Happy birthday, ADA!

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - The landmark Americans With Disabilities Act is approaching middle age.

The 33rd anniversary of the ADA was celebrated Wednesday.

The ADA is sweeping civil rights legislation for people living with disabilities. Signed into law by-then President George H.W. Bush, it prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, from jobs to schools to public transportation.

In the north country Wednesday, the Northern Regional Center For Independent Living (NRCIL), which advocates for people living with disabilities, set up informational tables about the ADA at 10 Kinney Drug stores.

At the one on Washington Street, you could find Lucy Jo Tuttle of NRCIL, who helps other people with disabilities find jobs.

Tuttle, who is deaf, says the ADA made a major difference in her life.

“I think back and I wonder what it would’ve been like for me if it hadn’t been passed,” she told 7 News.

Would I be homeless? You know, because I couldn’t- any job, I couldn’t hold it, because they didn’t want to accommodate.”