In 1952, when Sandra Schnur told Vocational Rehabilitation advisors that she intended to pursue a college degree, they labeled her “uncooperative.” Rejecting their recommendations to settle for a basket weaving job, she earned a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling. Schnur refused to be limited because of her disability at a time when people with disabilities were often sidelined from society.  

Sandra Schnur was born in 1935 to a Jewish family in New York City. As a teenager, she contracted polio and was rendered a quadriplegic. Despite her disabilities, Schnur maintained a commitment to making the world accessible. In 1963, she published New York with Ease, a guidebook for navigating New York City in a wheelchair.  

In the late 1970s, New York City decided to contract personal assistance services out to private vendors, which threatened to limit the ability of recipients to exercise control over their lives. In response, Schnur and other disability rights advocates wrote position papers and organized demonstrations supporting the continuation of consumer-centric personal assistance services.  

In 1977, Schnur co-founded the consumer organization Concepts of Independence, which “enables severely disabled and chronically ill individuals to hire, train and supervise the Personal Assistant home care worker of their choice.” The organization served as a fiscal intermediary, redistributing Medicare funds to caregivers on behalf of the recipient. Concepts of Independence was groundbreaking and continues to offer individuals the opportunity to reclaim control, independence, and freedom. Schnur considered establishing Concepts of Independence to be her greatest achievement as a disability rights advocate.  

Schnur, one of the few managers with a disability in New York City’s Department of Transportation, spearheaded multiple initiatives to maximize accessibility in transit. Her work led the city to purchase its first buses with wheelchair accessibility.  

Schnur continued to fight for the independence of people with disabilities until her death in 1994.  

Sources:  

“About Us.” Concepts of Independence, Accessed February 18, 2023, https://www.coiny.org/aboutus.php.  

“Sandra Schnur [Posthumous].” New York State Independent Living Council, Inc., Accessed February 18, 2023, https://nysilc.org/inductees/29-2019/159-sandra-schnur