Disabilities
Disabilities
Locating Resources in Las Vegas for People with Disabilities
By Monique Gaudin
Take a virtual tour of the Opportunity Village Ralph And Betty Engelstad Campus above. In addition to the income generated at the campuses, Opportunity Village hosts several fundraisers yearly to fund its services, two of which are The Santa Run and The Magical Forest. Video: Monique Gaudin
In 2010 on the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 54 million people were reported as having a disability, with 11 million needing assistance. In 1997, the US Census reported one in every ten Americans had some sort of severe disability. In Nevada, according to the 2009 statistics, 8.4% of the working-age population was reported as disabled.
Locating needed help and resources can be a daunting task. In today’s virtual domain of information, doing the investigative groundwork has become easier than hitting the pavement and scouring the Yellow Pages.
The Enterline Foundation has compiled an online clearinghouse of resources and information. Locally here in Las Vegas, there is the Desert Regional Center (DRC), a regional center of the Nevada Mental Health Services for starters. Opportunity Village, Danville Services Corp, and The Easter Seals provide various services, resources, and support. The Southern Nevada Center for Independent Living has a published online Directory of Resources for Disabled Residents & Visitors. It not only lists contact information for a variety of support groups and organizations, but there is information on assisted living, consumer products, health, and medical, to name a few.
Angela Coleman, a contributing writer to Yahoo Voices, compiled the Best Resources for the Disabled in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2006. And the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR) offers a list of National and State resources.
The information compiled in the infographic above are statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau presented by Matthew Brault on C-SPAN July 27, 2012 Washington Journal in a discussion about the 22 anniversary of the Americans Disabilities Act.
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Washington-Journal-for-Friday-July-27/10737432695-3/