Disability Pride Parade & Festival

Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act with us!

YOU can contribute to a virtual celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act The Disability Pride 2020 planning committee is calling for people with disabilities, organizations serving people with disabilities, and other interested parties in Western New York, to submit short videos (less than 5 minutes) on what Disability Pride and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act means to them.... Your video clips can be as creative as you want them to be. Once the submissions are collected, they will be included in our video stream that will be shown online on July 26, 2020 via Facebook Live. You can access this event on the Disability Pride Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityPrideWNY/. You can email the video clips (with an attached script to facilitate closed captioning, please) to Jillian Moss at [email protected]. The Planning Committee asks that all entries be submitted by Friday July 17, 2020. Disability Pride is a celebration of both the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, and the diversity and power of people with disabilities in our community. The Committee encourages videos about any disability-related topic, including all the great things that our local organizations are doing to support people with disabilities in the area. We look forward to viewing and presenting your creative responses! Any questions can be directed to Daniel Colpoys, Chief Community Engagement Officer for Western New York Independent Living, Inc. at 716-836-0822, extension 166.

BREAKING NEWS: It would typically be almost time for our Disability Pride Parade and Festival in downtown Buffalo and Canalside. Unfortunately, COVID-19 had oth...er plans. We are excited to announce that COVID won't stop us from celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the signing of the American with Disabilities Act! Join us on Facebook on Sunday, July 26 at 11AM so we can celebrate together! We will have a full program including support from other companies around WNY, past celebration photos, and more! Be sure to follow our Facebook page to stay updated! Disability Pride Parade & Festival

Planning continues for Disability Pride this year. The show will go on! We will update our page as details become finalized. #ADA #PeoplewithDisabilities #DisabilityPride

Let's create some happiness! 10 Ways to Create Happiness 1.Gratitude. Write down 4 things you are grateful for everyday.... 2.Exercise. Doing exercises elevates your mood. The simplest form of exercise--just go for a 10 minute walk. 3.Acts of Kindness. Do a random act of kindness for a family member, friend, co-worker or stranger. This will improve your mood and the mood of the recipient. 4.Smile. Even if you don't feel like it, the mere act of smiling will elevate your mood. 5.Reach out. Connect with someone you care about. If you can't meet in person--you can still easily call, text or email. 6.Spirituality. Practicing a religion or philosophy of some kind can improve your mood and give you strength to deal with a difficult situation. 7.Hobbies. Finding an interesting way to spend your time during this difficult period certainly helps. Crocheting, knitting, stamp collecting, card games like spades or solitaire, board games, checkers and chess are some possibilities. 8.Reading a good book. You can travel the world with a good book. Now that we're spending more time indoors it's a perfect opportunity to escape with a wonderful novel. 9.Surf the Internet. Almost everyone can connect to the Internet via a cell phone or computer. We can learn about new things, follow the news and go on social media. 10.Listen to music. If you're feeling down, listening to music can soothe the soul. There are many options. Try one of your local radio stations, Pandora or Spotify. See more

From a woman with an intellectual disability on What the Americans With Disabilities Act means to her: "It gives me staff to help me go to the store and be more independent in the community".

From a woman with an intellectual disability on what the Americans With Disabilities Act means to her: "It gives me the ability to go to the library and stores in the community."

From a young man with Autism, with What the ADA Means to Me: "The ADA makes me feel safe and protected". Disability Pride Festival

Instead of one person's views each month on What the Americans With Disabilities Act means to them as we have done in previous months in leading up to Disabilit...y Pride in July, we will post one person's views every DAY during the month of March. Make sure to join us July 26th at 10:30a for the Parade from Buffalo City Hall to Canalside from11:00am til 2:00pm at Canalside. "It means that there have been changes to make buildings more accessible for people with disabilities. It gives us a voice if we are being discriminated against. It lets us have a safe living environment and to not have to live in any of kind institutions." The Centerpointe Day Hab. Group. Cantalician Center for Learning Disability Pride Festival

Doug Usiak, CEO of WNY Independent Living Inc. (WNYIL), talks about what the ADA means to him and shares his experince attending the historic signing of the Act at the White House in 1990.