Faces of the Disability Crisis: Able Americans Launches New Website and Video Series

08 Jul 2025Faces of the Disability Crisis: Able Americans Launches New Website and Video Series

The National Center's Able Americans project - which is dedicated to supporting Americans living with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities - has embarked on an exciting new chapter.

Under the leadership of Rachel Barkley, we've launched a bold new look, logo and website, which you can find at https://ableamericans.us/.

We've also released the first two videos of our new Faces of the Disability Crisis campaign. You can watch the trailer and first video below.

In the trailer, Rachel explains why we're taking these steps:

More than 61 million Americans live with a disability, and 40 million more are their caretakers. Despite a vast social safety of agencies and programs, outdated laws and misguided policies have forced millions of Americans with disabilities into lives of survival and subsistence rather than independence and opportunity.

That's why the National Center for Public Policy Research launched Able Americans and why we're rolling out this Faces of Disability Crisis campaign - to tell real stories of those living with a disability in America: our challenges, our triumphs, our calls for change to a broken system.

The first full-length video is entitled "Faces of the Disability Crisis: Jonathan's Story." In this video, the National Center's David Ridenour talks about the challenges he's encountered in trying to find and maintain consistent care for his adult son Jonathan, especially in the years since his wife (National Center Founder Amy Ridenour) passed away.

Disability policy in America has failed too many people. The default to fix the system should not be more spending and bureaucracy added to broken programs. Able Americans champions solutions that emphasize individual opportunity, good outcomes, and prioritizing the social safety net for those who need it.

We will reform barriers that keep people from living independently. We're pushing for changes - like portable benefits, higher asset limits, and more accessible housing and transportation - so people with disabilities can live on their own terms.

Our mission? To support Americans living with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities through:

• Innovative solutions that harness the free market
• More individual freedom and choice
• Removing barriers to independence and progress

If you want to be notified about future videos in this series, we encourage you to subscribe to our Able Americans mailing list. Later this week we'll release an exclusive video about a special friend of Able Americans. You don't want to miss his story!