SPOKANE, Wash. – Aerius Franklin may move around differently than others, but his cerebral palsy won’t stop him from making his way to Riverfront Park this weekend for what he’s calling a ‘celebration’ of ourselves and our community.
“Just to see people gather around…and see the different types of disabilities,” Aerius said. “When we have this ADA celebration, it feels like a rebirth…for me.”
Aerius is referring to the second annual ‘Multi-Cultural Disability Pride Event’ in Riverfront Park this Saturday, July 27, from 11 a.m. To 3 p.m.
“Thank the City of Spokane for allowing us to put on this event and really just allow people in the disability community to come out and celebrate themselves and have pride in disabilities as well as the city,” Aerius said.
Mark and Vicki Leeper are with the Disability Action Center NW ( www.dacnw.org ) and love helping people in the inland northwest living with disabilities both seen and unseen. Mark said he started working in the disability field more than 30 years ago, and it’s a personal passion.
“I’d always dealth with depression and anxiety,” Mark said. “I have a history of attempting death by suicide and so I think I wanted to work with people partly because I wanted to understand myself as well.”
Mark added that communities are the best they can be when they include all of us, whether someone has a visible or not visible struggle.
“If we live long enough we will have a disability,” Mark said. “It’s not a charity issue, it’s a human rights issue.”
Karl M. Johanson works on the DACNW board and said Saturday’s event is a manifestation of DAC being here serving this part of Washington.
“There are miles and miles in this Northeastern Washington area where people need information, they need support, they need hope,” Karl said.
Karl added that he’s starting to deal with hearing loss and vision loss, the disabilities that come with aging like Mark mentioned.
“Everyone is going to be dealing with either directly in their family or individually in their own life…decreased ability to do things they were able to do,” Karl said. “That’s where the disability action center comes in.”
Saturday’s event will help share local resources available for individuals with disabilities and also celebrate local groups with performances including Japanese dancers, Native American drum circle, Bollywood dancers, and more, all beginning with a proclamation and speech from Mayor Lisa Brown.
“Making sure that when people like me with a disability that are in your city, that it stays inclusive,” Aerius said. “I don’t necessarily look at the challenges, for me it’s just living. We try to get out and move around…and advocate by being the living example.”
For a schedule of Saturday’s event and more information, you can visit www.DACNW.org
