This event is now full. Contact laurena@respectability.org to be informed of future events.

The first part of the meeting will be open to philanthropists only. Following this meeting, we will be having two additional meetings – one with stakeholders in Hollywood and one with workforce development stakeholders. You are invited to join us for the entire day:

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A Special Summit for Campaign Consultants, Hill Staff and Disability Leaders Featuring Gov. Jack Markell and Dave Hoppe

America has 56 million people with disabilities. Polls show that the majority of voters either have a disability or a loved one with a disability. Voters with disabilities and their families are up for grabs — and the actions that campaigns take to reach out to these voters can make the difference between winning and losing. Yet far too many campaigns are not reaching this demographic — one-in-five Americans — in a meaningful way.

A summit convened by the nonprofit nonpartisan organization RespectAbility showcased how campaigns, candidates and elected officials can not only reach out to but fully include voters with disabilities. It’s time for candidates to view people with disabilities — the largest minority group in America — as an important voting group like African Americans, soccer moms and the LGBTQ community.

Looking for the resources shared at the conference? View everything on our post: “#PwDsVote Summit Live on C-SPAN 2, Follow Along From Home.”

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New Report Brings to Light the Importance of Including People with Disabilities in Justice Reform Process

Today, there are more than 750,000 Americans with disabilities behind bars.

A new report released June 20, showed, for the first time, that a shocking number of America’s jail and prison inmates have disabilities. The report, released by the advocacy group RespectAbility, used public data previously available but never before assembled and details the large percentages of inmates who have a cognitive, vision, hearing, ambulatory or other type of disability.

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BORN THIS WAY

DATE: Tuesday, December 1
TIME: 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
LOCATION:
Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-340
Independence Avenue between First Street SW and South Capitol Street

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Israel’s Nalaga’at Theater Deaf-Blind Acting Ensemble, RespectAbility and White House’s Claudia Gordon join for magic night of culture at the Kennedy Center

Washington, D.C. – In a moving night of theater and exchange, Israel’s famous Nalaga’at Theater Deaf-Blind Acting Ensemble, RespectAbilityUSA, and the White House’s Claudia Gordon joined together for a night of magic. Nalaga’at is a world famous acting group whose cast consists of a dozen talented deaf-blind actors. RespectAbility is an American non-profit organization devoted to empowering people with disabilities to be valued and respected for the abilities that they do have. Claudia Gordon works at the White House Office of Public Engagement where she serves as the Public Engagement Advisor to the Disability Community.  Fully 56 million Americans have disabilities, roughly one in five Americans.

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Gov. Jack Markell

Rep. Pete Sessions

TJ Lavin

• TJ Lavin, host of MTV’s “The Challenge,” recovered from a near fatal accident and is a supporter of people with disabilities.
• Gov. Jack Markell (DE) is the immediate past chair of the National Governors Association and is the leading state advocate for employing people with disabilities. See the NGA’s Report here: NGA.org
• Rep. Pete Sessions, U.S. Congressman (R-TX) and chairman of the House Rules Committee, is one of the strongest advocates in Congress for people with disabilities. His son has Down syndrome and is an Eagle Scout.
• With special guest 23 time Paralympian medalist Matt Cowdrey

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• 3 out of 4 people with disabilities surveyed value a job and independence over government benefits (no partisan split)
• Disability community sites employer perceptions that they will be “less successful than someone without a disability” as primary barrier to jobs
• Disability community names top ways to impact work environment as change in employer attitudes, employer training, and change in structure of benefits system
• Younger PwDs (Post IDEA/ADA Generations) More Interested in Self-advocacy
  
• Less than half of PwDs looking for work have access to quality training programs, career counseling, and professional resources (e.g., job coach) needed to help with a job search. [continue reading…]