After reading the article by Robyn Powell on how the government had neglected people with disabilities, I was not surprised. The course readings encountered other inequalities experienced by the community and how the government proved ineffective in creating an enabling environment that accommodates their needs. The Coronavirus pandemic revealed the widespread neglect of people with disabilities by the government and its agencies. Given that everyone feels the effect of the disruptions caused by Covid-19, the focus has been directed to other population groups, leaving people with disabilities to overcome the demanding situations by themselves.
Following continued activism from interest groups on the plight of people with disabilities, the government has introduced various programs to address the multiple problems encountered by the population group. The responses to Covid-19 targeting people with disabilities are influenced by the need to minimize the widespread inequality and ensure that the affected individuals can normally live during uncertain times (Powell, 2020). In the U.S., the federal administration considers a rights-based response to maintain a certain level of equality in its interaction with different population groups. Therefore, recognizing people with disabilities as essential members of society is one of the approaches that governments can use in their public response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the article, Robyn Powell shares her experience as a person with a disability, which makes her story relatable. Society’s disregard informs her views for people with disabilities, which can be witnessed in the government’s response to the pandemic. She criticizes the government’s position that people with disabilities should stay at home while their healthy counterparts lead everyday lives. Likewise, Powell demonstrates how the institutionalization process affects people with disabilities by creating barriers limiting their potential.
