HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF AN ABLE ACCOUNT

HELP AVOIDING THE BENEFITS CLIFF 

Dante Allen uses his ABLE account to pay for out-of-pocket costs on mobility equipment, like upgrades on his wheelchair.

“It is a great way to grow money long term … better than a Roth IRA or other IRA.

An IRA has a significant penalty if you withdraw money before you are 59 ½ years old,” he says.

“But you can withdraw ABLE account money for any qualified expense at any age.” 

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF AN ABLE ACCOUNT

HELP AVOIDING THE BENEFITS CLIFF 

ABLE accounts are structured like individual retirement accounts. 

You put money in them after taxes, and don’t have to pay taxes on any investment profits. 

Dante Allen is a wheelchair user and the executive director of the board at California Achieving a Better Life Experience, the organization that runs California’s ABLE program.

Through CalABLE, Allen owns an ABLE account and sees it as a useful financial tool, even though he has a good job and does not qualify for government benefits. 

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF AN ABLE ACCOUNT

HELP AVOIDING THE BENEFITS CLIFF 

Under the amended law, it won’t matter how old you are when you want to open an ABLE account, just how old you were at the onset of your disability.

Otherwise, all you need is a doctor’s signature that you have “severe functional limitations” lasting longer than a year. If you’re a wheelchair user, you’re almost certain to qualify.  

Eric Ochmanek, program director at the National Association of State Treasurers, is promoting ABLE accounts through ambassadors and the abletoday.org website.

He says opening an ABLE account takes about 20 minutes online.

You have the option of creating a savings account, which pays low interest but protects every dollar contributed, or an investment account, which comes with potentially higher growth but also the risk of losses if stock markets decline like they did in 2022.

“ABLE allows people with disabilities to accumulate wealth,” he says.

“It gives them choice for financial inclusion and empowerment, all while maintaining their Medicaid and [Supplemental Security Income] benefits.” 

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF AN ABLE ACCOUNT

HELP AVOIDING THE BENEFITS CLIFF

When Congress created ABLE accounts in 2014, they restricted them to people who acquired their disabilities before the age of 26. 

Mark Raymond was paralyzed as the result of a diving accident at age 27.

Fortunately, in December 2022, Congress passed an adjustment that raises the eligibility age to 46. Raymond will finally be eligible when the new rules take effect Jan. 1, 2026.  

“A tax-free savings account — you bet I will open one the day I’m eligible. I have expenses that would be nice to cover with ABLE account savings,” Raymond says.

“Home renovations could be saved for and funded. One time my (wheelchair) armrest broke and it cost $2,000 to fix it — not covered by insurance, so again, ABLE savings would help.”  

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF AN ABLE ACCOUNT

HELP AVOIDING THE BENEFITS CLIFF 

We talked with experts and wheelchair users in a variety of financial situations to find out more about the best-kept financial secret in the disability community. 

The consensus: As long as you’re eligible, there’s no reason not to open an ABLE Account. 

Mark Raymond Jr. of New Orleans serves as national outreach lead for ABLE Today, the National Association of State Treasurers Foundation’s campaign to promote awareness of ABLE accounts. 

An enthusiastic advocate, Raymond, a C5 quadriplegic, knows the benefits of an ABLE account as well as anyone, but is ineligible to open one. 

Thankfully, that’s about to change. 

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF AN ABLE ACCOUNT

HELP AVOIDING THE BENEFITS CLIFF 

Dante Allen used his savings to pay for an upgrade to his everyday wheelchair. 

Valerie Crisci is saving money to cover costs related to her service dog. 

Gayle Stanford used her savings to pay off her home mortgage so she could better afford recurring medical expenses.  

Disability life is expensive. 

There are a thousand potential costs that nondisabled people rarely have to think about.

Achieving a Better Life Experience accounts offer an easy, tax-advantaged way to save for disability-related expenses, plus they let you save without violating draconian disability benefits asset limits. 

Thanks to a recent federal law that expanded ABLE age limits, more people than ever will soon be eligible for these accounts.  

WAR ON WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

 CITY DECIDES PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE NOT WORTHY                   OF OUTDOOR STREET CAFÉ SEATING

What city spends millions of dollars making its main street more pedestrian friendly and inclusive?

Then permits 100% of sidewalk cafe tables that are high tops completely inaccessible to wheelchair users.

This is Coral Gables ON Miracle Mile.

This is in the public right of way, so there must be some kind of permitting.

Who allows a design that discriminates against people with disabilities?

It is called ableism.

It is just as bad as not allowing people of color to sit there – which would be racism.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

For a super urban neighborhood just south of Claiborne Avenue, Goldfinches was relatively quiet at night.

I heard a little bit music from the Candlelight Lounge that’s a block away. The last night I did not sleep well at all.

There was a lot of noise from an adjacent room. Not people partying, just lots of banging around the thuds.  

So be advised, Goldfinches is a house carved up into a bunch of rooms with walls thinner than a hotel’s.

Pack ear plugs and appreciate the low price point of the lodging.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

Probably the biggest negative is there’s really only a tiny window in the Goldfinches’ room so there’s very little natural light because half of that window is taken up by the air conditioning unit.

I’m the kind of person it out and about 16 hours a day, so I just needed to sleep, so the darkness was fine.

But those that need a little natural light might be slightly disappointed. One small negative is it’s three steps up into the bathroom.

One night I tripped and fell on those steps.

Some have commented that the room is too small, but I stayed nearly a week and never felt claustrophobic.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

It’s a tad confusing getting through a gate and storing bags in an outdoor locker, but the staff was amazing.

They addressed every need and every question -- and I’m the kind of person to ask lots of questions.

They had a list of about two dozen things like food, places, offbeat, museums little bars, not so well-known coffee, shops.

All of their recommendations were outstanding.

They mentioned a couple of careworn corner food stores that a tourist would normally never go to.

But I got fabulous Po-boys and gumbo based on their recommendations.

Bottom line, I paid under $100 per night for a room that gave me access to everything I wanted to do in New Orleans.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans has a crime issue and Treme is not a gilded neighborhood, but I always felt 100% safe and walked everywhere.

I never took a taxi home to Goldfinches.

I got home after midnight from seeing the great New Orleans music and I walked the back streets of Treme to see different architecture and unique things while getting back to the room I never felt endangered in the least.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

The Goldfinches room is small but very efficient. I love that there were pots and pans, a microwave and a regular oven.

You can heat up leftovers of the great New Orleans food after storing them in a dorm-sized fridge to that worked perfectly.

The shower has nice long lasting hot water.

The bed was comfortable and there was a little table to eat breakfast at.

The room has good air conditioning and it also has a portable space heater for the cooler winter nights.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

There are a lot of pluses about Goldfinches’ great location.

You can easily walk into the French Quarter.

It’s also in the heart of Treme and its attractions such as the Backstreets Cultural Museum, Petite Jazz Museum, a couple cool independent coffee shops and the incomparable Kermit’s Mother-In-Law Lounge on Claiborne Avenue.

On the other side of Claiborne is the Laffite Greenway, which you can walk through Mid-City all the way to Bayou Saint John.

There is a bus line along Claiborne just to the north and Rampart Street just to the south, for good transit connections.

WHAT KIND OF GOVERNMENT BLOCKS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

FROM ACCESSING A SAVE, PAVED GREENWAY PATH?

Here’s an idea. An exclusionary one. 

Let’s pave miles of safe pedestrian trails ideal for wheelchair users. 

But let’s end the sidewalk before it connects to them. 

This is in Coral Gables just west of Segovia traffic circle at Granada Golf Course.

City official claims Miami-Dade County is approving a traffic circle that will fix all of this.

Looks to use like a simple few feet of concrete or asphalt would fill the gap and provide access.

Check out the image below.

Super-inviting, safe pathway.

Two blocks from Coral Gables downtown.

But this entire intersection, zero ways to access the path from city sidewalks -- if you use a wheelchair for mobility.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN

ROAD SHOW

Happy to announce that I have finalized a deal to bring my unique and passionate presentation of design for all to a major event in the Great Lakes region.

I will be in my native Midwest in June, presenting Universal Design ideas to architects, planners, urban designers, transportation engineers, disability advocates and more.

My interactive and highly visual program will be a revamped and super customized version of something I've had the privilege of presenting at national and global events.

Specific details coming soon.

DISABILITY COMPLIANCE

 FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Proud to find out my thoughts on Universal Design for architects and urban designers will appear in a feature article in the prestigious publication Disability Compliance for Higher Education, by Wiley, a legacy publisher.

My Q&A with Hawa Allarakhia, who is a person with a disability, will appear in a future issue.

I created and team taught a groundbreaking course on Universal Design at the University of Miami School of Architecture.

Graduate and undergraduate students took the first-of-its kind survey course on design for all in the context of streets, transit, mobility, hospitality, healthcare, retail, restaurant, parks, office buildings, mixed-use and much more.

I’m searching for a new team teaching companion, to be able to teach the next semester of this essential course and a top 50 design school.

 

VISUAL STORYTELLING AT A GLOBAL LEVEL

PROUD TO CONTRIBUTE TO DISABILITY VISIBILITY

Thrilled to collaborate on a Disability Visibility project with brilliant storyteller Ron Small of Anchor Media Group.

He made I Danced for the Angel of Death: The Dr. Edith Eva Eger Story, for WLRN/PBS.

He founded the Holocaust Education Film Foundation.

We are telling the story of a giant in the disability field and the work left to be done.

Stay tuned, the Future Is Inclusive.

FOUR MYTHS EMPLOYERS HAVE ABOUT

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Diversity in the workplace pays huge dividends. Period.

Yet many employers – large, growing, dynamic and otherwise focused on developing a diverse workforce – repeat myths about people with disabilities.

Unfortunately, perpetuating negative stereotypes and myths about employees with disabilities happens all too often.

It can keep you from hiring or promoting your next innovator and valued team member.

It is a pleasure to collaborate on messaging with Meg O’Connell of Global Disability Inclusion. 

Here’s her latest poignant blog post:

https://www.globaldisabilityinclusion.com/post/four-myths-employers-have-about-people-with-disabilities

ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS

George Hobor, a Senior Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said the connection of geography and local conditions to health can be gauged by ever-emerging ways of gathering data.

“We funded a project in Atlanta looking at hospital admissions for injuries due to violence.  We tracked injuries resulting from violence on street, in parks, in public places and compared them to police reports,” he said.

“It shows how accurate is crime reporting.  It revealed a gap in reported versus actual incidents. 

People have an idea of what spaces are dangerous, but with the data – we can chart things to do, we can identify things to fix in a specific area.”

Based on data, RWJF has invested tens of millions of dollars in community development projects. 

The grants pay for restoring and empowering areas as small as a single block or half block. Improved socio-economic standing and access to healthy living has a positive impact on those communities – proven by data.

ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS

George Hobor, a Senior Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, noted that people don’t spend their entire day in their home neighborhood, so cell phone data can show where a person spends the day and how that could impact their health.

 

“During COVID, you could even use cell phone data to see how well distancing was practiced,” he said. 

“Twitter data can be used, as people develop ways to use it to track eating habits, socializing – combine it with survey results and you get a feel for how geography impacts health.”

 

 

NARROW BUS STOP

WITH NO WHEELCHAIR ACCESS TO ADJACENT PAVED PATH

Cruel and unusual bus stop in Coral Gables.

This problem festers on Coral Way at South Greenway.

There are miles of smooth paved pathways along Granada Golf Course are a few feet away.

But the bus stop pad ends in a cliff that prevents wheelchair users from accessing the paths.

A city official tells my Miami-Dade County is fixing the issue.

But I think that might be a crosswalk, not an accessible link to the safe, paved paths.

ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS

RWJF’s Place Matters program in Cuyahoga County – home county of Cleveland, ravaged by job loss and housing stock deterioration -- funded partnerships focused on eliminating health disparities. 

The initiative defined health not as the absence of disease, but “where people live, work, learn, age and play. 

Health includes the social conditions one lives in, such as the jobs we do, the money we're paid, the schools we attend and the neighborhoods we live in, as well as our genes, our behaviors and our medical care.”

Statistics showed chilling numbers in the City of East Cleveland. Its poverty rate was 32 percent and the heart disease mortality rates was 32 percent higher than that of the nation. 

Taking a holistic approach, the team hosted two land use summits focused on integrating of health and equity into land use planning and community development decision-making.

 

ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Place Matters program has looked at health disparities and the impact of racism in dozens of communities.

 

“When we saw in highly segregated areas, life expectancies in the mid-50s, but in the 80s at an affluent area right next door, we explored community development,” said George Hobor, a Senior Program Officer at RWJF.

“We wanted to look at statistics to help us answer the question of how do we best invest in communities that have been disinvested in?”

ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

 TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS

“From my perspective of a public health researcher, investments that could improve health behaviors – such as building grocery stores, increasing exercise opportunities and discouraging smoking – could also increase life expectancy,” Jessica Owens-Young wrote, sharing how data can identify zip codes and neighborhoods in need of initiatives.

“Policies that promote economic prosperity and address the impacts of racial segregation – such as investments in quality education, safe and affordable housing, and improved public transportation – could also help.”

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is a foundation focused on access to health care, public health, health equity, leadership and training, and changing systems to address barriers to health. 

With an endowment of $13 billion, the Princeton, New Jersey-based philanthropic organization has been using data to target community-focused grants for decades.

ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS

“Neighborhoods with large black populations tend to have lower life expectancies than communities that are majority white, Hispanic or Asian. 

Such racial differences reflect the places in which different races live, not the individual characteristics of people themselves,” she reveals. 

“Research shows that black communities are less likely to have access to resources that promote health, like grocery stores with fresh foods, places to exercise and quality health facilities.

This is true even in middle-class neighborhoods.”

Research from the Census Bureau and researchers at Harvard and Brown universities shows children from places that are economically disadvantaged tend to have worse outcomes as adults. 

Jessica Owens-Young reports that research also proves that where local government spending is higher, life expectancies increase among those with lower incomes.

ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS 

Jessica Owens-Young, Assistant Professor of Health Studies at the American University, wrote her interpretation of data showed that at the neighborhood level, longevity differences are sometimes even more drastic, appearing even when communities are only a few miles apart.

“In Washington, D.C., for example, people living in the Barry Farms neighborhood face a life expectancy of 63.2 years. Yet, less than 10 miles away, a baby born in Friendship Heights and Friendship Village can expect to live 96.1 years, according to CDC data,” she stated.

Owens-Young concludes land use, public policy and civic neglect as causes that leave black populations without the amenities needed to live long, healthy lives.

ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS

Being born in the wrong ZIP code can shorten your life – is the jarring headline in a story about disparity published in The Conversation by Jessica Owens-Young, Assistant Professor of Health Studies at the American University.

 

The average live expectancy in the U.S. is 78.8 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

“However, life expectancy varies widely across geography. A child born in Mississippi today could expect to never reach his or her 75th birthday. 

But a child born in California, Hawaii or New York could expect to reach their expect to live into the early 80s,” Owens-Young wrote. 

GLOBAL DISABILITY INCLUSION NAMED TO FAST COMPANY'S ANNUAL LIST

OF THE WORLD'S MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES FOR 2023

This is fabulous news — not just for Global Disability Inclusion and its clients.

But this also means the prestigious and cutting edge Fast Company recognizes that disability inclusion is a key aspect of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — a proven pathway to a better workforce and healthier profits.

Proud to collaborate with Meg O'Connell, Founder & CEO of GDI.

PETE BUTTIGIEG WANTS TO MAKE TRANSIT ACCESSIBLE — AND PAY FOR IT, TOO

THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION TALKS MOBILITY JUSTICE, MISSING SIDEWALKS AND ELEVATORS, AND BILLIONS IN FEDERAL GRANTS CURRENTLY UP FOR GRABS

BUTTIGIEG: 

We have to work on the steps that we know have the potential to unlock a better life for so many. 

We must [create an environment where people with disabilities can] reach their fullest potential.

Steve Wright is a Miami-based writer, planner, and educator.

He frequently lectures nationally — including at APA 2022 in San Diego — and globally on the subject, and works with teams on inclusive urban planning projects.

He also tweets and blogs daily about diversity, disability, and the wealth of cities.

 

 

PETE BUTTIGIEG WANTS TO MAKE TRANSIT ACCESSIBLE — AND PAY FOR IT, TOO

THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION TALKS MOBILITY JUSTICE, MISSING SIDEWALKS AND ELEVATORS, AND BILLIONS IN FEDERAL GRANTS CURRENTLY UP FOR GRABS

BUTTIGIEG: 

All of us have a stake in it. 

The state must support a society that allows everybody to thrive. 

That is really what is so urgent about this, because there are many problems that society or America hasn't solved — like, we are trying to figure out nuclear fusion.

But unlike particle physics, a lot of questions about accessibility have been addressed.

We've figured out how to do things from curb cuts to safe transportation of people who use wheelchairs for mobility. 

And yet, it's not happening everywhere.

PETE BUTTIGIEG WANTS TO MAKE TRANSIT ACCESSIBLE — AND PAY FOR IT, TOO

THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION TALKS MOBILITY JUSTICE, MISSING SIDEWALKS AND ELEVATORS, AND BILLIONS IN FEDERAL GRANTS CURRENTLY UP FOR GRABS

WRIGHT: Too many elected and appointed officials act like accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities is some kind of charity or favor. 

How are you addressing this?

BUTTIGIEG: The cost of inaccessibility comes down hardest on the people who are directly affected by it. 

But it really comes down on everybody and anybody who might benefit from an invention, an innovation, that comes from a well-employed person meeting their full potential, regardless of disability.