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Complex Identities: Hoosiers with Disabilities from Minoritized Communities

"We have been omitted for such a long time. It's as if we don't matter," observes Gary resident Tony Blair. Like other people of color with disabilities, he is a member of multiple minoritized communities. The concept of intersectionality was…

The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on People with Disabilities in Indiana

"Some of us have a lot of health issues that we were born with, along with getting this virus makes it a whole lot worse," Ashley Porter points out in an interview about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of Hoosiers with disabilities.…

Ashley Porter - The Pandemic's Impact on My Life

"I was laid off work for six months." In an excerpt of a 2021 interview, Ashley Porter describes her experience of unemployment and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Activities such as ballroom dancing were no longer possible, meetings…

Seena Skelton - Dis/ability and Communities of Color During a Pandemic

"I was very strategic about making sure that when I got the vaccine I went to a location that was situated in a suburban, majority white community." Seena Skelton, Director of Operations, Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center, was interviewed…

Melody Cooper - I'm Not Saying Goodbye Through an iPad

"Can I see him? That's all I want to do is see him." The doctor called Melody Cooper to tell her that her husband's body was beginning to shut down. Like many others whose family members got COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic, she was told…

Teri Whitaker - COVID-19 Is a Serious Threat to My Life

“I really don't think there's an area of my life that the pandemic hasn't touched, whether it's through my home healthcare or my ability to go out and do things socially.” Teri Whitaker has muscular dystrophy, which impacts her lung function. She…

Mr. and Mrs. Blair - Some Get Better Equipment and Services Than Others

"Distressed" and "oppressed," is how Tony and Connie Blair describe the city of Gary and the Northwest Indiana region where the Blind Social Center is located. They founded the center in 2014 after Mr. Blair, a general contractor, lost his eyesight…

Marty Stone - Protecting Family During the Pandemic

"Both me and my husband have high risk conditions and my son does too. We stayed home most of last year and it's been rough." Marty Stone lives in Noblesville, Indiana and is the mother of an 11-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son with multiple…

Zully JF Alvarado - "I Never Labeled Myself as Disabled"

The school principal was shaking her head. "She said that I wasn't wanted." At first, Zully Alvarado thought the American grammar school she was so excited about attending was rejecting her because, as an emigrant to the U.S. from Ecuador, her…

Kylee Hope - The Pandemic's Impact on People with Disabilities

Kylee Hope was Director of Indiana's Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviewed shortly after that period, when she had recently retired from her position, she provides an…