The State of the Independent Living Movement

Simi Litvak and Douglas Martin

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DOI: 10.2190/26YQ-BPBT-A3YT-3EWR

Abstract

The Independent Living Movement, over the past twenty years, is responsible for a major paradigm shift of services for people with disabilities from a medical/charity/pity model to a minority/civil rights model. Despite substantial improvements in the ability of disabled persons to live, work, go to school, and lead productive lives, the Movement is at a crossroads. Conflicts have arisen between old and new policies. While the Movement has become an expert player in the field of social change, securing civil rights and laying the groundwork for long-term policy influence, disabled persons remain among the poorest in the country. Unemployment and underemployment, inaccessible housing, homelessness, and exclusion from education and transportation remain difficult problems.

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