07/31/2025
WISCONSIN DISABILITY PRIDE IN ACTION 👨🦼➡️👩🦯➡️👏
This July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month—honoring the achievements of people with disabilities while advocating for equal rights and inclusion. As the month comes to a close, it's the perfect time to spotlight advocates still fighting to fulfill promises of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
If you haven't been following along already, I welcome you to learn about Carl Schulze from Neenah. Today, Carl is traveling the final stretch of his 90+ mile journey in his wheelchair—culminating tomorrow, Friday, August 1st, at the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Here's why Carl made this inspiring journey:
Home care workers in Wisconsin earn only $12-16 per hour—wages so low you literally cannot survive on them. These Wisconsin workers providing essential, life-sustaining care are making wages that won't even cover basic rent and groceries, let alone support a family.
This wage gap creates a devastating shortage of caregivers, leaving people like Carl, who needs assistance with daily activities like getting in and out of his wheelchair, washing, dressing, and meal preparation, without reliable care. The irony? During his three-week trek, Carl actually lost over a week of travel time due to care unavailability. That's exactly the problem he's working to solve right there.
Carl's ask is simple but powerful: Raise home care worker wages to at least $20 per hour. Because when we value the people who provide essential care, we're really valuing the independence and dignity of people with disabilities.
Our family, friends, and neighbors in need of home care remain deeply concerned that Medicaid cuts included in the federal budget bill will force states to pick up more costs, creating budget holes that will abandon people who rely on these services and drive more care workers to better-paying jobs, further depleting a care industry already experiencing shortages. Folks like Carl stand ready to work with the Governor and our public officials to maintain and improve these programs—because for people with disabilities, these aren't just line items; they're lifelines to a better quality of life.
This is what Disability Pride means—accepting who you are, demanding to be seen, and expecting better for your entire community 💪 ✊👇
Want to show up for Carl?
He will kick off the final day of his journey at McPike Park at 10:30 AM tomorrow in Madison, and make his way to the State Capitol to give a public speech at noon.