By Michael Morris, Executive Director, National Disability Institute and Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Director of the Racial Wealth Divide Initiative of CFED
Disability in America crosses the dividing lines of gender, race, ethnicity and age. And, the most common characteristic among those with disabilities in the United States is living in or near poverty. Currently, nearly one in three Americans with disabilities lives in poverty.
The relationship between disability and financial insecurity flows both ways; just as having a disability can bring about financial challenges, living in poverty can exacerbate disabilities. People with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty because of limited educational and employment opportunities. And when people live in poverty, they are more likely to have a disability due to environmental stressors, employment options and poor educational and health care access.
Racial disparities exacerbate these economic realities. African Americans are only slightly more likely than whites to have a disability (14% of blacks have a disability, compared to 11% of whites), but it appears the economic impact of disability is substantially greater for blacks than it is for their white counterparts. For example, the income poverty rate for adults with disabilities (28%) is more than twice the rate of adults with no disability (13%), though people of color with disabilities are much more likely to be poor: 39% of blacks with disabilities live in poverty, as do 30% of Latinos with disabilities. The depth of these disparities becomes even plainer when compared to the poverty rate for whites with a disability (just 24%).
In addition, two-thirds (66%) of families headed by an African American with a disability are unbanked or underbanked, compared with 40% of white households, 54% of Latino households and 37% of Asian households. Households led by persons with disabilities are also more likely to use predatory lenders. Almost one-fifth of households led by an African American with a disability used alternative or predatory financial services in 2014. Using services such as payday lenders, pawn shops, rent-to-own, tax refund anticipation loans or auto title loans often trap these households in a cycle of high interest loans that make it difficult for them to maintain economic stability.
These disparities demand urgent attention. They rob individuals and families of dignity and self-respect, deny their participation in the workforce and economic mainstream and diminish their quality of life. We must make it a priority in this country to connect leaders from both the disability community and financial services sector, as well as policy makers, employers, regulators, self-advocates and family members to lead in the development of new efforts to fulfill the American with Disabilities Act's (ADA) goal of "economic self-sufficiency."
In response to the economic challenges faced by those with disabilities -- particularly those from low-wealth communities, like most households of color -- the DISABLE POVERTY campaign has been launched. A grassroots campaign created by National Disability Institute, DISABLE POVERTY aims to build a national conversation around disability, financial capability and poverty.
As we celebrate the anniversary of the ADA, passed 26 years ago today, it's time to revisit the conversation of economic opportunity for persons with disabilities. The DISABLE POVERTY campaign is designed to move this work forward and advance best practices that can strengthen financial security. Writing civil rights protections for persons with disabilities into law was an important and historic feat, but without economic opportunity and security, millions of Americans will continue to face needless economic hardship.