Building Economic Futures for Americans with Disabilities
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Waiting for Prosperity - Rod McLean
Rod McLean has seen amazing changes in the world since becoming disabled in 1969. As one of the leaders in the disability movement in the early 1970’s, he worked with the founder of the World Institute on Disability (WID) Ed Roberts and current director Deborah Kaplan to educate people about disability. Today, he and his wife Sofia educate teachers about how to work with mainstreamed kids with disabilities. Despite all the incredible progress that people with disabilities have made in thirty years, Rod shares one thing with many of his disabled compatriots- he lives in poverty.
At the age of 20, Rod had a stroke that forced him to re-learn how to do most things that people take for granted- walking, talking, and basic living skills. Due to Rod’s rehabilitative efforts, much of the speech and mobility impairments resulting from the initial stroke are relatively mild. Rod eventually earned a B.A. in Special Education, a M.A. in Psychology, and co-authored a book to complete much of the work towards a Ph.D. However, steady, well-paying employment has been hard to find. Rod and Sofia have formed their own small consulting business- ABLEFORCE- to perform disability awareness training; yet, finding paying customers that value their work has proven more challenging than adjusting to life with a disability.
Having been familiar with WID’s work since the early 1980’s, Rod and his friends at the Marin Center for Independent Living turned to WID’s Access to Assets program to learn more about building assets. After the initial conversation, it became clear that Rod was an ideal candidate for an Individual Development Account (IDA) Program. He receives Social Security Disability Insurance (which has no limitation on the amount of assets a person can have), he earns some money from teaching and training programs (but far from enough to survive), and he is committed to saving for a better life for himself and his wife.
However, despite all the IDA programs in the Bay Area of Northern California, these accounts currently are not offered on a large scale in Marin County. The Earned Assets Resource Network (EARN) launched a pilot program there in early 2004. Now, having demonstrated the great demand for IDAs in Marin County, EARN is seeking local funding to offer more accounts to county residents. The irony of the situation is that while so many deserving people with disabilities are denied participation in IDAs because of policy barriers, Rod’s barrier is living on the wrong side of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Like every obstacle he has encountered during his lifetime, Rod is meeting this head-on. His desire to get into an IDA program has not wavered in the eight months of waiting; in fact, he has become interested in IDA advocacy. His determination to improve his life and the lives of others with disabilities demonstrates a strength of character that deserves appreciation. In a way, Rod and IDA programs have something in common- both are trying to do incredibly valuable work with little financial support.
To learn more about how to become involved in asset building advocacy efforts, read the December EQUITY Responds.