Elaine Stefanowicz struggled academically, jumped from job to job and declared bankruptcy. But the University Place, Washington, resident has battled back from all of that to help others with disabilities as an employee of the Washington State Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment.
Battling Back
If you’re one of those people who believe government employees have no idea what you’re going through, you’ve never met Elaine Stefanowicz.
The 56-year-old, T7 paraplegic had horrible math and test anxiety, to the point where it took her 17 years to get her associate degree, one class at time, before going back to school to get her bachelor’s. In the meantime, she went to vocational college to become a travel agent, hoping to “revolutionize the travel industry for people with disabilities.”
That proved hard to do while earning minimum wage and not receiving any benefits, so she filled her time doing several secretarial and administration jobs. Everything changed when she won the Ms. Wheelchair America title in 1997 and earned a full-ride college scholarship. After traveling the country, she went back to school, looking to wipe the slate clean and overcome her academic struggles.
“I took a class called Overcoming Math Anxiety at Tacoma Community College, and it changed my whole life. I finished my eventual master’s degree with a 4.0 because of that class,” says Stefanowicz. “It just changed the way I think, gave me confidence and helped me realize that school is turning in your work on time and asking for help if you need it. I thought it was some magic IQ number you’re born with.”
Though she was able to tackle her academic insecurity, she still found herself in a precarious financial situation. “I nearly lost my home and had to declare bankruptcy in the last couple of years because Social Security Disability said they overpaid me eight years ago. They garnished my wages to the tune of $440 a month and kept my tax refunds for two years. It was painful, and I almost lost my condo over it,” says Stefanowicz.
This month, she’ll finally get her full paycheck with no garnished wages. “But I’m used to not having that money now,” she says, “so I guess I’ll just pretend I’m still being garnished and save that money as part of deferred compensation because I still have 11 years left until I can retire.”
Even after all that, Stefanowicz still believes in the value of work. She got her master’s degree at age 40 in human resources because she was disturbed by the high unemployment rate among Americans with disabilities.
“It’s so maddening. I believe in the value of work, but I understand why people get stuck and they don’t want to work because they don’t want to lose their benefits. Social Security Disability is something they can count on every month,” says Stefanowicz.
Now, she works as a program coordinator for the Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment to address these problems. She does this in a supporting role, working with subcommittees, coordinating legislative work groups and most importantly, encouraging people to engage with their state representatives.
“When I see people chain themselves to buses in protest, that stuff excites me, but you don’t have to be militant — you just have to vote and get other people to vote. Drive your friends to the polling places and help them cast their ballot because even though people think their vote doesn’t count, I’ve seen firsthand that it certainly does.”
Hide and Seek
Stefanowicz talks about what it was like raising her now 22-year-old son, Michael, first in a household where both parents had disabilities, and then later as a divorced single mother.
“His dad is a blind musician, and we joked that at 6 months old our baby was the most nondisabled person in the house. We knew one day he would test that, and sure enough he messed with us. One day he hid under a table. I had to call my in-laws and go, ‘Michael’s been under the table for 45 minutes — you may need to come over.’ But I think I eventually lured him out with a cookie. Around his dad he’d get very quiet. He’d test us all the time. But he and I are very close because it was just the two of us for a long time. It always used to bother me when I would see parents walk holding their kids’ hands because I couldn’t do that. I talked to him about it and he just said, ‘Yeah, but I had your lap. No other kid had their parents’ lap.’“
Why I joined United Spinal:
I just really believe in that camaraderie of sharing your experience with other people with disabilities. We can’t do this alone, especially with the self-isolation during the pandemic.
What would you say to your younger self?
I’d say, “You’re going to be OK, don’t be afraid to take chances and embrace the fire inside to be and do more. Drink more water and take care of your skin!”
Most accessible place you’ve been:
Oahu in Hawaii. They had a free, accessible transit system that would take you anywhere on the island — that was wonderful.
Best dating story:
My partner is also a wheelchair user and an outdoors guy. He built a tent and a commode so I wouldn’t have to use a public bathroom going camping. He’s amazing.
