GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Guide Dogs for the Blind research project led by a Grand Valley State University professor revealed people with service dogs are being denied rideshare services.
"I literally walk out the front door and the world becomes a hostile place," said Bill Barkeley, a deaf and blind advocate.
Barkeley has Usher Syndrome, a disease that causes blindness and deafness. Helping him navigate the world is Rilo, a black labrador retriever. It's a friendship bound by the guide dog harness Rilo wears.
Out of the 33 trips he's taken in the month of April, many have been emotional, confrontational and discriminating.
"The gentleman pulls into the driveway, he sees the dog, immediately rolls down the window and yelling, 'No dog,'" he told FOX 17.
Bill's experience is not exclusive. Grand Valley Prof. Melba Velez-Ortiz and her guide dog, Chad, know it all too well.
"I experienced frequent rideshare denials. But from an anecdotal standpoint, I didn't know if there was a me issue or a West Michigan issue," she said.
In partnership with Guide Dogs for the Blind, Ortiz and her team developed a 16-question survey including 185 guide dog users in the U.S. and Canada.
"Close to 85% of all of our participants reported not just that they are being denied service in on a one-time basis or a couple of times," Velez-Ortiz says, adding it's happening on a regular basis, causing psychological, social and economic impacts.
"Blind people rely on public transportation and these rideshare services to not just visit relatives but to go to medical appointments, to go to job interviews," she added.
It is federal law, through the Americans with Disabilities Act, that service animals are to be admitted into public spaces.
Both Velez-Ortiz and Barkeley hope that by bringing this issue to light, it doesn't get left behind like they've been.
"This is our right; this is our need that we have," she said.
The goal of the research is to get rideshare companies to enforce the law and provide proper training to workers.
If you've been a victim of service denial, you can file complaints with the United State Department of Justiceor the National Federation of the Blind.
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