Disability Advocate

Jose Hernandez is a disability rights advocate whose life has been profoundly shaped by his family’s experience with illness, disability, and perseverance. As a teenager, Jose witnessed his mother endure stage IV ovarian cancer, multiple invasive surgeries, chronic pain, depression, and severe long-term health complications. Despite these immense challenges — and after being abandoned by an abusive husband — she continued raising Jose and his two younger siblings with extraordinary resilience and determination.

At age 15, Jose sustained a broken neck in an accident that left him a C-5 quadriplegic. Inspired by his mother’s strength and refusal to give up, he pursued higher education following her death in 2002 from kidney failure and septic shock. Jose credits his mother’s perseverance with shaping his own commitment to advocacy, independence, and service to others.

Today, Jose is an advocate for disability rights and has served as a peer mentor for individuals living with spinal cord injuries. Drawing from his lived experience, he speaks passionately about the value and dignity of every human life and the importance of compassionate support for people facing disability, illness, depression, and suffering