ZIONSVILLE — The issues of the disabled community can sometimes be hard to fully grasp unless you personally deal with them. Zionsville hopes to understand them more with a new town-sponsored group.
The Zionsville Advisory Committee on Disability launched this month. The group will provide advice to the town from people who know physical and mental disabilities on a personal level.
"The disabled can come to us and we can make a recommendation," said committee chair Tom Easterday, a Zionsville resident who also leads the intellectual disability advocacy organization ILADD. "We can push those issues up a little bit for people of all abilities and help to see that they receive the support and attention they deserve."
"We want to make sure that people of all abilities are seen as vital members of our community and that we're doing what we can to make everything accessible," said Zionsville deputy mayor Justin Hage.
The five-member committee includes one person with an intellectual disability, two people who taught special education, and one person who employs people with special needs at his Zionsville coffee shop Our Place.
Easterday said their main priority will be ensuring the disabled can live and work in Zionsville without issue.
"Less than 10 percent of adults with intellectual disabilities live in homes of their own right now. In addition, there's tremendous transportation needs here."
The Zionsville Advisory Committee on Disability will meet once a month.
