Less than one year beyond my 1967 spinal cord injury, received in a stateside diving accident, it was my good fortune to be appointed by combat veteran and United Spinal Association’s Past-president Carlos Rodriguez to the organization’s Board of Directors. Since June of 1968, I have been privileged to be a part of this unique association.

At that time, VetsFirst and United Spinal Association existed under a different name; but then and now, our organization understands that advocacy for issues which positively impact all people with disabilities everywhere is good for disabled veterans, too. I’m proud to say that this time-honored tradition continues unabated.

I was recently interviewed by a writer for a Washington, DC-based group that’s working to strengthen our Social Security system. I recalled for this writer how I had been employed for nearly seven years at the time of my injury, and therefore, I was eligible to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. I received SSDI benefits for more than four years back then, including my nine-month trial work period. The SSDI income helped me meet expenses while I continued my education. And after 36 years of being employed, I was accepted again on SSDI in 2008 because my disability had worsened significantly.

Whatever we can do to improve Social Security benefits helps all people with disabilities, including veterans.

But there is much, much more. I remember working at my first job here back in the early 1970s, trying to find temporary accessible housing for wheelchair-using Vietnam-era vets transitioning from three different VA hospitals to the community. There was no accessible rental housing then, so the organization paid for the access adaptations to and inside ground floor apartments. We also started advocacy to improve/add access features to new building and housing codes, a tradition that continues today in our Accessibility Services program.

Accessible public transportation? It, too, did not exist so we sued New York City Transit in 1979 and won the lawsuit in 1984. Later, our General Counsel Jim Weisman helped to write the public transportation language of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its implementing regulations.

When you check out our family of websites, you will arrive at places like our USA Tech Guide, in my opinion the most comprehensive catalog of wheelchairs and other adaptive equipment on the web. You will also find ABLE to Travel, our own travel agency that specializes in making travel arrangements worldwide for wheelchair users and other people with disabilities.

Almost everything we do, including Social Security advocacy, helps disabled veterans in aspects of their lives beyond their veteran status. Disability status is a much larger common denominator for this organization. May it always be so…

Terry Moakley
Chair of the VetsFirst Committee