Champion for people with disabilities passes away

Former Nebraskan Alice Hagemeyer is a nationally-recognized advocate of library service to deaf individuals and founder of Friends of Libraries for Deaf Action (FOLDA). Ms. Hagemeyer announced that a colleague and advocate for people with disabilities, Frank Bowe, Ph.D., passed away at age 60. Dr. Bowe was professor of counseling, research, special education, and rehabilitation at Hofstra University. In 2006, Professor Bowe published research which documented that many Americans with disabilities: –endured poverty. 75% earn less than $20,000 per year. Poverty rates were greater than 25%. –(less than half) did not have private health insurance. –subsisted primarily on Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. –(if still in school) were likely to lag behind their nondisabled peers. For instance, 61% of nine-year-olds with disabilities were in third-grade instead of fourth. We need serious researchers, such as Dr. Bowe, to cast light upon the impact of disabilities. BTW, Dr. Bowe was a deaf individual.