Past Events

Dates: July 9 – 12, 2024
Location: Washington, D.C.

Join RespectAbility in Washington D.C. this summer for Disability Advocacy Week, where we take our legislative priorities to Capitol Hill. We will be meeting with key legislators from both sides of the aisle to discuss important issues affecting the disability community, as well as bills that would benefit the community. [continue reading…]

“June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month — a time for celebrating the spectrum of LGBTQ+ identities, reflecting on our history and how far we’ve come, and assessing how much farther we have to go.

During Pride Month, it can be easy to see LGBTQ+ people as just their LGBTQ+ identity. But for many LGBTQ+ individuals, that’s just the beginning; identity is a multitude of distinct and overlapping identities. As civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw has defined it, this intersectionality is in part a way of understanding how various aspects of individual identity — including race, gender, social class and sexuality — interact to create complex, multifaceted experiences of privilege or oppression.

Learn more during a joint webinar from several National Council Interest Groups: LGBTQ+; Children, Young Adults and Families; Crisis Response; and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. In a panel discussion, we will explore the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals and how to best support and empower patients, clients and friends with intersecting identities.” [continue reading…]

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RespectAbility hosted a conversation with leading scholars of Christian Disability Theology about representations of disability in the Second Testament. Learn from our panelists about alternative interpretations to sacred text and how these shifts in perspective can help to nurture belonging for disabled and pre-disabled people in local church contexts. [continue reading…]

The National Health Equity Grand Rounds “Advancing Health Equity Through Resistance: A State of the Union on Threats and Opportunities”  featured an exceptional lineup of speakers who are at the forefront of advocating for health equity and social justice. [continue reading…]

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The arts can be a connector to community, spirituality, and healing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Learn from our panelists about how expressive activities, like painting or performing, helped people experiencing grief communicate, reflect, and process their emotions. This webinar was the last in a four-part series from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) Religion and Spirituality Interest Network and RespectAbility. [continue reading…]

https://vimeo.com/942076886

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Watch RespectAbility’s policy team and guest speakers have an exciting discussion about community activism and running for public office. Our speakers provided personal stories, sharing their wealth of experience in the political process. [continue reading…]

NACDL and RespectAbility presented an engaging webinar on welcoming and including people with disabilities at your organization as staff, leaders, and other key stakeholders. The session covered best practices in fostering accessible, equitable, and inclusive organizational cultures and workplaces, from recruiting, onboarding, and retaining diverse, disabled talent, to promoting leadership and advancement opportunities, to building support and internal advocacy structures through employee resource and affinity groups. RespectAbility also highlighted internal and external-facing strategies in inclusive marketing and communications, including authentic representation, social media, and website best practices. [continue reading…]

RespectAbility offered guidance on recruiting, hiring and promoting people with disabilities into the workspace and how to make your workplace accessible by demonstrating the best practices in disability inclusion. Our team discussed tips for increasing your pipeline of people with disabilities, navigating reasonable accommodations, improving accessibility for all and how disability increases diversity, equity, and inclusion with your nonprofit. [continue reading…]

https://vimeo.com/935880882

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Heritage Christian Services’ Grief Support Team works with people who are aging and experiencing life changes. This presentation about the team’s work reflected on why and how the team was developed, how the team provides grief support through music, dance, and art to people with disabilities and their chosen congregations, and how team members support one another with self-care in the process. This webinar was the third in a four-part series from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) Religion and Spirituality Interest Network and RespectAbility.  [continue reading…]