NEW
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Welcome to the ABILITY Awareness Press Room. We have medical professionals,
celebrity spokespersons and general experts available in the areas
of housing, volunteerism, accessibility, universal design, disability
awareness, employment and quality of life issues. Let us know how
we can help you with your next story, or call us and we'll give you
plenty of ideas to help you on your way!
Public Relations: (714) 277-4330
- Past Press Releases:
- ABILITY Awareness Company Information
- Guidelines to Terminology
- Helpful Definitions and Explanations
Star-studded Event is "Raisin' the Roof" for Hawaii's First ABILITY House; Variety Show to Benefit Partner Program of Honolulu Habitat for Humanity-Local, national and international celebrities and performers will descend on the Waikiki Sheraton Hotel & Resort on March 14, 2006, to help raise the roof of Hawaii's first ABILITY House. The event is sponsored by ABILITY Magazine and the Pacific Rim Conference which is being presented by the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Center for Disabilities Studies. Click here for full release and celebrity bios.
ABILITY House Receives $1.4
Million to Launch Initiatives Focusing on College Students and Veterans
with Disabilities; Corporation
for National & Community Service and HP Join ABILITY Awareness
and ABILITY Magazine in Building Homes and Awareness-With $1.4
million of new federal and corporate backing, the ABILITY House program
is announcing the launch of two new initiatives: the ABILITY House
College Students with Disabilities Initiative (AHCSDI) and the ABILITY
House Veterans with Disabilities Initiative (AHVDI). The ABILITY House
program works with ABILITY Magazine and Habitat for Humanity to build
accessible homes for low-income families where one or more members
have disabilities. Additionally, this award-winning program engages
volunteers with mental and physical disabilities to help build the
homes.
Click
here for full release.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's Robert David Hall Signs on as Spokesperson for Atlanta's First ABILITY House; Actor and advocate, Robert David Hall continues to raise awareness for people with disabilities-Robert David Hall, who stars as Dr. Al Robbins, MD, the coroner on the No. 1 ranked primetime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, has signed on to be the official spokesperson for Atlanta's first ABILITY House. An ABILITY House is an affordable, accessible home built for a low-income family in which one or more members have disabilities. What makes the program unique is that it utilizes volunteers with disabilities during all phases of construction, demonstrating the potential of every person and empowering the community with a new level of awareness. Click here for full release.
Volunteers with Disabilities to Construct a Home Featuring Smart Home Technology for a Person who has a Disability; BellSouth, Birmingham Habitat for Humanity and ABILITY Magazine Build a Home and Awareness in 5 Days-Volunteers with all ranges of disabilities will unite at a Birmingham homesite to build an ABILITY House for Derrick Daniels, a man who has quadriplegia. An ABILITY House is an affordable, accessible home built for a low-income family where one or more members has a disability. The ABILITY House program utilizes volunteers with disabilities during all phases of construction, emphasizing their skills and talents. The "blitz build" will kick-off on Monday, May 17, 2004 and conclude Friday, May 21, 2004. Click here for full release.
About ABILITY Awareness
ABILITY Awareness is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities through housing, employment, education, media and volunteer opportunities. Its hallmark program is the ABILITY House project. Built in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, each ABILITY House is an accessible home built for a family with health conditions or disabilities. Additionally, the program reaches out to volunteers with disabilities to help build the homes, demonstrating to the community their skills, talents and potential as volunteers and employees. The ABILITY House program was recognized by President George W. Bush with the President's Community Volunteer Award, the nation's highest award for volunteer service.
Guidelines for Terminology
Is it politically correct to say
someone is "physically impaired"? What about referring to a person
as "disabled"? Sometimes feel like you can't keep up with the changing
times and the changing terminologies? You're not alone in the desire
to ensure that your message isn't lost because of an accidental mis-phrasing.
Helpful Definitions and Explanations
Visitability: The visitability movement asks developers to incorporate into all homes they build three basic features allowing people with limited mobility to enter and move about the home: at least one no-step entrance; a bathroom on the first floor big enough that someone can enter it using a wheelchair and close the door; and doors and hallways on the first floor wide enough to navigate through (32" and 36" respectively). Constructing visitable homes remove barriers encountered by members of our community, our children's school friends, our parents or aging grandparents, anyone who breaks a leg, and those of us who use wheeled luggage or move heavy items into or out of our homes-all of us. If visitability features are incorporated into the design of a home from the beginning, the total cost is negligible-an estimated $200 or less for a single-family home. The United Kingdom has passed legislation requiring all new homes to be visitable, as have many cities and counties across the U.S., such as Atlanta, Austin and Toledo.
Information is copyright disAbility Resource Center
Universal Design: is a strategy that simplifies life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without adaptation or specialized design. Universal design can generally be accomplished at little added cost and prevents the need for multiple technologies that may not interface with each other.
The term "universal design" was coined by the late Ronald L. Mace, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. "The universal design concept increases the supply of usable housing by including universal features in as many houses as possible," he said, "and allows people to remain in their homes as long as they like."
Some examples of universal design include the following: installing standard electrical receptacles higher than usual above the floor so they are in easy reach of everyone; selecting wider doors; making flat entrances; installing handles for doors and drawers that require no gripping or twisting to operate-such as lever or loop handles; and placing storage spaces within reach of both short and tall people.