Able to Succeed
Over 100 million Americans — people with disabilities and their caregivers — face disability-related challenges. One in four U.S. adults has a disability, and over one in five serve as caregivers. These numbers will grow as the population ages. Despite being the largest minority group, people with disabilities face systemic barriers like income gaps and limited access to resources. It's essential to examine the policies that shape their lives to ensure dignity, equality, and opportunity for all.
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Understanding the Disability Community
One in four adults in the United States live with a disability — 61 million people.
Disability can happen to anyone at any time, making it a minority that anyone can join. It is also the largest minority group in the world and a voting bloc that should be given attention.
Furthermore, caregivers form a secondary population affected by the challenges of disabilities with more than one in five Americans (21.3 percent) fulfilling a caregiver role at some time in the past 12 months. The number of individuals with disabilities and their caretakers combined is 100 million Americans.
This population is likely to increase with an aging population.
People with disabilities face compounding challenges. For example, they earn a median income of approximately $28,438, compared to a median income of about $40,948 for nondisabled people.
Given the number of people affected, the vast web of systems and government policies that impact the lives of these individuals should be examined to ensure that they are living up to the principles underpinning the American dream and standards of human dignity and equality.