The Disability Resource Center hosted “Disability Awareness Day” in the Quad on April 17 to help raise awareness about both visible and invisible disabilities.

Dr. Gwyneth Tracy, Disability Resource Center coordinator, considers providing awareness to City College students important because dealing with a difficult disability can affect a student’s grades, participation in class or even cause a student to drop out.

“We want to build awareness and increase tolerance and understanding,” Tracy said. “Almost everyone knows someone with a disability. We need to be tolerant and supportive to each other.”

Students attending the event were encouraged to go to informational booths from various local agencies that support the needs of people with disabilities. Some of the organizations included ARC California, which helps recognize that people with developmental disabilities are entitled to equal treatment under the law; Alta California Regional Center, which assists families of developmentally disabled people in choosing support services; and Crossroads Employment Services. A couple of local radio stations were also at the event.

Daniel Harris and Janet McLaughlin, students from the Milieu Center in Sacramento, attended the event and listened to a presentation on bipolar disorder by speaker Tom Wooton, author of The Bipolar Advantage.

Crossroads Employment Services was another agency providing information.
Crossroads provides employment services to people with visible and invisible disabilities, which are those that are not physically apparent, such as mental illness or health-related disabilities that may cause pain but otherwise have no visual manifestation.

CES also has a youth program for people between the ages of 16 and 24. Crossroads’ Disability Program Manager Amore Taylor said all services were provided with referrals.

“Persons with disabilities want to work and support themselves just like anybody else,” Taylor said, referring to the importance of the organization.

Carlos Palacios, a member of the ARC California, represented his organization,
which lobbies for the rights of disabled people and their families. He explained that the ARC provides training to caretakers as well as other people who may come in contact with people with disabilities in their jobs. They also provide help with coping with a disability for families of those with disabilities.

“We are the ones who speak out for people with disabilities as well as their family members,” said Palacios.