Dear Editor,
As a Ventura resident, I was happy to read the Ventura Breeze article, “First Annual Government and Disability Summit in Ventura,” by Carol Leish and appreciate that it gave enough advance notice for people to get this important 4-day event on their calendars. Also, awareness about disabilities and how they can affect a person from birth, during crucial developing years and throughout their lives is desperately needed. However, it was disconcerting to see the article in the “Senior” section of the newspaper. It is true that some aging people develop disabilities late in life and need help managing them. Yet, disabilities are varied and widespread in all age groups. Young people with disabilities frequently struggle in schools lacking supportive resources. Well-qualified adults with disabilities often have difficulty getting hired due to cultural assumptions and biases about disabled people. Consequently, it seems placing this article in the newspaper intended to engage the general population and not just one age group would have been much more appropriate. Perhaps this oversight is a good example of how important this summit is in bringing awareness to businesses, government agencies and the general population if we want a more humane and just community for all people with disabilities.
Best regards, Mary O. Kerrigan
Ventura
Answer:
Hi Mary,
Thanks for writing to share your knowledge and help educate us. Glad we could bring some exposure to the importance of this event, and, of course, you are correct. The article shouldn’t have run in our senior section. We look forward to covering the Summit more as it draws closer to support greater awareness.
Editor
