Freedom Day: For many disabled people, it’s just another day

Wednesday, 1 December 2021

What's Wrong With You? is a Stuff podcast about disability and navigating a world that's not designed for you, hosted by Olivia Shivas and Rebecca Dubber.

OPINION: When I think of freedom, I think of my titanium wheelchair which allows me to get from A to B.

I think of my car adaptations that allow me to drive to work, visit friends and try out new cafes.

I think of support funding which allows me to live a healthy and independent life with a disability.

Today, the country moves into the traffic light system to manage Covid-19 – also auspiciously known as Freedom Day. But for many people with disabilities, it’s just another day.

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The irony of Freedom Day today is that it also falls on the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities. December 3 is a day to bring awareness of disability issues and celebrate the community.

Freedom as a disabled person is not straight-forward.

The application process to get funding for a wheelchair, car adaptions and support takes many months, sometimes up to a year. The process involves interviews, meetings, emails, phone calls, a lot of anxiety and pressure to prove you are “disabled enough’’ for the basic resources to assist you living a life of freedom.

Getting to even this imperfect system has taken years of advocacy from generations of disabled people before me, to ensure the disabled community can experience the kinds of freedoms non-disabled people take for granted.

Disabled people having the opportunity to live in a community is a relatively modern development, with the country’s last institution closing in 2006 and support services still failing disabled people.

Paralympian Rebecca Dubber, left, and Stuff digital producer Olivia Shivas, right, are the hosts of a podcast series about disability called What's Wrong With You?

Many people have had enough of working from home (I know I have!) and are looking forward to going back to the office for work. But being at home is a reality for many disabled people due to the lack of accessible workplaces, transportation services and public spaces.

While on one hand, some people are excited to be heading back to eating out and working out at the gym, there isn’t the same level of freedom for some people with disabilities.

Olivia Shivas, Rebecca Dubber and guests tackle the big questions about life with a disability in Stuff's podcast called What's Wrong With You? They discuss sex, religion, mobility carparks - and how to fend off outrageous questions.

I’ve had lots of picnic and takeaway catch-ups the last few weeks, and co-ordinating these catch-ups takes a lot more planning under the alert level rules – are there too many people? Do we need to split up into two groups? Have we packed enough hand sanitiser and picnic blankets? And you’ve got to make sure you go to the bathroom before you leave home!

Disabled people have been forced to incorporate extra planning when they have an outing many non-disabled people take for granted.

In my case, I’ve got to check if there’s mobility parking available. Is there a lift or step-free entrance? How do I keep myself dry if it’s raining? Is there an accessible bathroom at the restaurant? (And yes, I’m already used to going to the bathroom before I leave home because I never know when I’ll come across an accessible restroom.)

For disabled people there is more to this than just the physical and practical side to going out. The reality of living in a community with a virus that could kill you if you are immunocompromised is a legitimate fear.

Research shows some people with pre-existing conditions are more at risk and the outcomes of catching Covid-19 are not good. Before Covid, I knew people personally with a similar disability to mine who died from the winter flu because it developed into pneumonia very quickly.

It’s been a fear throughout the pandemic, but today that fear will be heightened for some people.

One thing that is different now compared to when the pandemic first started is that we have the vaccine. It’s those who are most vulnerable that benefit the most from the protection the vaccine gives.

I do feel a level of security in knowing that most places where one could be more likely to catch the virus – like my gym or my favourite cafes – require vaccine certificates.

Through our decisions, attitudes and political priorities, we make the world more or less accessible to disabled people. By prioritising accessibility and disability rights, we can increase freedom for disabled people.

We need more accessible housing, better flexibility with transport, more captions on media content and the list goes on.

We need more people like Cyrus Dahl, who has cerebral palsy, and raised more than $43,000 for two accessible swings in Wellington. But we can’t put the burden on disabled people alone to make their lives more accessible.

Non-disabled people have a role to play in the fight for disability rights every day. We need more than one awareness day to make freedom a reality for everyone.