Michigan
Disability Rights Coalition (MDRC)
July 2010
Happy Independence Day!
Back to Last Issue: March 2010
Table of Contents
- MDRC Supports the Justin Dart Puppet - Lead on!
- 20th Anniversary ADA Celebration and Picnic July 26
- Personal Assistance Registry HB 6195
- Online Assistive Technology Directory
- A Cheer for Collaborative Change
- Finding Accessible Rental Housing
- Make a Difference - Sign Up for Action Alerts
- MDRC Board Meetings
- About MDRC News.
MDRC Supports the Justin Dart Puppet - Lead on!
MDRC provided financial support to the Matrix Theatre Company's creation of the Justin Dart Puppet. The theatre brought together local youth, community residents, disability leaders and volunteers to learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as they put the finishing touches on Matrix’s newest giant puppet, Justin Dart, a pioneer of the ADA. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the passage of the act, the puppet marched on the streets of Detroit for the U.S. Social Forum on June 22, 2010. Two of MDRC's staff members were there! It is now heading to Chicago for the Seventh Annual Disability Pride Parade on July 24, 2010 to help raise awareness for the rights of people with disabilities. Read more:
20th Anniversary ADA Celebration and Picnic July 26
Celebrate, educate and advocate along with MDRC and many other partners on the Capitol Lawn in Lansing, on Monday July 26, 2010 from 11 am-3:30 pm. The celebration will include music, food, a parade and exhibits. The Assistive Technology Program at MDRC is providing partial support to the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living to exhibit adaptive cycles as part of this celebration. Registrations for exhibitor booths are due by July 12. For more information, contact Kellie Blackwell at the Captial Area Center for Independent Living (CACIL), (517) 999-7524.
Personal Assistance Registry HB 6195
On July 1, 2010, MDRC participated in a press conference to support the passage of HB 6195 in th Michigan House. HB 5195 would make permanent the personal assistance registry at the Michigan Quality Community Care Council, and make it easier for people with severe disabilities and personal assistants to find each other. HB 6195 is a critical part of making home the place where Long Term Care (LTC) supports are provided.
Online Assistive Technology Directory
Have you ever wished the people you serve could find information about where to find various types assistive equipment, funding sources, and more all in one place? Michigan Disability Rights Coalition (MDRC) is developing an online directory of resources for all types of assistive technology. The Assistive Technology (AT) Directory will include information about:
- Products for Sale
- Devices to Rent
- Repair and Maintenance Services
- Funding and Financing
- Evaluation/Assessment Services
If you provide any of these resources, please take a few minutes to complete the form to be listed in the directory. If you know of local AT businesses and other AT resources, please let them know about the Directory and ask them to fill out the online form. We'd like to focus on Michigan businesses and professionals! Thank you for helping make the AT Directory a valuable resource!
A Cheer for Collaborative Change
MDRC and the Ingham Intermediate School District (ISD) are using an evidence based coaching model in bringing together teachers and administrators from every school in the district to teach them about disability pride, disability power, leadership development, and to challenge oppression and privilege. For too long schools that serve students with disabilities and the disability community have been divided. For many reasons, these two communities that are striving for the same goal: successful transition outcomes for youth with disabilities, have worked in silos and have not communicated with each other. In this two year partnership, MDRC and the Ingham ISD are closing that gap in services, communicating and working together in the hopes of better services to youth with disabilities. In their evaluations of the collaboration, the coaches said:
- "I think about students differently.”
- “This made me think of some things I really need to do differently.”
- "We need to start at the grassroots and have to ask MDRC to work with us on disability pride.”
- “I will develop (a) lesson on disability pride for students.”
Finding Accessible Rental Housing
MDRC advocated to get information about accessible rental units listed as part of the Rentlinx Housing Locator. We were one of the first non-property management organizations to list rentals using the Rentlinx Housing Locator on our Communities of Power web site. This service has grown significantly since that time. Here is a brief review of the extent of usage of the Housing Locator:
- In Michigan, there are 28,383 properties listed with 354,451 individual units.
- On the average month, over 2,000 properties are viewed by visitors to the MDRC Communities of Power web site and 50+ inquiries are made via phone message or email.
- Besides MDRC, the Housing Locator is available on 14 other Michigan agency web sites with over 402,000 property views each month.
- Each month, there are 270,000 visitors viewing 2.6 million page views generating 20,000 leads.
Make a Difference - Sign Up for Action Alerts
When you sign up for MDRC alerts, we'll email you when issues arise and give you the information you need to take action on issues important to Michigan's disability community. Don't miss this opportunity to have your voice heard! Sign up for Action Alerts.
MDRC Governing Board Meetings
Come and tell your story to the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition's Governing Board. All meetings are open to the public and we encourage people to attend. The next meeting is July 29, 2010 from 5 PM to 7 PM. All meetings are at:
MDRC's office
3498 E. Lake Lansing Rd., Ste
100
East Lansing, MI 48823.
Michigan Disability Rights Coalition News:
If you have questions about subscribing to this newsletter, send an e-mail message to mdrc@prosynergy.org or call 1.800.760.4600.
