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I'm Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán.

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I am, my day job is the[br]Senior Policy Manager at AIDS United.

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We work to end the HIV epidemic.

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And I would say I am[br]a disability advocate at heart

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because of my own[br]mental health disabilities,

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and I bring that throughout my entire life

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to try to push disability world[br]into one that is inclusive

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of all mental health[br]and developmental disabilities,

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not just the photogenic disabilities.

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I was a year old when the ADA passed.

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I am 31 years old, and we're celebrating[br]the 30th anniversary.

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So I have no memory, I grew up with it.

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My first memory of the ADA was my mother,[br]who was diabetic,

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getting, talking about accommodations[br]at her work to store insulin

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in the work fridge, along those lines.

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And I remember her talking about[br]this new thing called the ADA.

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You know how people talk[br]about work at home.

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But the ADA, I would say,[br]I had my own mental conception

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of what is a disabled person

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until I myself was dealing with the,[br]"I feel different,"

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both because of my being trans,[br]because of my mental health,

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and eventually dealing with it and getting[br]treatment when I was in law school,

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which I don't- Law school is always an[br]interesting experience in and of itself.

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It's a three-year hazing ritual.

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But I would say one of the things[br]that motivate me in disability

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is seeing just how much-

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In disability, we often treat people[br]as either poor things of pity

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or as scary and need[br]to be locked away, basically.

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Often, with physical disabilities,[br]it's the object of pity.

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With mental health disabilities,[br]it's the scary, let's lock them away,

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why are they allowing those people[br]out in the community?

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And, having seen that,[br]having been scared of it,

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having been worried about my career[br]if I were out,

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which says a lot as a trans person[br]being worried about being out

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as someone with[br]a mental health disability,

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I don't think, I mean,[br]I think we need to fundamentally alter

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how society sees what is normal[br]and not normal,

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and how that works as far as[br]being inclusive of all disabilities.

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I would say that one of the things[br]that impact me the most

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was, for example, when I got out[br]of law school.

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In law school, I received accommodations[br]right as I was about to graduate

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and help from the Assistant Dean[br]of Students, Sherry Abbott, at the time,

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because I was pretty much experiencing[br]a lot of problems

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that were related to my disability.

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And that probably wouldn't have[br]been possible without the ADA,

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without the spirit of it.

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And later, when I started my career,[br]a few months later, actually,

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I joined as a Schedule A hire[br]in the US Department of Labor.

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If it weren't for the initiative[br]at the federal government

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that was partially inspired by the ADA

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to make sure that people with disabilities

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are hired by the federal government,

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then maybe I wouldn't have started[br]in civil rights in DC when I did.

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So it has made a difference for me

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in receiving accommodations[br]at the jobs I've had and so forth.

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So it is a question of how do we-

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We already have a whole generation[br]like myself,

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who are in our early 30s and our 20s,

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all the millennials and zoomers,

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that don't remember the dark days[br]before the ADA.

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But we can't just coast on the,

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"Yay, we did the ADA,[br]now let's all go home and party,"

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because there is so much more[br]work to be done, basically.

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People with disabilities are still[br]routinely having to fight for their rights

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under the ADA to be solved.

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If we went around DC spotting[br]architectural barriers,

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we could spot a dozen [br]in a single mile radius.

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And that is a problem,

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and this is especially true,

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I like to talk about the sexy[br]versus the non-sexy disabilities,

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when we talk about disability,[br]people often get this

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inspiration porn mental image[br]of the photogenic person in a wheelchair,

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extra bonus points[br]if they're straight and white,

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but don't want to talk,[br]and exclude from the picture,

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from that pretty group picture,

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the person who stutters,[br]the person who has chronic pain

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and can't work because of it,[br]the person with mental health disabilities

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who has had psychosis[br]or other experiences like that.

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I mean, when we talk about mental health,

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we try and end the stigma[br]and other such calls for action,

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we often focus on the idea of,

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let's talk about the people[br]who were depressed

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and took some Prozac and got better,

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but don't want to talk about people[br]who are in long-term institutions,

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about people who experience psychosis,

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about people who experience[br]bipolar disorder, and so forth.

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And we need to be clear that it's all[br]disabled people that matter, basically,

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at the risk of sounding[br]All Lives Matter-ish,

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not just those we like the most.

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I would say, fundamentally,[br]there needs to be a change

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in how federal law treats people[br]with mental health disabilities.

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We need to fundamentally[br]end institutionalization.

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We need to include[br]universal health coverage,

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because people shouldn't be relying[br]on having a job

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to have access to affordable healthcare.

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And I am also thinking, as a major change,

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the fundamental idea that people

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with mental health[br]and developmental disabilities

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have rights in general.

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Fundamentally change the culture[br]and also call in people.

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I like to tell people,[br]"Use your privilege."

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Kind of like how they put the signs[br]on the metro and the New York subway

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that say, "If you see something,[br]say something."

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It applies here.

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If you see something ableist, say it.

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Don't wait till someone with a disability,

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who's exhausted of having to fight[br]for themselves, has to say it.

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When people bring it up,[br]evaluate and help them. Be an ally.