The Lois Curtis Center is OPEN!

The Lois Curtis Center is Open!

The Lois Curtis Center officially opened our doors to the public on Saturday, June 22nd, in tandem with the 25th anniversary of the Olmstead Decision. The Olmstead Decision, also known as the Brown vs Board of Education for the disability community, exists thanks to the efforts of Lois Curtis, a Black woman with disabilities. The Olmstead Decision made it illegal to force people to live segregated from the community because of their disability status.

Creating Truly Inclusive Spaces for ALL People With Disabilities

There is a need for spaces like the Lois Curtis Center that provide services and supports to people with disabilities that also take into account the systemic racism and ableism that often limit- or prohibit- access to such spaces. In order for this to happen, space must be given to begin discussions about the consequences of exclusion and about how disability hides in plain sight when it comes to inequity in society. The staff of Lois Curtis Center, all who both have backgrounds in providing services and supports to people with disabilities as well as first-hand experience with disability ourselves, know this all-to-well.

Addressing Marginalization by Saying the Quiet Things Out Loud

People with disabilities, including people who have aged into disability, are capable of engaging in marginalizing, oppressive, and otherwise disrespectful behavior and should be held accountable like everyone else is. However, because our society has been conditioned to view people with disabilities as either incapable of being abusive or exempt from accountability, this leads to personal care attendants, who are predominantly women of color, being subjected to oppressive behavior from consumers without hope of any recourse. It is, in fact, a major, albeit unspoken, cause for the extremely high attrition rates for direct support professionals in the US. We at the Lois Curtis Center assert that this situation is unacceptable and are committed to speaking out about it, even if no one else will. ESPECIALLY because no one else will.

Addressing the Intersection of Systemic Racism and Disability

In addition to addressing the pervasive issue of the abuse of direct support professionals in disability spaces, we at the Lois Curtis Center seek to, on a daily basis, assist society to connect the dots between systemic racism and disability because systemic racism causes trauma and trauma can lead to disability, albeit disability experiences that are not validated within traditional disability spaces, let alone the mainstream.

From Brown vs Board of Education to the Olmstead Decision

Although we at the Lois Curtis Center think globally as far as systemic issues are concerned, we act locally- Topeka, to be specific, and are intentionally situated in a formerly decommissioned elementary school that was desegregated thanks to Brown vs Board of Education. The Lois Curtis Center's location was chosen because the area lacks many basic amenities such as grocery stores, spaces for people to convene without the intrusive presence of law enforcement officers, or even accessible sidewalks. We look forward to working as a member of the community to assist in bringing beneficial change to the community as we provide services, supports, and guidance to those who are not eligible for them elsewhere.

The Lois Curtis Center talks ADA: Join Us!

Join the Lois Curtis Center on Wednesday, July 24th as we discusses how, historically, access to initiatives intended to center people with disabilities have created disparities for multiply-marginalized members of the disability community. The program offers an opportunity to discuss how access to necessities like food, housing, healthcare, and transportation are impacted by the degree of underrepresentation an individual experiences and explore how we at the Lois Curtis Center are working to create a more inclusive society.

ASL will be provided; captioning available. For more information about the Lois Curtis Center, please visit us virtually at www.loiscurtiscampus.org or irl at 1921 SE Indiana Avenue, Topeka, KS 66607.