Statement of Claude Holcomb of ADAPT May 30th, 2008

I am Claude Holcomb from ADAPT of Connecticut. I am here on the steps of City Hall because a friend of people with disabilities, Reverend Wade Blank, taught me that if you believe your rights are being compromised, you need to speak up. The library has denied access to people with all types of disabilities, not just people with severe disabilities, or people who use wheelchairs. Not having a power door at the main entrance of the library affects anyone who uses an assisted devices, such as a can, walker, crutches or scooter. It also affects people who have service animals and people who are elderly. In an article published in the Hartford Courant two weeks ago, Ms. Louise Blalock made it clear that all people are welcomed to use the library. But if people with disabilities are told to “use the back door” what kind of a welcome is that? I asked seven months ago when they reopened the front entrance of the library why the outside main entrance was not a power door. I was told the library needed to find grant money to cover the cost of installing a power door. I knew that was bull. On March 13th, 2008 I tried to set up an appointment with Ms. Blalock to discuss the front door issue. Instead of contacting me directly, she had the nerve to have a staff member e-mail me to tell me that I had to go to the Hartford Public Works Department. I went to Congressman John Larson’s office and talked to an aide about the main entrance to the library being inaccessible because Hartford received a federal grant to do the library over. The aide then wrote to Mayor Perez about this problem and did not even get a response. When City Hall heard abut this rally today and our demands, the Mayor ordered the Department of Public Works to install a power door. If the Office of Human Relations did what it was suppose to do, none of this would have happened in the first place. The problem with the front door of the library being inaccessible is just the tip of the iceberg. City Hall created an office to oversee disability issues in Hartford. If the city would use it, disability-related issues like this could easily be avoided. Thanks Eddie for stepping in and taking care of this problem. If this is bull, we will be back.

Note: For a history of ADAPT of Connecticut , see:  ADPAT of Connecticut: A Hammer for Justice, by Steve Thorton published on Homefront click here. Homefront.homstead can be found at www.homefront.homestead.com.