Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán

I'm Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán.

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

We work to end the HIV epidemic.

And I would say I am
a disability advocate at heart

because of my own
mental health disabilities,

and I bring that throughout my entire life

to try to push disability world
into one that is inclusive

of all mental health
and developmental disabilities,

not just the photogenic disabilities.

I was a year old when the ADA passed.

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

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

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

getting, talking about accommodations
at her work to store insulin

in the work fridge, along those lines.

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

You know how people talk
about work at home.

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

of what is a disabled person

until I myself was dealing with the,
"I feel different,"

both because of my being trans,
because of my mental health,

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

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

It's a three-year hazing ritual.

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

is seeing just how much-

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

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

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

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

why are they allowing those people
out in the community?

And, having seen that,
having been scared of it,

having been worried about my career
if I were out,

which says a lot as a trans person
being worried about being out

as someone with
a mental health disability,

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

how society sees what is normal
and not normal,

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

I would say that one of the things
that impact me the most

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

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

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

because I was pretty much experiencing
a lot of problems

that were related to my disability.

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

without the spirit of it.

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

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

If it weren't for the initiative
at the federal government

that was partially inspired by the ADA

to make sure that people with disabilities

are hired by the federal government,

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

So it has made a difference for me

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

So it is a question of how do we-

We already have a whole generation
like myself,

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

all the millennials and zoomers,

that don't remember the dark days
before the ADA.

But we can't just coast on the,

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

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

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

under the ADA to be solved.

If we went around DC spotting
architectural barriers,

we could spot a dozen
in a single mile radius.

And that is a problem,

and this is especially true,

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

when we talk about disability,
people often get this

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

extra bonus points
if they're straight and white,

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

from that pretty group picture,

the person who stutters,
the person who has chronic pain

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

who has had psychosis
or other experiences like that.

I mean, when we talk about mental health,

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

we often focus on the idea of,

let's talk about the people
who were depressed

and took some Prozac and got better,

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

about people who experience psychosis,

about people who experience
bipolar disorder, and so forth.

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

at the risk of sounding
All Lives Matter-ish,

not just those we like the most.

I would say, fundamentally,
there needs to be a change

in how federal law treats people
with mental health disabilities.

We need to fundamentally
end institutionalization.

We need to include
universal health coverage,

because people shouldn't be relying
on having a job

to have access to affordable healthcare.

And I am also thinking, as a major change,

the fundamental idea that people

with mental health
and developmental disabilities

have rights in general.

Fundamentally change the culture
and also call in people.

I like to tell people,
"Use your privilege."

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

that say, "If you see something,
say something."

It applies here.

If you see something ableist, say it.

Don't wait till someone with a disability,

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

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