4th Thursday ADA Talk: The ADA, Addiction, and Recovery

Event Date: March 24, 2022
Time: 10:00-11:00am, Eastern time
Sponsor Organization: Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky
Where: Attend online using the Zoom platform

Topic: 4th Thursday ADA Talks: The ADA, Addiction, and Recovery
Guest Speaker: Barry Whaley with the Southeast ADA Center
Host: Jason Jones
Objective: Learn about different topics surrounding the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Registration link: www.tinyurl.com/adatalks2022

Description: The pandemic has led to sharp increases in alcohol and substance abuse in the U.S. and an increase in behavioral health disorders. Although more than 70% of individuals with alcohol or drug use continue to maintain employment, as many employees with alcohol or other drug problems can continue to remain “functioning.” Over 22 million Americans are currently in recovery from alcohol and other drug use disorders. (Source: Working on addiction in the workplace, Harvard Health Blog [link: health.harvard.edu/blog/working-on-addiction-in-the-workplace-2017063011941]. Although addiction affects all demographic groups, drug and alcohol abuse among African American communities is higher than the general population and African Americans have poorer treatment outcomes. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 20.4% of adult African Americans reported illicit drug use in the past year. (Source: https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics/african-americans)  American Indian and Alaska Natives have some of the highest rates of substance abuse.  Twenty-two percent abuse illicit [drugs.]

Guest: Barry Whaley works at the Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University.  He is the Co-Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Southeast ADA Center, Principal Co-Collaborator with the University of Leeds (UK) Inclusive Public Spaces project, Co-Collaborator with the University of Queensland (AU) Gender, Equity, Disability, and Social Inclusion Mainstreaming Short Course, and Principal Investigator of the Mid-Atlantic Youth and Self-Advocacy project.  His current research is examining the impact of intersectionality of race, disability, ethnicity, gender, and age on three ADA-related issues, 1) employment, 2) access to digital technology, 3) long and short-term poverty. Barry is an alumnus of Indiana University and holds a Master of Science in Mediation, Arbitration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution from Sullivan University.

The Human Development Institute (HDI) at the University of Kentucky and the HDI Center for Assistive Technology Services host an ADA Training series on the fourth Thursday of each month that covers different topics surrounding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

For more information contact:
Jason Jones, Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky
Phone: 859-218-7979 (voice)
Email: jp.jones@uky.edu
Website: https://hdi.uky.edu/