By: Catherine Kudlick
We all know the feeling: after years of being grumpy because nobody wanted my opinion as a person with a disability, it seems like everyone now wants it through an inbox bursting with surveys and polls. It's easy to be cynical. Do this many groups really care or is this some new fad? We’re busy. We delete. (If you're already feeling guilty, take the survey here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/SFDisabilityCenter)
Here’s the thing: we really need your feedback! Read on if you’re willing to let us make our best pitch for why this is worth your time.
- Because surveys need to be straightforward while acknowledging messiness and complexity, we had to put tons of work into it. We poured our hearts and souls into everything from words to commas – if computers didn’t automatically dot “I’s” and cross “t’s” we might have debated that too! Despite all the feedback we got from our team of advisors, we didn’t always get it right, but we tried. For example, we inspired a heated debate on Facebook about the best words when it came to transgender folks. (Convinced? Take the survey!)
- Surveys are actually conversations. Not just with strangers but with yourself. You get to ask yourself: What do I think? Why do I think it? Do the questions speak to me and what I believe needs to be said?(Discover if this is true by taking the survey!)
- There’s something powerful about embracing the idea that your perspective and voice matters. (To feel that power, go here.)
- Unlike mandatory trainings and reviews of your experiences after five seconds on the phone with a company rep, this survey really wants to know what you think. We’re working hard to get feedback from as wide a variety of people as possible because that’s what will make a future center vibrant. Because we believe in disability justice, we need to know what a broad spectrum of people with disabilities want and need, not just the privileged and the loud. (Yeah, I do care about disability culture and disability justice, so maybe I should weigh in.)
- Surveys are used to justify decisions. If the response numbers are low, people with power say people don't care. (Come on, you’ll feel terrible if they build whatever they want because too few people mentioned something you care about.)
- Here’s the airy-fairy meta one: surveys are one of those cool places where the past and the future touch. Your experiences (the past) meet your expectations (the future). (Never thought of this? Check it out!)
So, if you’ve gotten this far and still aren’t sure, it means you really do care. Take the survey already, and not only that: share it with three other people! We've extended the deadline until December 31, 2018 so now you have even more time to take it. But why wait...
And THANK YOU!