Rabbi Kahn preached Friday night April 8 about the extraordinary number of violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act as it relates to the design and construction of accessible housing.

The Equal Rights Center (ERC) is one of the most potent civil rights agencies in the country, responsible for persuading numerous major developers to retrofit hundreds of thousands of inaccessible units coast to coast and build untold numbers of new and accessible units. Also, the ERC worked out agreements with Subway Restaurants, CVS Pharmacy (over 7,000 locations), the Eye Care Center of America, MetroAccess here in Greater Washington, and many more companies to bring their buildings and services into compliance with law relating to accessibility.

Last Friday night Rabbi Kahn asked the people who heard him to help increase accessibility by contacting the Equal Rights Center when they encounter what they think may be violations of the ADA or any other civil rights law. A quick e-mail or phone call could make a world of difference for the good!

To report an accessibility problem contact:
    Robyn Powell: rpowell@equalrightscenter.org (202.370.3210). Robyn is the Disability Rights Program Manager.

For all other types of civil rights violations contact:
    Melissa Fobear: mfobear@equalrightscenter.org (202.370.3206.) Melissa is the Manager of Administration and will put you in touch with the right person on the staff, given the nature of the problem you are reporting.

Rabbi Kahn recommends going to the Equal Rights Center web site for well displayed, easy to use information about the ADA and FHA as well as other civil rights protections: www.equalrightscenter.org.

The web site is available to everyone. There is a major push going on right now to get people more aware of how accessible America is supposed to be and to help the ERC win the day for disability rights. The Equal Rights Center is a private, not for profit agency devoted to Fair Housing, Fair Employment, Disability Rights, Public Accommodation, Immigration Rights, and fairness in government services in accord with the law.