Julian Gavino

Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, offers us a beautiful explanation for those who convert to Judaism. Conversion isn’t seen as a choice as much as it is a calling—specifically a calling from Abraham and Sarah who are considered the forebearers of Judaism. The souls of their children are thought to be dispersed throughout the world, some born to Jewish parents, and others not. When an individual converts, we believe their soul was Jewish all along, a long-lost soul that felt an intense pull toward the Jewish people destined to return home to their parents Abraham and Sarah.

This is what finding both a literal and spiritual space in Judaism felt like for me, coming home. [continue reading…]

Hannah Roussel

The Jewish High Holidays are a time of coming together. Many Jews return to their hometowns for traditional Rosh Hashana meals and to break Yom Kippur fasts with their families. Jews who attend synagogues frequently welcome people whose attendance is more sporadic. The latter group often includes people with disabilities, who find synagogue attendance difficult due to accessibility issues, but want to make something work for the holiest of days.

RespectAbility’s resources include the new 5784 High Holiday Guide to Inclusive Congregations to assist you in making your High Holiday celebrations accessible. But changing our physical surroundings is only one side of the accessibility coin. We need to consider how the texts we interact with and teach have been used to promote ableism and/or would be considered ableist if written today. [continue reading…]

Matan Koch

For me, the musical background of the High Holiday season is my friend Neshama Carlebach gently inviting us to “Return to who you are, return to what you are.” Modern ideas of Teshuvah tend to focus on repentance and on forgiveness. Literally, the Hebrew word Teshuvah means “Return.” Maimonides tells us we have accomplished Teshuvah when we have “the opportunity to commit the same sin, but [we] separate… [ourselves] from it and …[do] not do it.” Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik taught that the heart of Teshuvah is humanity’s correction of ourselves. This strengthens and rekindles our connection to the Divine, recreating ourselves and our communities in a righteous image.

How can we return to our inclusive ideal and create a community where all belong? [continue reading…]

With recording artist and award-winning advocate Lachi and James Ian at the helm, RAMPD (the global network of Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) has come together to create the piano-driven Adult Contemporary record “Lift Me Up,” featuring Gaelynn Lea. The video concept is a tribute to the late disability rights activist Judy Heumann and a salute to deaf culture, with a fully disabled production team. The visuals are performed by three notable Deaf ASL performers (Amber Galloway, Otis Jones, and Nell) in the New York City video studio “Gymnopedie,” while vocals from Lachi, James, and Gaelynn are performed in Quad Recording studio. RAMPD and Lachi put together a well-established award-winning BIPOC, LGBTQ, and disabled crew featuring Catriona Rubenis-Stevens (Director/Producer), Day Al-Mohamed (Co-Director), Caroline Mariko Stucky (DP), Jake Primmerman (Editor), April Rose (Co-Writer, Mixing & Mastering), and Kulick (Mixing & Mastering).

Judy Heumann was the quintessential champion for disability rights and breaking barriers. She took on the New York Board of Education and the federal government, shut down streets, and organized national sit-ins paving the way for all the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) benefits we see today. A fierce leader, friend, selfless change maker, and a legend in the disability community, she was a good friend to Lachi, Ian, and Gaelynn. Judy passed away in March of 2023. Learn more about her and her work on her website.

“After my good friend and mentor Judy Heumann passed, I began writing this song just to cope,” Lachi said. “And wow, this thing has blown up in such a beautiful way. I couldn’t have asked for a better cast of co-writers, performers, and crew to lift inclusion, community, and belonging in this way. As artists it is our job to tell compelling stories through competitive art in the hope of creating social impact. However, every single human involved in this project worked from a place of love, and it shines brightly through this piece. I believe society is ready – ready for authentic, compelling, quality content celebrating Disability culture.” [continue reading…]

27% of the U.S. population is disabled, yet only 1.9% of all speaking characters in 100 of the top-grossing films in 2022 were shown as disabled, according to USC Annenberg’s latest study on inequality in film.

Disability Is Intersectional

A breakdown of the intersecting identities of disabled characters in the top-grossing films in 2022, according to the study, shows a further mismatch between the makeup of the disability community and its representation on screen. The Annenberg study found that of the already small number of disabled characters in the top films of 2022, 69.1% were male-identifying, and only 30.9% were female-identifying. In addition to underrepresenting female-presenting disabled characters, the top films of 2022 also underrepresented nonwhite racial and ethnic groups. Only 24% of disabled characters in the films surveyed in 2022 were from a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group. That means more than three-fourths of characters shown as disabled in the films surveyed in 2022 were white. Further, only 1 disabled character in all 100 movies surveyed from 2022 was shown as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Trans disability representation was found to be completely nonexistent.

Since the disability community is not monolithic, “part of proportional disability representation includes representing the diversity of the disability community and experience,” said Lauren Appelbaum, Senior Vice President of Entertainment and News Media at RespectAbility. [continue reading…]

According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of Americans 75 or older and 24% of Americans aged 65 to 74 report having a disability.

On August 21st each year, Americans recognize the contributions of older adults in all aspects of society as part of Senior Citizens Day. Older adults contribute significantly to the American economy, with around 22% donating $1,000 or more each year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that seniors account for 20-25 hours of unpaid labor in the home every week. Seniors also vote historically at a rate higher than other groups. We celebrate the contributions of older adults with disabilities to society on this awareness day and every other day of the year. [continue reading…]

August 17 – RespectAbility is proud to announce that its strong financial health and ongoing accountability and transparency has earned a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator. This rating designates RespectAbility as an official “Give with Confidence” charity, indicating that our organization is using its donations effectively based on Charity Navigator’s criteria. Charity Navigator is America’s largest and most-utilized independent charity evaluator. Since 2001, the organization has been an unbiased and trusted source of information for more than 11 million donors annually.

Charity Navigator analyzes nonprofit performance based on four key indicators, referred to as beacons. Currently, nonprofits can earn scores for Impact & Results, Accountability & Finance, Culture & Community, and Leadership & Adaptability.

“We are delighted to provide RespectAbility with third-party accreditation that validates their operational excellence,” said Michael Thatcher, President and CEO of Charity Navigator. “The Four-Star Rating is the highest possible rating an organization can achieve. We are eager to see the good work that RespectAbility is able to accomplish in the years ahead.” [continue reading…]

During our summer recess at RespectAbility, I was given the opportunity to serve as the Pastor of Pilgrim Pines Summer Camp in Southern California. I have written about Pilgrim Pines in a past newsletter edition regarding its inclusion of folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Pilgrim Pines is a profoundly sacred place for me. It is where my parents were married, where I came to know God in my adolescence, and where I discerned my call. So being asked to serve as the camp pastor was an honor and privilege beyond words for me. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, July 27 – As RespectAbility enters its second decade fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities, the organization is proud to announce that Linda L. Burger has been elected as its first female Chair of the Board of Directors. Additionally, Christine Cadena and Paul Martin have been elected to the Board of Directors after serving on the organization’s Advisory Council. Cadena has joined the Executive Committee as a Vice Chair, alongside continuing Vice Chairs Vivian Bass and Delbert Whetter. Craig Leen has joined the Executive Committee as Secretary, and Khadija Bari remains Treasurer. Shelley Cohen remains on the Executive Committee as an at-large member.

Ollie Cantos

Ollie Cantos is staying on the Executive Committee as the Immediate Past Chair. “I am filled with intense gratitude for having had the privilege of being at the helm of RespectAbility over the past two years, and it is my honor to join the ranks of Donn Weinberg, Calvin Harris, and Steve Bartlett as Chairs Emeriti,” said Cantos. “I am grateful to pass the baton to a new leader, who will surely build on our solid history as we tackle a future that is extraordinarily bright with promise and possibility.”

Linda Burger

Linda L. Burger has served on RespectAbility’s Board since 2016; she was elected Treasurer in 2018. Her professional life has been devoted to leading and shaping a robust resume of work in the Houston Jewish community, most recently in creating significant social service programs as CEO of Jewish Family Service of Houston, from which she retired in 2022. Since becoming CEO in 2005, Burger and her team instituted game-changing initiatives that transformed and expanded the agency’s ability to respond to basic needs and community emergencies and focus on erasing stigmas associated with disability and mental health issues. Her leadership on inclusion of and advocacy for people with disabilities and the prevention of suicide and substance misuse has received national recognition. [continue reading…]