Our mission is to promote community integration, participation, and independence for individuals with a disability by providing the tools and community support to be successful in their work and personal lives.
Our goal is to maximize quality of life, raise self-esteem, and improve physical and mental health.
Come learn about our grassroots advocacy working groups!
- Outdoor Access (description listed below)
- Accessible Parking (description listed below)
- Emergency Preparedness(description listed below)
- Care Support (description listed below)
- Accessible Transportation (description listed below)
Outdoor Access: This working group advocates against current constraints that hinder the disability community’s participation in outdoor activities. The group also raises awareness of the importance of inclusive, equal access to outdoor recreation and interfaces with companies and other organizations focused on outdoor recreation.
Accessible Parking: This working group advocates for improved accessible parking and increased awareness and education regarding common barriers encountered by the disability community. It also examines accessible parking laws and regulations throughout the United States.
Engage with State Departments of Motor Vehicles and local law enforcement.
Emergency Preparedness: This working group focuses on emergency preparedness for the SCI/D and wheelchair user community to deal with natural or manmade disasters. This group corresponds with the United Spinal Ready to Roll Emergency Preparedness program and serves as a member-led brain trust to ensure that it meets our community’s needs.
Care Support: Our members who use personal assistance find hiring and retaining aides harder due to the national community support and service crisis. The group will identify policy and advocacy initiatives to improve care support services for people with diverse disabilities across the country.
Join this working group to collaborate with fellow advocates and find solutions to this national crisis.
Accessible Transportation: The Accessible Transportation Working Group strives to achieve a clean energy future that is universally designed and accessible to people with disabilities by ensuring that we have equitable access to the existing and emerging technologies that drive the transportation and travel industries. The group will also work to improve access to public spaces, pathways and infrastructure.
Roll on Capitol Hill
Alexandria Teixeira, GSIL’s Peer Support Coordinator and Chapter Leader for the NH United Spinal Association had the privilege to represent NH and participated in this year’s roll, June 18 – 21, 2023. Roll on Capitol Hill is United Spinal’s annual signature policy event that supports key advocacy priorities for its membership and the broader disability community, including veterans, to ensure that legislators include wheelchair users and all people with disabilities in policy debates on Capitol Hill. The event strengthens the voice of our community and ensures all people with disabilities are engaged in policies that impact their quality of life and independence.
Discussions focused on accessible air travel, accessible ground transportation, and Medicare coverage of wheelchairs. Alexandria met with senatorial staff representatives for Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, as well as the staff members for Representatives Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster.
Pictured Below: (In front of the Capitol building: Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator Melinda Simms with her husband to the right. NH Chapter Leader Alexandria Teixeira with daughter and family | Center: NH Chapter Leader and grassroots Advocacy Coordinator Alexandria, her family and Melinda Simms in front of Sen. Hassan’s office with her legislative assistant | Peer Support Coordinator NH Chapter Leader Alexandria with daughter Alyvia getting ready to advocate!)
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Interested in joining and becoming a chapter member? https://unitedspinal.org/join-united-spinal-association/