Disabilities Act a foundation for Americans, Pee Dee residents

FLORENCE — It’s been 20 years since President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law, and while the scope of the act reaches from the nation’s capitol to the Pee Dee some say there’s still more work to be done.
The wide-ranging law is designed to eliminate discrimination in many arenas, including in the workplace, housing, education and transportation. 
Glenda Hyman-Singletary, an employee relations administrator for the Florence County Disabilities and Special Needs Board, calls the ADA one of the most powerful tools for someone with disabilities.
“If we had not had ADA developed when it was, people would still be in that struggle. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we can say thank God we’ve got ADA to support them,” she said.
Some of that work, Hyman-Singletary said, includes building ramps for better accessibility and improving public transportation for people with disabilities.
Hyman-Singletary said it’s important not to let the impact of the ADA slip away because it’s no longer a new law.
“It’s kind of like the foundation for people. I don’t know if people really look at it that way, but it really is the foundation of support,” she said.
Jackie Hoch, who has a mental disability, has worked various jobs, including at a hotel, as a telephone receptionist and sorting mail.
Despite the ADA, Hoch said she still faces uncomfortable situations in her personal and professional life.
“It’s kind of hard to get work because we don’t know when we’re going to get work or what kind of work we’re going to have. Sometimes we have good times and sometimes we have bad times,” she said. 
Hoch said the ADA has changed her outlook on life and helped her graduate from high school in 2005.
She works a couple of jobs in the Pee Dee, but she said money isn’t everything.
“It’s about the people that you have friendship with. I learned that along the way,” Hoch said.
Hoch served as president of Our Voices Count, Too, a self-advocacy group created by the disabilities and special needs board.
She said the ADA has helped the group become more vocal about expressing the needs of those with disabilities who might not be able to speak for themselves.
“Sometimes you have to tell people it’s OK to speak. Don’t be afraid to talk to somebody,” Hoch said. 
Hyman-Singletary said attitude is everything and that it makes their day when people with a disability are treated with dignity and respect.
“I think it’s a sensitive issue for people. I think people just don’t really think about it sometimes until they actually have a personal situation,” she said.
Hoch, who is planning to represent the self-advocacy group at a conference this fall, said encouraging positive attitudes is key.
“Even though people are sad or mad, I just try to think of good things in a positive way, not negative things all the time,” she said.
Hyman-Singletary said people with disabilities have a lot to offer if only given the chance.
“They’re people just like you and I, and they can make a difference if only given an opportunity and only if people would just believe,” she said.