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Rochester Gets Low Ranking on Wallet Hub Report on Living Conditions for People with Disabilities

freeimages.com/Hans Thoursie

A ranking of 150 cities shows Rochester has one of the highest percentages of people with disabilities living below the poverty line.

The Wallet Hub analysis ranked Rochester 141 out of 150 for overall living conditions for the disabled community.  The report was based on factors including economic conditions, heath care and overall quality of life. Rochester’s 2014 ranking was 92.

Stephanie Woodward, director of advocacy for the Center for Disability Rights, called the report "arbitrary", because it did not examine factors such as integration of housing, and transportation.  She says both are big issues locally.

"We don't have accessible taxis in Rochester. That's a problem. Our RTS system doesn't go to the airport. That affects our ability to travel. Things like this really matter to people with disabilities."

RTS issued a statement saying they do provide airport service:

Spokesman Tom Brede says that, "Our regular RTS service for the airport runs every 30 minutes on weekdays and every hour on the weekends. We also provide service to the airport through RTS Access. The schedule for regular RTS service to the airport can be found here:

http://www.myrts.com/Portals/0/Schedules/September-2015/8-31-15-RTS_06_Jefferson.pdf. Information for RTS Access (which used to be known as Lift Line) can be found at http://www.myrts.com/Access. "

Woodward said it's no secret that Rochester is home to a lot of people with disabilities who live in poverty. But she said the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative has not yet fully included the voices of the disabled community in its work.

"I feel like we've gotten a place at the back table where the kids eat,” she said. “I'm not sure I'd say we've been fully included yet. We've been included in some workshops but not all of them, and poverty affects people with disabilities in all the areas - housing, transportation, and even the ability to put food on the table."

Woodward said able-bodied people living in poverty have more housing choices than impoverished people with disabilities. She said if a person with disabilities is fortunate enough to leave a nursing home, they are often housed in segregated high-rise buildings.

"What we're doing is making mini cripple ghettos. We only allow people with disabilities to live in these limited areas and they're not integrated; they're barely accessible or affordable, and there are simply not enough of them."

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.