Whether it's through a car crash whether it's through cancer, a health care issue, this is a community that you can join at any stage in your life.

And I will say this, if you are lucky to live long enough, I guarantee you will eventually be here.

Let that reality sink in.

This is a community that many of us will join at some point in our lives.

It includes individuals with both visible and invisible disabilities.

And it's larger than you may realize.

I hope that we have a world in the future, near future that 25% of every classroom is is kids with disabilities.

25% of people working in any occupation are people with disabilities.

Historically, it's been a group that has often been ignored or hidden from sight.

because the waitress literally said, people don't want to watch you eat.

For decades, the disability community has passionately advocated to address these inequalities.

While the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 was a major milestone, it is the outcome of years of work which continues to this day.

She's not going to be in a nursing home.

She's going to live and grow in her community.

However, the ability for individuals to live and thrive in their communities has not always been an option.

Colorado has been at the forefront of disability rights both before and since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as the ADA.

Opening doors one button at a time, paving the way with each curb cut.

They have to be seen.

They have to have the same opportunities as everybody else.

They don't see their disability.

And I think for the first couple of minutes, you shouldn't see it either.

You see that human first and then we'll get to the disability later on.

The history of disability rights in Colorado is experienced and shaped by real people living with disabilities across the state.

Only through shared action can we create a Colorado for all.

Coloradans with disabilities are living with more freedom and opportunity than ever.

Disability community members like Stewart Tucker Lundy, have proven that accessibility and integration lead to success.

A quadriplegic since the age of 14 from a swimming accident in 1982, he has experienced these changes over more than four decades and is now an actor, producer, podcaster, disability advocate and consultant living in Denver with his wife Marci.

Stewart was a co-producer in the national Jansport commercial campaign that featured Coloradans with disabilities.

This commercial is going to be for somebody who is sitting on a porch and now they can get out now because they know and can see a commercial with all these folks in wheelchairs and what not doing wonderful things having a great time, and I helped portray that.

For Stewart, representation is a daily act of resilience, challenging assumptions through both advocacy and adventure.

Ahh yes!

Oh, yeah.

Youre like wow... that was fantastic.

And it happened because Im not walking.

Stewarts story reminds us that representation means more than just being seen.

It means living fully, thriving in communities.

Others across Colorado are breaking down barriers and redefining what's possible in their own ways.

Take Megan Bomgaars, a recent graduate of Regis University in Denver.

Megan rose to national attention as a young woman with Down syndrome when she co-starred in the Emmy-winning series Born This Way.

(Crowd chanting) Megan!

Megan!

I have always wanted to be a fashion designer.

My dream team did not see my disability, I like how people are really, really advocating for what they want and what they need.

They need to use their voice.

And some people do get scared by using their voice and they need to open up and just be open and be open-hearted and be open-minded.

Megan is the author of two children's books.

She reads them to students in inclusive classrooms like this one in Denver's Dora Moore Elementary School.

It is time to really start showing the world all the light that is all inside of you.

And were all going to say this together.

It is time for you to sparkle.

I really believe because Megan was included in a regular, inclusive classroom, many, many years ago...the inclusivity and the social skills.

and the education that she received is one of the very important parts of her being able to live in a community where she's accepted.

The groundwork for Stewart and Megan's success can be linked to coordinated efforts between disability rights advocates and policymakers.

Since 2019, the state has passed laws to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities, end subminimum wage, and ensure increased accessibility of housing and digital services.

But Colorado's recent successes are in sharp contrast to the dark and disturbing realities that took place in institutions across the country.

Willowbrook in New York and Pennhurst in Pennsylvania were notably exposed in the media for confining people in horrible conditions.

Colorado had its own contributions to historical injustices in Wheat Ridge, Pueblo, and Grand Junction.

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities were kept in what the state called training schools.

The Teller School in Grand Junction in particular had a painful past.

Originally serving as an Indian boarding school for Native American children.

Colorado has acknowledged this dark moment in our shared history, and is working with tribal and American Indian and Alaska Native communities, to learn and heal from the intergenerational trauma it produced.

The state has also moved individuals from the Grand Junction Regional Center, as well as converted other campuses to group homes, which are primarily used for short term treatment and stabilization, with the goal of returning individuals to their community of choice.

These changes, among others, occur due to decades of advocacy by the disability community, including one of the most influential events in Colorado's disability rights history.

In July of 1978, a group of 19 people with disabilities, many of whom had relocated from nursing homes and who would later be dubbed the Gang of 19, made national headlines by protesting the failure of Denver's bus system to provide wheelchair access.

Members of the Atlantis community and the newly formed group ADAPT, used nonviolent civil disobedience, blocking busses at a busy intersection for 24 hours to illustrate the daily reality of being unable to board a bus when you need it most.

People assembled by Broadway and Colfax, the busiest intersection in Denver.

And a bus came by and a bunch of people ran in front of the bus.

You know, about ten people.

And then another bus came behind that bus, and about nine people went to the back of the bus of 19 people.

And within minutes, some of the police came and said, get up, get out, get out, or you'll be arrested.

No one moved, no one budged.

Disability rights advocates Barry Rosenberg and Wade Blank helped the Gang of 19 bring attention to the critical issues of transportation and other barriers to independent living.

The continued advocacy of the Gang of 19 and other disability advocates led to another critical moment in this history.

In March of 1990, after more than a decade of meetings, direct action and attempted legislation, the Wheels of Justice campaign brought nearly 1000 disability activists to Washington, D.C., marching from the White House to the Capitol.

“Access is our civil rights!

Access is our civil rights!”

In a powerful act of protest, around 60 individuals left their wheelchairs and mobility aids behind to crawl up the Capitols 83 stone steps, including a young Colorado girl named Jennifer Keelan Chaffins, born with cerebral palsy.

What can we do to show Congress why it is important that we pass this law, why it's important that people with disabilities have the same civil rights as everybody else.

Come on, Jennifer!

Well, let's show them.

Let's give them a physical demonstration of what it is like when people with disabilities are being confronted with physical barriers.

Ill take all night if I have to The bipartisan ADA was passed a few months later.

And on your behalf, as well as on behalf of this entire country.

I now lift my pen to sign this Americans with Disabilities Act and say, let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.

God bless you all.

Jennifer's Capitol crawl was recently immortalized by Colorado sculptor Gina Vernon We see it as a bridge from the past to the future.

of all the accomplishments and achievements of the disabilities community.

But we also want to show that the strength and the power and the hope that still continue that still continues.

This is a very important piece of our history, that is rarely discussed and taught in the classroom.

And, you know, I want to change that.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is an important inflection point in disability rights, changing accessibility requirements and providing opportunity and independence for people with disabilities.

Such as Josh Winkler, a long-time disability advocate who is currently the senior advisor to the Colorado Lieutenant Governor, including on disability policy.

Josh is keenly aware of ADA history.

To now have an office that I work in that I get, you know, a button hit to get in the door.

That I have a desk that can raise and lower to be the right height for me.

That world was created by people like Jennifer, who climbed the Capitol stairs on her hands and knees.

And I very much respect the people that built the system that allows me this opportunity to not live in poverty, to not live in an institution, to be able to independently get around the community, to go and pretty much any business anywhere in this country.

Colorado has consistently been ranked at or near the top nationally when it comes to disability rights.

Thanks to intentional effort of advocates and lawmakers.

Representation and access is critical at all levels of government, from federal to state to local.

Well, even though we've made a lot of headway with the ADA and a lot of the activism that we've had in Colorado, we still have a ways to go.

And I think one of my biggest concerns is that people become complacent and think anthat we've arrived, when actually to continue to have make sure that people with disabilities have their rights and have access We need advocacy.

We need partnership.

We need voices at the table.

The work is just starting.

Just because we're number one doesn't mean basic access and disability rights are secured.

Until every wheelchair user can get into every place of business.

But not just for our fellow Americans that will never know.

Former Colorado State Representative David Ortiz has been an important recent voice.

As an Army helicopter pilot, Ortiz was paralyzed in a crash in Afghanistan.

After going through neuro-rehabilitation at Craig Hospital, he decided to stay in Colorado and became a passionate advocate for veterans and people with disabilities.

That led to serving four years in the Colorado Legislature.

I ran 20 plus disability rights bills, ranging from rewriting the anti-discrimination law, to mandating that car rental companies make sure that we can reserve hand controls online, to trying to force the airport to become more accessible.

It includes county commissioners city council... Colorado Springs City Council member Yolanda Avila is another lawmaker who has a unique perspective.

She lost the majority of her sight more than 25 years ago.

She served on the council for the past.

eight years with the help of her guide dog, Puma.

The community has learned that someone like me has a lot to offer.

And to not provide that accessibility, were denying ourselves as a community, of a lot of gifts and talent that people with varying abilities bring to the table.

I think I've been able to show that... yeah, I might not have my sight, but I clearly have a vision.

Part of that vision is to make her community a better place for all residents.

She worked hard to improve the sidewalks in her city, recognizing that smoother surfaces and curb cut outs can have a wide reaching positive impact.

That not only made it accessible for me and a person in a wheelchair, it made it accessible for a young mom with twins.

And so I got to see that it wasn't just for people with disabilities, but this law, the ADA law, it was a promise to bring enhance everybodys life.

While the ADA is an important milestone, it is not the end of the story.

There are businesses out there that think that its optional.

There are people out there that think they're doing us a favor when they meet the bare minimum.

And let's be very clear, the ADA is the bare minimum of our rights.

Until I can travel freely, until I can take up the opportunity of housing, until I can get a job freely and get promoted freely without the company wondering whether they're accessible enough and whether they're going to get sued.

Until it's built into the model, until universal design is universal.

There's not a single piece of legislation that goes through that does not impact people with disabilities.

Some are very specifically disability focused, but every piece of legislation, whether you're talking AI regulations, you're talking broadband access, you're talking public transit, anything going through this legislature impacts people with disabilities to some extent.

“Market Street, walk sign is on to cross.

Market Street.”

This reality further demonstrates why the disability community must be part of the process of developing policy.

Colorados longstanding commitment to empowering people with disabilities is especially clear at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind in Colorado Springs.

For more than 150 years, students here have developed skills to succeed, and for the first time, have a superintendent who is deaf.

Students who are deaf, students who are blind, students who are deaf/blind, really require specialized services to meet their educational needs related with deafness and being blind or deaf/blind.

So the staff that work with those students really are the experts in deafness, the experts in blindness.

Students are taught how to utilize the various tools that are a result of standards associated with the establishment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, along with the ADA.

When they come here to this environment, they see that they are you know quote, unquote, normal, they are Theyre not the exception.

They can think, okay, you know what, theres nothing wrong with me.

I fit right in here, I belong here.

Now, 35 years later, people with disabilities not only can leave their homes, not only can do things like grocery shopping and having dinner with friends.

Feel the bag make sure its okay Yea, that works for us.

They can work, they can recreate, in Colorado, we have a huge outdoor recreation industry that includes people with disabilities.

Whether you want to, you know, use a sit ski or you're a blind skier that uses navigation, every ski resort has a program to support you.

That was a pipe dream in 1990.

Jennifer Ochs is living that dream as an active member of the Colorado recreation community... skiing, hiking, water skiing, horseback riding and advocating for those with disabilities.

Jenn was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 30.

The cancer, bone marrow and chemo treatments put Jenns cancer into remission but left her with permanent disabilities.

She has certainly not lost her sense of adventure.

Never thought I could do those things again.

And you don't really realize until you cannot do them, how much you miss them.

Once I learned I can do them, it makes me feel proud of myself And that also encourages me to stay fit, and stay strong, so I can do those things.

Jenn was honored for her disability advocacy as 2023 Ms.

Wheelchair Colorado.

Shes a writer, columnist and leads by example... (Laughing and cheering) as she encourages others with disabilities to participate and live independently.

Just because were on Medicaid, people are not lazy.

Lots of times our illness stops us from having a normal Monday through Friday job.

But there are things we can do, and we do, do.

That independence and desire to work is on full display at this unique restaurant in Englewood, Colorado called Brewability.

Its a brewery serving award- winning pizza that employs adults with disabilities.

I opened Brewability because I'm a former Special Ed teacher and found out there was a lack of employment opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

And I wanted to do something that was cool and different and would hopefully change the world.

The restaurant offers adaptive, color-coded menus and an accessability-first environment tailored to guests of all abilities, supported by a passionate team.

We have people that are deaf, blind, autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and terminally ill.

A lot of my people are extremely independent, maybe just need a little assistance here and there but who doesnt on the job?

Brewability has a waiting list of more than 900 people with disabilities who have applied to work at the restaurant.

I think it's important that when you have a little girl with Down syndrome coming in to dine, that they see Rachel cooking and serving a pizza.

And that they can see themselves working.

As individuals continue to advance accessibility across Colorado, initiatives like this remind us that the full integration of all people into the community is not simply a box to check, its an ongoing effort.

So where do we go from here?

One clear answer advocacy remains just as vital today as it ever was.

Especially during times of budget cuts and debates about importance of creating a Colorado and a country that respects all people.

(No cuts to Medicaid!)

In some ways, I feel like were going backwards and we cant afford that right now.

And this is why it is so important that we continue to use our voices, continue to speak up and speak out.

Dont stop.

Dont ever stop.

The laws and policies currently in place are only the foundation In Colorado, that foundation is being strengthened by the creation of a dedicated state office in 2024 to advise the creation of a dedicated state office in 2024 to advise future administrations directly from the disability community while ensuring coordination across state agencies.

We created the Colorado Disability Opportunity office.

We purposely gave it that name because we want to focus on opportunity.

We didn't want to focus on pity.

We purposely didn't put it in human services or social services because we didn't want to give the impression that people with disabilities have to rely on government services.

People with disabilities can work, they can thrive, they can contribute.

And that's the opportunity that we want to see in the future.

I think in Colorado we have a really good combination of supports in government and strength and advocacy, but that work together.

Inclusion isnt just the responsibility of a few, its a collective effort.

Accessibility benefits everyone and harms no one, which is why its essential that the doors of opportunity and inclusion are always open.

When I go up to a door, and I have to sit outside like a puppy or a golden retriever, waiting for somebody to come and open the door for me, sometimes that has a tendency to be a little bit discouraging and frankly humiliating.

Any little initiative I get, if she's invited to a birthday party, if she's included, with dinner invitations or anything like that.

I get so excited as a mom, and one of the things I've learned this year, being on Regis campus, from the administrators, is, you know, that that's the norm.

That's the norm.

We should be expecting inclusion and we should be expecting respect and just being a good human should be the expectation.

We're not figures to pity, we're not to be pitied.

Don't talk to my caregiver.

Talk to me.

This is not the tragedy.

It's the lack of basic access in the world, and it's the ableism in the world that devalues us and views us as less than or less than capable, despite our disability.

That's what I want people to understand and realize as well.

Inclusion isnt about making room.

Its about recognizing the room was never complete without everyone in it.

Its shaped by those who refuse to be left out, and those who refuse to leave others behind.

Its how we build a Colorado where people of all abilities can truly thrive.

Colorado is and should be a leader in inclusion, making sure that we believe that were at our best when we include the talents and perspectives of everybody.

And that means everybody.

No matter who you are, no matter your ability level, no matter where you live in our state, you have an important part to play in the future of Colorado.

Thats the spirit at the heart of A Colorado for All