I believe that one person can make positive changes in the world. My heroes are Martin Luther King Jr, Dr. Hawa Abdi, Cesar Chavez, and Margaret Sanger. All four fought for the rights of others despite impossible odds and succeeded. And so, with their example in my mind, I tried to raise money to pay the bus fare for people with disabilities. Dial-A-Ride is expensive, especially if you live out of town, and in a rural area like Mendocino County, the bus is limited. How does a person with a disability get to town for shopping or a doctor’s appointment or to visit friends, if they can’t drive?
How hard could it be? It’s not like I’m trying to provide medical care in Somalia.
With the support of Burners Without Borders, a volunteer organization that helps people create change in their communities, I made a fundraising plan and called the Mendocino County Transit Authority (MTA). No one called back. I called again. I emailed. I waited. No response. Fine! I guess they don’t want money. Too bad, I’ll try a different tact. After making a list of local non-profits who help people with disabilities, I contacted each one. No one called back. Hmmm…. weird. What am I doing wrong? I called Burners Without Borders for help and they advised me to go ahead and fundraise and not worry about getting MTA support. Just show up with a check and they’ll take the money.
So I started planning a fundraising event and quickly had a panic attack.
If I don’t find a way to help people with disabilities get to the grocery store, who will? Would Margaret Sanger give up because no one returned her phone call? No! She was beaten and thrown in jail, but never gave up. She also had a group of people helping her.
Oh… right… even heroes need help. And I am not a hero. I’m just a woman in a rural town who sees a problem and wants to solve it.
Last year I tried to get the City of Ukiah to fix the Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) at intersections so people with vision impairments could cross the street safely. I met with a City Councilwoman and contacted the Department of Transportation. I also spoke with the City team working on the new traffic plan. They said they would add me to their contact list so I could attend their meetings. It never happened.
Again, I banged my head against a brick wall trying to solve a problem no one else seemed worried about.
If I had more time, I could attack all these problems effecting people with disabilities in my town: no transportation, broken pedestrian signals, crumbling sidewalks, lack of curb cuts, unsafe street crossings (near the hospital for goodness sake!). But I can’t do it alone; not even Martin Luther King Jr was alone. I have to accept the fact that just because I see a problem doesn’t mean it’s mine to solve. I really tried to make progress, but the brick walls I hit are stronger than one person can tear down. So I’m passing the baton to the next person.
You?
I hope someone carries it.