Christopher “Chrispy” Polanco

San Marcos 

Chrispy was born in Indianapolis and raised in the suburbs of Greenwood. He went through most of his young adulthood with full vision. In 2009, he was diagnosed with diabetes which ultimately led to blindness by 2020 at the age of 35. Chrispy has been politically minded since grade school. He was already hoping to get involved in advocacy for marginalized groups. When he lost his vision, he found himself unable to do most of the tasks he was able to do before — including work. After teaching himself adaptive methods to live independently and training at the center for blind adults in Austin, Chrispy felt ready to get involved. He is still early in his advocacy and he is learning a lot. Even before graduating from the blind center in March of 2024, Chrispy had started his position with ARCIL, the independent living center in Austin. He also joined sprint trainings facilitated by TCDD. After graduating from the Partners program, Chrispy hopes to continue learning and getting involved in the many issues he cares about

Project Title

Texans with Disabilities Right to Parent Initiative

Project Description

This initiative comes in three parts. First, it will investigate if there is a need for legislation aimed at protecting the parental rights of Texans with disabilities. After assessing this need, the initiative will work to get such legislation passed. Then, it will create or publicize a network of programs, organizations, and services available to parents with disabilities to help them be the parents they want and have the right to be.