer of the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival says, about a week before the celebration begins. After a few COVID-dominated years, McEwen knows a party is exactly what the city needs. Last year, the fringe had its first opportunity to bounce back from the pandemic. In 2019, during the last pre-COVID festival, the festival played host to 178 companies and relied on the contributions of 850 volunteers…

DWP websites and IT systems still ‘high risk’ on accessibility, a year after secret reports

July 20, 2023   |  Source:  Disability News Service- UK

Key digital services used to run the disability benefits system are still being branded “high risk” on accessibility, a year after secret Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reports found scores of its services were failing to comply with regulations. DWP’s latest Digital Accessibility Compliance report, produced last month and obtained by Disability News Service (DNS), shows that less than half of its websites and other digital services (59 of 124) comply with public sector regulations on accessibility…

PWD group rues ‘very slow’ enforcement of accessibility law

July 21, 2023   |  Source:  Mindanao Times- Philippines

The Association of Disabled Persons Inc. (ADAP) cited the need to put more teeth into the law requiring establishments to improve access to people with disability. During an interview at Kapihan sa PIA on July 21, Armando Amancio, ADAP president, said that the enforcement of Batas Pambansa 344, which passed into law in 1981, in Davao City is “very slow.”  He cited the Davao City Coastal Road as an example since it has no curb cuts for people in wheelchairs or with mobility problems…

CAA praises accessibility improvements across UK airports

July 21, 2023   |  Source:  Aviation Source- UK and Business Travel News Europe

Aberdeen International Airport welcomes ‘Very Good’ rating from CAA Airport Accessibility Report

July 21, 2023   |  Source:  Aberdeen Business News- UK

Airport services for disabled and less mobile passengers have improved significantly over the last year, a report from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) shows. In their recent statement, the UK aviation regulator praised accessibility improvements made across UK airports. In a recent report published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, it was highlighted that airport services for disabled and less mobile passengers have made significant improvements over the past year…

NOTL businesses struggle with accessibility

July 22, 2023   |  Source:  Thorold News- Canada

It’s been many years since David Onley, who served seven years as Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor and visited Niagara-on-the-Lake at least twice, began his advocacy for accessibility. It was his priority during his two terms, but as a polio survivor left with his own mobility problems, it had begun back in the 1990s. Onley, who died earlier this year, spoke of his frustration over the lack of progress being made to improve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities, outlined in a review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which he wrote for the government in 2019. The legislation had been passed in 2005…

Only one wheelchair-accessible vehicle in Eastwood and Kimberley in 2023

July 23, 2023   |  Source:  Yahoo- UK

Experts suggest the limited number of licensed vehicles accessible for those with mobility difficulties in some local authorities across England and Wales is due to a lack of training and certification for the safe handling and transport of wheelchairs. Department for Transport figures show Ashfield had 643 licensed vehicles as of April, but only 88 could be used by people with mobility difficulties, down from 92 in March 2020. Traditional taxis can be hailed from the street and do not need to be pre-booked like private hire vehicles, such as those used by companies like Uber…

New Accessible Facility for Disabled Individuals Opens in ACT

July 23, 2023   |  Source:  Mirage News- Australia

The Albanese Labor Government is working with the ACT Government to deliver on its commitment for more specialised disability toilet facilities in the ACT. The Commonwealth is contributing a third of the total build cost of $274,000 to the ACT Government for the delivery of a second Changing Places facility in the territory. It’s one of a number of Changing Places being built across Australia to ensure people with disability can participate in their communities with comfort and confidence…

Disability advocates urge Queensland to resist builders’ bid to delay accessible housing rules

July 25, 2023   |  Source:  The Guardian- Australia

Disability advocates are urging the Palaszczuk government to hold its nerve amid a campaign from the building sector to delay changes to make Queensland homes more accessible. In August 2022 all states except New South Wales agreed to implement changes to the National Construction Code to require new homes to meet minimum mandatory standards providing step-free access and corridors wide enough to fit a wheelchair, as well as a range of energy efficiency reforms…

Singapore recognised as top 10 most accessible cities globally but challenges remain for heritage sites

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  CNA- Singapore

Mr Alister Ong travels frequently for work and to volunteer but using a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy means he has to make extra preparations. “I’ll need to inform the airline earlier because it gives them ample notice for them to inform the ground staff as well. For example, the weight of the wheelchair that I’ll be bringing, the size of the wheelchair, the dimensions, and what kind of needs I have,” he said. Ms Sabrina Mohamed Zakariah, a customer services officer at SATS, said that she and her team from the “special services” section undergo training on how to deal with people with disabilities, with a bulk of it covering how to assist wheelchair users…

Accessibility Is a Design Opportunity for UX Designers – Not a Roadblock

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  LBB- UK

“Accessibility is inherently a part of experience design and experience design cannot exist without accessibility at its core,” says Selina Kendall, associate director of experience design and accessibility lead at VMLYandR. “The entire point of user experience, its evolution into experience design, and whatever it may be called next, leans upon the concept of keeping all users in mind. This core tenant naturally lends itself to accessibility, as accessibility in our view is the ability to access, no matter who you are or how you experience the world.”…

DXB receives ACI Accessibility Accreditation

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  Times Aerospace- Dubai

This is a first-of-its-kind initiative that recognises global airports’ commitment to accessible travel operations. The certification acknowledges DXB’s ongoing prioritisation of a safe and inclusive airport experience for passengers with both physical and hidden disabilities. This aligns with the 2019 ACI World General Assembly Resolution and United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons, which stipulates that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms…

Why it’s important for art to be accessible

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  Reader’s Digest- UK

Earlier this year I was asked to design a Morph sculpture for London’s first step-free art trail in collaboration with Aardman and Whizz-Kidz, the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users. It was an offer I couldn’t possibly turn down, given the trail is a way to increase public awareness about the need for young wheelchair users to be mobile, enabled and included in society, through the power of art. It was something that seemed extra important to me, given art isn’t always something that has felt accessible to me as a working-class disabled person…

Blind phone operator to TCS’S head of accessibility

July 26, 2023   |  Source:  The Times of India

From a sudden loss of vision at 13 to becoming the head of the Accessibility Centre of Excellence at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Charudatta Jadhav’s life is the stuff of movies. In school, Jadhav was one of the best students in his class, excelling in academics and sports. His parents had never been to school, but they supported the education of their children. One day, when he was in class 8, Jadhav returned home complaining about dark spots in his vision. He was found to be suffering from an almost incurable retinal detachment. Soon, he lost vision in his left eye. And in a couple of years, in his right eye too…

 ITIM publishes interactive map of Israel’s accessible mikvahs

July 27, 2023   |  Source:  The Jerusalem Post- Israel

An interactive map of accessible mikvhs in Israel has been published this week on the website of ITIM, a nonprofit committed to adapting Israel’s religious establishment to the diverse needs of the Jewish people. Mikvahs, Jewish ritual baths, are a necessary part of traditional Orthodox Jewish life and are most often used by married women as they move out of their period of niddah (ritual impurity during and following a monthly period). During niddah, many Orthodox married couples abstain from any physical touch or intimacy, going so far as to sleep in separate beds. Immersion in the mikveh is required to end the niddah period…

11 ministries yet to finalise accessibility guidelines for people of disabilities

July 27, 2023   |  Source:  The Economic Times- India

New Delhi, Eleven ministries are yet to finalise their sector-specific accessibility guidelines for people with disabilities, the government said on Thursday. The information was shared by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry with the parliamentary standing committee on social justice and empowerment. The parliamentary panel report was tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday. The ministry said the departments of Law and Justice, Consumer Affairs and Telecommunication are following the guidelines of MEITY and MoHUA respective to their domain related to people with disabilities…

BC invests in increased accessibility

July 27, 2023   |  Source:  Prince George Citizen- Canada and CityNews

Prince George is one of 15 B.C. communities which will benefit from $5 million in provincial funding to improve accessibility. The funding, announced on Thursday, supports the Rick Hansen Foundation BC Accessibility Grants Program and will be used to evaluate the accessibility of facilities, upgrade three selected sites and train municipal staff on accessibility. Prince George is one of eight communities already working with the Rick Hansen Foundation on improving accessibility…

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