Charging through barriers
Improved access has been a priority for many organizations that fight for the rights of people with disabilities throughout the United States, and it is no different from the work being carried out at the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems, Inc. or NMPASI.
Years ago, we christened ourselves with the name The Posse, a play on the pronunciation of our acronym. The phrase “The Posse, charging through barriers” brings to mind images from the old American West, in which a group of common folks accompany the town sheriff to assist him in bringing down outlaws who were causing trouble in town. The outlaws would barricade themselves inside a barn and the posse would smash through the door and bring them to justice. I always felt like I was a part of something good being a member of The Posse.
In modern times, the barriers we charge through are not only physical barriers that prevent people with disabilities from moving through different aspects of life, but also include stigma and discrimination. Laws have been in place since the 1970s and the 1990s to remove barriers and allow people with disabilities to access community services such as, getting into grocery stores. Yet still today those barriers exist. I see it every day where people feel the need to park in an accessible (blue) parking space, because it’s raining or the entrance is too far. Community education can only go so far. We need our law enforcement officers to start doing just that: enforcing the law.
Other barriers plaguing our community include access to quality and appropriate health care. It is difficult for someone who works and earns around $40,000 a year to get access to the health care they need through referral off-island, but think about those people unable to work due to a disability. They make on average $990 a month, including $20 in food stamps, how do we as a society expect them to have the same access?
On Friday, Oct, 18, 2024, at 5pm at the American Memorial Park theater, NMPASI will be hosting a screening of a documentary titled Accessing Democracy. In the film, individuals with various disabilities from the east coast of the United States share their experiences in gaining access in their communities. While they live half a world away, they encounter many of the same barriers as we do here in the Marianas. The film also discusses how people with disabilities need to have access to their lawmakers in order to create real change in their communities.
We invite the community to join us on Friday evening to learn more about the struggles people with disabilities experience, including their access to the legislature.
NMPASI is a 501(c)(3), private, non-profit organization that was established in 1993 and designated as the CNMI’s protection & advocacy system that operates with the mission, “to protect the human, civil, and legal rights of individuals with disabilities.”
For more information about architectural barriers or program access, contact NMPASI at (670) 235-7273/4 or visit us at the Marianas Business Plaza, 5th floor, Room 505.
Greg Borja is the executive director of the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems, Inc.
