DISABILITIES

By Daniel J. Vance

Howard Renensland has a dream, and it isn't to be an actor.

He's already been successful in acting, having appeared in more than 300 network commercials, hundreds of print ads, about a dozen soap operas or situation comedies, and numerous regional theater productions.

This 57-year-old Connecticut actor's dream is to establish the People with disabilities Broadcasting Corporation (PWdBC), which would be a 24-hour TV channel “of, by and for people with disabilities” appealing to a general audience. He began late July forming what might one be called the “Disability Channel.”

“Now is the time,” he said in a telephone interview. “There should be a level of support from the Dept. of Education because they are desperate not to leave any child behind. The Dept. of Labor should be interested because the Screen Actor's Guild released a report showing that only two percent of television characters are people with disabilities.”

The 2000 U.S. Census revealed that about 54 million Americans have a disability, which translates roughly to 18 percent of the population.

Renensland said, “In addition, television is in desperate need of content. We know people will watch good programming that includes people with disabilities. Television is always looking for the next niche. And you also have advertisers wanting to reach people with disabilities.”

Its content will cover a broad audience. Some FWdBC shows won't have anything to do with disability other than having people with disabilities included as a significant portion of the crew and talent base. Its “travel show,” for instance, will be like most others except viewers will know the travel spots are accessible and have hosts that make people with disabilities feel welcome.

In network television, he said, “people with disabilities are an afterthought, if that at all.”

Renensland knows about disability. He has a 21-year-old daughter with an “unknown neurological” disability, who has “poor motor skills” and couldn't walk until age 4. When growing up through sixth grade in Kansas, he had an older, female best friend with cognitive disabilities. He had two aunts with diabetes, a blind uncle, a friend with polio, and another uncle was institutionalized after suffering brain damage from a high fever.

He said, “People in the (disability) community want this as a for-profit channel because we know we can do it. There is no reason why it can't succeed.”

For more, see www.danieljvance.com or www.pwdbc.org