{"id":1753,"date":"2025-05-27T16:57:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T20:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cidd\/?p=1753"},"modified":"2025-07-14T13:06:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:06:24","slug":"advocacy-in-the-disability-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cidd\/2025\/05\/27\/advocacy-in-the-disability-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocacy in the Disability Community"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kenneth
CIDD Disability Advocate and podcaster, Kenneth Kelty, records an episode. (Spectrum News 1\/Marshall Keely)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CIDD\u2019s Kenneth Kelty is featured in Spectrum News.<\/p>\n

‘We’re in a crisis’: North Carolina lawmaker, advocates call for disability support in budget.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The NC waitlist for Innovations Waivers has almost 19,000 people on it, and it’s growing. Governor Josh Stein is pushing for more funding for waiver spots in the budget, which pay for people to give direct support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Even with waivers, many people living with intellectual or developmental disabilities can’t find direct support. <\/span><\/p>\n

CIDD Disability Advocate and podcaster, Kenneth Kelty, waited on the Innovations Waivers<\/span>\u00a0list for 14 years before he got a slot in the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a pretty independent person, but I still need help with being able to pay bills, and I still would like to be able to have someone take me out in the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kelty\u2019s waiver\u00a0means he lives in a rent-controlled apartment and has help getting around, offering him freedoms he\u2019d otherwise lose.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I did not have a DSP come or the waiver, I might unfortunately be stuck at home or a more segregated placement,\u201d Kelty said.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s still talking to many in his community who haven\u2019t yet been\u00a0afforded the same opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re missing out on meaningful experiences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His ask to lawmakers, for himself and for the people he\u2019s meeting, is simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to be able to live my life and not have to worry about getting services or what could happen if I don\u2019t,\u201d Kelty said.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CIDD\u2019s Kenneth Kelty is featured in Spectrum News. ‘We’re in a crisis’: North Carolina lawmaker, advocates call for disability support in budget. The NC waitlist for Innovations Waivers has almost 19,000 people on it, and it’s growing. Governor Josh Stein is pushing for more funding for waiver spots in the budget, which pay for people … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55430,"featured_media":1757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdvocacy in the Disability Community - The Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cidd\/2025\/05\/27\/advocacy-in-the-disability-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advocacy in the Disability Community - The Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CIDD\u2019s Kenneth Kelty is featured in Spectrum News. ‘We’re in a crisis’: North Carolina lawmaker, advocates call for disability support in budget. 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