A Community Knowledge Bank

The Bay Area Disability Network (The BAD Network) is an email and web-based service that gathers and disseminates the collected wisdom of the Bay Area’s disability community.

Based on the highly successful Berkeley Parents Network, the BAD Network is an email forum where people can ask questions about disability and get answers from others who have faced similar issues. All questions and answers are then archived on a website, so the information is searchable and retrievable.

For many people first facing the issues surrounding disability, the task of finding answers can be daunting. This is particularly true for people who have acquired disabilities such as spinal cord injuries or other traumatic injuries. Someone in this situation will have thousands of questions, and the questions may feel overwhelming: How will I stay in my home? How do I live with my disability? How can I find an attendant? Who can build a ramp for me? What is the best kind of wheelchair? Where can I get my wheelchair repaired? Where can I get inexpensive adapted tools and assistive technology? How can I take care of my children if I am using a wheelchair?

For many people one barrier they face is not wanting to identify as a person with a disability and not wanting to let people know they have questions. The BAD Network not only seeks to gather those questions into one place, but also provides a format where people can ask anonymous questions and get information without having to reveal personal information.

The BAD Network can be seen at http://www.badnetwork.org/external link

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