02/23/2026
A Message from Theo Braddy: We Cannot Fix What We Refuse to Define
Listen to the audio version of this message: https://bit.ly/4tHk8c6
Hello again. This is Theo W. Braddy, Executive Director of the National Council on Independent Living, bringing you another message. This one I call “We Cannot Fix What We Refuse to Define”.
I recently logged off a high-level stakeholder meeting with a disturbing realization. People in the room were very smart. They were well-intentioned. They were responsible for implementing supports and services for people with disabilities, and yet they were making major decisions about Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) without a shared understanding of what those services actually are.
The conversation moved quickly, but underneath it all was something more basic and more troubling. We were not speaking the same language. Core services were described in ways that did not reflect the lived realities of people who rely on them every day. Terms were used interchangeably, imprecisely, and sometimes incorrectly.
Read more: https://bit.ly/4tYiYth
Image: Group of 16 gathers on a sidewalk during NCIL's 2025 March to U.S. Capitol, including Theo Braddy and Victor Pineda. Participants are standing in front of a banner that says ADA35 with March and Rally sponsor logos. They are holding signs reading “Listen to Disabled Voices,” “Disability Rights are Human Rights,” and “Speak Up, Stand Out, Fight Back.”
