Emilio Gandara Alos is a Puerto Rican who was born in New York, NY, while his parents were on a temporary visit there. Thirty days after his birth, the family returned to Puerto Rico and Emilio proudly points out that, “I was raised in Las Antillas (the Antilles).”

A well-known advocate for disability rights in Puerto Rico, Gandara is a firm believer in helping people with disabilities who can and want to find employment on the island. He is extremely well informed about the ins and outs of working while disabled and of the rules and procedures that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has established to encourage people with disabilities to successfully enter the workforce.

Gandara is a constant resource for information needed by different groups and media—his interview for Proyecto Visión is the second of the day—and he maintains a busy schedule of depositions at conferences, workshops and public hearings on the issues that affect the lives of people with disabilities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. He always engages in serious efforts to find pragmatic and workable solutions to the problems faced by the disability community and has earned a reputation for his straight-forward way of saying things. Gandara insists on accountability by those officials who make decisions over issues and programs for the disabled, especially those with the power to allocate much-needed funding resources. At a recent government-sponsored public hearing, Emilio’s microphone was abruptly turned off in the middle of his deposition after his passionate testimony raised positive, vocal and emotional responses among some attendees at the hearing.

In our interview in his office at Movimiento Para el Alcance de Vida Independiente (MAVI) –Movement to Reach Independent Living—Emilio’s answers were precise and measured, and were greatly informed by his awareness of disability issues within the cultural, economic and political realities of Puerto Rico. Emilio Gandara comes forth as a Puerto Rican intellectual in his own right.

Gandara works as Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach Specialist at MAVI, an officially certified center for independent living in San Juan. Emilio is also a pianist, an active member of the State Council of Technological Assistance of the University of Puerto Rico, a member of the State Advisory Council for Special Education, Vice-President of the State Public Library for the Blind and the Physically Disabled, and Director of the Board of the National Federation of the Blind.

Emilio Gandara also works for the Social Security Administration helping to disseminate information about the Ticket-to-Work program throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “We in MAVI are a center of services and support for the population of people with disabilities ages 21 and older who want to reintegrate into the community. They may have goals such as academic studies, adaptive transportation, housing, health, work and so forth. With respect to the Ticket-to-Work program, we are not only knowledgeable of the law, but we also have knowledge and experience [as peers]. We have participated in the program and can explain to our consumers some of the difficulties [of transitioning into employment] as well as ways to overcome those difficulties.”

Although the Ticket-to-Work law was passed in 1999, it wasn’t until 2004 that the program was brought to Puerto Rico. “That type of delay is common in the implementation of many federal laws,” Emilio explains. “Sometimes the government does it by steps or regions, so they can better assess the impact of the legislation, see the response and discover factors that may affect proper implementation.”

Emilio adds that one of the most challenging barriers to employment in Puerto Rico is the overall difficult state of the local economy. “Some older people will remember times when Puerto Rico saw major economic development,” he says, “especially in the industrial sector when factories were established here and companies would invest in our infrastructure.” But when the IRS eliminated section 936, a provision of generous tax credits and exemptions to promote and attract investment, many U.S. companies left the island. “Now we are left with fewer job opportunities for the population, and the opportunities that do exist are extremely competitive,” Gandara says.

An employment market that is already difficult for the non-disabled population makes it even more difficult for people with disabilities who want to find jobs. “People share all of those frustrations with us,” Gandara says. “And we are seeing a big ‘exodus’ of our professionals who are migrating to the U.S. Many people, particularly in the better-paid professions, are leaving Puerto Rico. This is not a good incentive for our people and especially our youth, who are entitled to better services here on the island.”

The problem of the fuga de cerebros (the emigration of well educated people) has been a shadow over Puerto Rico for some time now. Because Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth, they do not face some of the problems that other Latin American immigrants to the U.S. encounter. Puerto Ricans do not have to deal with obtaining temporary or permanent residency rights or work visas, for example, and so migrating from Puerto Rico is often a smooth process that makes the decision to move to the U.S. an easier one.

Despite the persistent problems of the Puerto Rican economy and job market, increasing numbers of people with disabilities want to find jobs that will give more meaning to their lives and alleviate financial hardships. Emilio helps them achieve this goal, but he’s mindful of the particular needs of this population once they enter the workforce. “We cannot forget,” he states, “that many people with disabilities live with degenerative conditions or pains, and working for long hours can precipitate a health crisis. I always tell people, ‘do not go against your health if your motivation is strictly economic.’ The Ticket-to-Work law was passed to give an opportunity to those who wanted and could sustain employment, not to do harm.”

Emilio explains that for people with disabilities who receive SSD benefits and also work, it is important to avoid problems by activating their Ticket-to-Work and then following the agency’s rules and procedures for the program. Though he considers that in Puerto Rico the Ticket-to-Work program is generally being properly implemented, he acknowledges that a common problem on the island is some degree of misinformation. “There are some difficulties,” he affirms. “I have seen persons who come to us and say, ‘at the Food Stamps office they told me one thing, at HUD they told me something else, at Section 8 another thing, at Rehabilitation something different. We hear different, conflicting answers to the same question.’ At MAVI, we provide the most accurate and up-to-date information so that the person who wants to work can renew his or her trust in the system and can safely venture into the workforce.”

MAVI in Puerto Rico operates under contract from the SSA to provide the information that the consumer needs regarding employment. “Many times, we at MAVI know more about [working while disabled] than people at the local SSA. Local SSA officials are mostly dealing with many other aspects of Social Security, like retirement issues and so forth, rather than with issues of employment for people with disabilities. So what we can do is to help a person receive and activate a Ticket-to-Work. We can help connect the person with the right resources, phone numbers, and places to activate the ticket so they can begin a successful road to employment,” says Emilio. “MAVI provides a solid team effort supporting the beneficiary.”

In conclusion, Gandara compares the fundamental problems facing people with disabilities in Puerto Rico with problems faced by the black population following the American Civil War. Lack of education and low literacy rates made it difficult for freed slaves to become accepted in many professions. “Who’s come to inherit that niche of stigmatization today?” asks Gandara. “It’s been the people with disabilities. We cannot pretend that the disabled population will all by themselves reach and meet some goals. There was a need then for institutional mechanisms to facilitate the progress of that population. Today, the laws and mechanisms of rehabilitation empower us to be catalysts so that the population with disabilities can move forward, assisted by acquired rights and by a strong peer model.”

The peer model and education are two key components in Gandara’s vision of independence for people with disabilities. “We want to accomplish a change in the self-image and self-esteem of the person with a disability. We [peers] are here to walk with them and help them in that transition,” he says. “And education should be used to achieve change, not only in the individual, but in the overall social perception of the person with a disability. A lack of education engenders ignorance, which is the root of prejudices, discrimination and barriers. So when we educate, we are destroying barriers, prejudice and discrimination.”

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