Employee Spotlight: Valerie Fatica Works to Break Barriers for Residents with Disabilities

Growing up, Valerie Fatica just wanted to be like everybody else and avoided anything that might draw more attention to her disability. Her father, however, often encouraged her to take a leadership role in the disability community, a message that took years to sink in.

Before joining the City, Fatica ran her own law practice for almost 15 years, focusing primarily on family law as well as Title III ADA litigation in federal court dealing with inaccessible public places.

"In hindsight, my father frequently encouraged me to be a leader in the disability community, but it took a long time for me to be comfortable with that part of who I am. My legal background, ADA work, and personal experience with the local disability community seemed to fit with the position of Disability Manager," she said.

Fatica's work is rooted in a personal understanding of the barriers people with disabilities face.

"Whether it's being ushered through an alley to use a back door to go through the kitchen to get into an inaccessible restaurant, posting a lookout outside of the restroom due to inaccessible stalls, or being treated like a child by strangers, all of us have stories of when we truly felt disabled. Having a sense of humor helps, but inaccessibility and outdated perceptions still outright excludes people from full integration in society and demeans our own self-worth," Fatica said.

Fatica has turned her vision of an inclusive Toledo into action through programs that remove barriers and celebrate residents with disabilities.

The Snow Angels program supports older residents and residents with disabilities by shoveling their driveways and walkways. By volunteering to be a Snow Angel, you're letting a nearby neighbor know you care and want to help. The program stems directly from Fatica's vision.

"Snow removal has been a consistent need voiced by residents and can cause real barriers for our seniors and residents with disabilities. I knew our generous community would be willing to help. One of our volunteers who has been with the program from the start even rides her bike to two homes to provide safe routes," Fatica said.

Disabled and Proud Fest celebrates the achievements of residents with disabilities and seeks to break down perception barriers.

"People with disabilities are often ignored or overlooked in society. Creating a celebration for the whole City hopefully helps our residents with disabilities feel welcome and breaks down those perception barriers between non-disabled people and people with disabilities. Inspired by our event, a disabled employee from a prosthetics company who attended met with his own Mayor to create a similar celebration," she said.

Looking ahead, Fatica said the City must address accessibility in every aspect of daily life, from home and work to recreation.

"In furtherance of the goal of making Toledo the most disability-friendly community in the nation, we need to look at the fullness of life. Home, work, entertainment and recreation are areas that all should be accessible and include people with disabilities. Think about where you tend to see more people with disabilities? Why aren't they elsewhere? City ADA coordinators tend to be isolated - tasked for ADA legal compliance for the entire organization with few resources. Collaboration and sharing between Ohio ADA Coordinators would help improve all of our municipalities," she said.

For Fatica, the work is personal and professional, a chance to make Toledo more inclusive for everyone.

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