Rebecca Hayes

My name is Rebecca Hayes, and I'm someone with multiple disabilities and a degree in Disability Studies. I first needed accommodations as a child because my chronic illness made it difficult to attend school without them. I was lucky to have a 504 plan in school that allowed me to have the accommodations I needed. Section 504 has given disabled people more access to public schools, hospitals, employment, transportation, public services, and more. Protecting these rights for disabled Granite Staters is important right now. Disabled people in every state deserve to have our rights protected. Many people don't realize just how many people in their communities would be harmed if anything were to happen to Section 504. Disabled Granite Staters have had a particularly difficult year after an investigation revealed abuse and neglect in our state’s intellectual and developmental disability care system. Let's do whatever we can to make sure that disabled Granite Staters are protected. We should be working towards improving access, not going backwards.