Striving to remove barriers that prevent us from building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities!
The Surgeon General warns that loneliness harms health like heavy smoking, and for people with developmental disabilities it’s driven by systems—not personal shortcomings. The piece argues that Disability Doesn’t Have To Mean Isolation: segregation in housing, day programs, and service models keeps people apart, so the public task is to redesign for connection and belonging.
Cincinnati shows the stakes: adults with developmental disabilities experience some of Ohio’s lowest employment and participation rates because our systems prize placement over purpose. Employers, funders, and agencies must start by removing barriers to ordinary civic life—transportation, hiring practices, and program rules that ration relationships.
The pandemic made the inequities deadly, cutting people off from family and supports while institutional settings amplified risk. Amini emphasizes shifting dollars toward community supports and housing that enable autonomy, coordinated health care, and everyday ties—an agenda powered by inclusive design rather than containment.
Hope comes from disability-led leadership: self-advocates, artists, entrepreneurs, and organizers show that communities grow stronger when people with disabilities define the vision. Building real belonging is a justice issue and a shared responsibility—practicing Unity in Diversity and treating lived experience as civic expertise.
Read the Full Article: America's loneliness epidemic is even worse for people with disabilities | Opinion.
By: Alen Amini
