About this column:
Patrick Hughes and his mother, Brigid Hughes, are using this video blog to explore the issues that people with disabilities have in navigating the world, as well as how businesses welcome them.
This is a story about a 2nd grade student with disabilities, Penelope, who is fully included into her home school of Willard Elementary School in Evanston, Illinois. In this piece, Matt and Megan Lassman discuss what they went through as parents to get to this place. Including Penelope full time with her classmates shows that the benefits are two way. Integrating her with her peers allows for improved understanding, tolerance, patience and the possibility for friendship beyond what some might have thought possible. Please watch, comment and share. www.pepsiwithbrigid.com
Have you ever thought about what is being done about poverty? Both domestically and globally? Or wanted to help, but didn’t know where to start? Me too. Traveling to Haiti after the devastating earthquake revealed some disturbing but also inspiring images. I saw the destruction that this natural phenomenon left in its path. I saw the suffering and terror that had filled the country. But I also witnessed hope and action. An organization based in Evanston, IL, called the Haitian Congress invited me down there to observe and help. I got to see first hand how the world responds to disasters …
This week we discussed the FDR Memorial with Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, one of FDR’s grandchildren. Anna has been associated with the Roosevelt Institute for over 30 years and is currently the CEO of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. At Goodwill, she works on inclusion and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The FDR Memorial in Washington DC was originally commissioned without any image of disability. The disability community felt that the memorial was not complete without this image, and members of the disability community, along with Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and …
Please meet Linda Mastandrea, attorney, author and athlete who has won 15 gold and five Silver medals in wheelchair track.By every standard, Linda is an accomplished person. And yet…like 15 million other Americans with disabilities, Linda finds it to be a challenge every time she gets gas at the pump.While gas stations are everywhere - there were 159,000 retail fueling stations in 2010 – gas station access is almost nowhere for drivers with disabilities. This, despite the fact that there has been a law in place for more than 21 years requiring refueling assistance at the pump for drivers …
My parents Pat and Brigid Hughes sat down with me to discuss what it was like to raise a child with mental illness. It has been five years since my brother Brian died and yesterday (April 24th) would have been his 43rd birthday. I felt compelled to share his story with you. I think about my brother all the time. He is with me everyday in my business life and my personal life. I am forever grateful to my parents for making Brian part of our lives, and for their extraordinary generosity in sharing his story with people we have yet to meet. Please watch this video to meet my brother Brian …
