The Disability Law Center

The Disability Law Center’s realtalk@ Boston conversations gathered people with a wide range of disabilities, backgrounds, and lived experiences—lifelong Bostonians, transplants, and immigrants—who spoke candidly about the realities of navigating Boston. Many shared moments of deep community support, from disability peer networks and mutual aid, to supportive neighbors, local programs, and advocacy communities. Yet daily life in Boston still presents significant hurdles: inaccessible or unreliable transit and sidewalks, a persistent shortage of truly affordable and accessible housing, discrimination and barriers in employment and healthcare, the invisibility of disabled adults in services, and the exhausting struggle for even small accommodations. Participants expressed frustration with broken systems, siloed care, and the lack of meaningful inclusion in policymaking. Despite these challenges, there was hope: a future Boston grounded in universal access, interdependence, and the leadership of the disability community—where policies, infrastructure, and culture make belonging, economic security, and dignity real for all.