Gavin Lambert: Find The Good

Judy Heumann, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks were all incredible activists of their time. Even though their struggles were different, they were all fighting for a common goal: they pushed for equality and refused to take "no" for an answer. They didn't just happen to become activists, either. From the very start, what motivated each of them was a single idea, a dream of a world that honored their inalienable rights, regardless of who they were. Gavin Lambert personifies these ideals. Currently a student at Pasco-Hernando State College, Gavin is seeking a degree in Sports Management. Like most students, he has to take courses that may or may not align with his Major. Enter his Entrepreneur Business class. He and his classmates were assigned a project, in which they were instructed to find a real problem in the world, then to find a potential solution to fix that problem.

To anybody who knows Gavin, it's no secret that the man's favorite thing to do is go out to eat; however, he also knows that a lot of restaurants aren't that accessible. It's this drive that gave Gavin a grand idea. It was in his Entrepreneur class that Gavin made the connection, and when he decided to actually start questioning the accessibility of the world around him. Naturally, that led him to explore the wheelchair accessibility of local restaurants.

Even though it wasn't directly related to Gavin's Major, taking the aforementioned entrepreneur class has changed his life. At the time that I conducted Gavin's interview, this idea was only three weeks old. Within that time, Gavin took what he learned from his school project, and was encouraged to reach out to his local legislators about restaurant accessibility.

At the forefront of Gavin's argument, is that everybody should have the availability to enjoy themselves, in a safe and accessible environment. He knows that he's far from the only disabled person who enjoys going out to eat. For many of us who rely on others for accessible transportation, this need is even more dire, especially if we are only able to get out of the house once-a-month or so. He told me,

"I feel like restaurants are somewhere, where anyone can go, and they can sit there and talk to people... and there's a lot of social value... especially for disabled people who aren't going to school, going to work, or [are] out in the world. And, most people with disabilities, if that is their one outing, they need to be able to have [access] to that." 

Here, Gavin is touching on something very important about the lives of disabled people, especially for those of us who rely on government assistance to survive. As a quad-amputee and power wheelchair user, Gavin's cause is near and dear to my heart. The reality is this: disabled people have little-to-no help for anything not directly related to the medical aspect of our lives. Typical, abled people don't think twice about going to dinner with their friends, grabbing a drink, meeting for a pickup game of basketball, etc. People assume that disabled people have equal access to recreational activity, that we have the innate ability to simply enjoy ourselves. The reality is that most of us don't have access to transportation or money, in order to be able to simply meet our friends/family at a restaurant for dinner. Let me try and put it in perspective. Could you imagine if you only left your house/apartment when you needed to go to the doctor, get your car fixed, or pick up groceries? How quick would life become a dreary mess? I'd venture to guess that it would happen rather quickly.

Armed with this knowledge, as well as his own lived experiences, Gavin put his money where his mouth was: he reached out to his local legislators. If nobody was going to do something, he'd take it upon himself to be the change he needed. Gavin first spoke with Pasco County Commissioner, Lisa Yeager, about his plight. From there, he was invited by Representative Adam Anderson to speak at the Capitol in Tallahassee, albeit for a separate issue. While there, Gavin advocated for the passage of House Bill 907, which has since passed. As a result, the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases was created. This institute will be huge for families with children, who have been diagnosed with rare diseases. It would include coverage for people with Friedreich's ataxia, which is what Gavin is diagnosed with. The goal is to, "...improve the quality of life and health outcomes for children and families affected by rare diseases by advancing knowledge, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric rare diseases through research, clinical care, and advocacy." If you'd like to read the Bill in its entirety, click here.

So, where do we go from here? I think that we take Gavin's story, look at what he's accomplished so far, and remain hopeful that his actions, as well as the actions of other Disability Rights activists, pave the way for a more accessible future. I hope that Gavin's work continues to bear fruit, that he inspires you to take action, fighting for what you believe in.

Author:

Kyle Romano