Washington, D.C., May 20 – May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which aims to break the stigma surrounding mental health. Bedlam, a film that premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, breaks down this stigma while providing both important facts and relatable stories for all viewers. And this week previews of the film will be highlighted during WE RISE, a 10-day pop-up immersive experience that brings together Los Angeles’ diverse community to embolden individuals and families to find help, reach out to help others and demand systemic change in order to address the critical need for early intervention, treatment and care for mental wellbeing.

Mental asylums once were created with some good intentions but ended up leading to neglect and human warehouses. When these were closed, it shifted the care of people who are mentally ill from state governments to the federal government before shifting back to the states, which did not want control due to the cost. The result? On any given night, 350,000 mentally ill people sleep on the streets of America – 20,000 in Los Angeles alone. It is estimated that 25-50 percent of adults experiencing homelessness are chronically mentally ill. Jails and prisons have become America’s largest mental institutions.

In Bedlam, psychiatrist and filmmaker Kenneth Rosenberg takes viewers behind the scenes at a Los Angeles County Psych ER during a five-year period, unveiling disturbing realities for hundreds of thousands of homeless and the lack of care available for psychiatric patients. They often are warehoused in overcrowded jails where underequipped first responders provide the front line of care. [continue reading…]

Sponsors and Partners include Bunim/Murray Productions, Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, Sundance Institute and more

Top Row (L-R): Stephanie Thomas, Delbert Whetter. Melissa Yingst and Lauren Appelbaum
Bottom Row: Angela Rockwood and Andrea Jennings

Los Angeles, California, May 20 – Great entertainment requires authentic stories and genuine representation of all people. This includes diverse people with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health and other disabilities. Hence, RespectAbility, the nonprofit that produced The Hollywood Disability Inclusion Toolkit, is thrilled to offer an innovative lab series for emerging entertainment talent, as well as a track for mid-level career professionals. This 5-week, nine-session summer lab program is for people with disabilities and/or strong disability connections interested in development, production and post-production, including careers as writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, animators and other production roles.

“What we see on screen influences how we act in real life, but that is dependent on filmmakers choosing to include individuals with disabilities in diverse and accurate portrayals, which then helps remove the stigmas that currently exist about interacting with individuals with disabilities,” said Program Director Lauren Appelbaum, who leads RespectAbility’s Hollywood Inclusion efforts as the organization’s vice president, communications. “One purpose of this program is to continue building the talent pipeline of young professionals with disabilities looking to work behind the scenes. We do not want anyone to have an excuse that they could not find a writer, editor or any other position with a disability.”

Several sessions will meet at various studios where program participants will have the opportunity to learn about possible career paths and have networking opportunities. Furthermore, entertainment professionals in positions of power to hire will meet a group of qualified individuals and potentially shift their mindsets in equity goals for hiring. After all, opening the inclusion umbrella is the right thing to do as well as economically smart given that the disability market is valued at more than $1 trillion. According to Nielsen Research, Americans with disabilities represent the third largest market behind Baby Boomers and the mature market. [continue reading…]

This week’s Shabbat Smile is by Rachel Kunstadt, a mental health advocate and self-advocate in NYC. Her presentation at our Empowerment Training for Jewish Women with Disabilities – entitled “Choosing Life!” – included a musical performance of a song she co-wrote, addressing her agoraphobia.

This past January, I became a Bat Mitzvah for the second time. Or maybe for the first time, depending on how you look at it.

Like every other 13-year-old at my conservative synagogue in Westchester County did that year, on January 11, 2003, I became a Bat Mitzvah. I chanted Torah and Haftorah and delivered a D’Var Torah, while my parents spent thousands of dollars on a party to keep up with the Steins.

I’m told it was a beautiful service, but I was so overcome with anxiety that it’s almost completely lost to me. I definitely don’t remember the party – because I didn’t go. I managed to stay about an hour before I had a massive panic attack. [continue reading…]

Watch The Village on NBC, Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET.

View Resources for Veterans with Disabilities

New York, NY, May 14 – NBC’s new breakout show The Village explores relationships between family members and friends who become family in separate but interconnected stories. The ensemble drama also does not shy away from tackling important social issues, including immigration, teenage pregnancy and veterans returning from war with both physical and mental disabilities.

A major storyline focuses on Nick Porter (Warren Christie), a former 9/11 firefighter and Army veteran who returned home with PTSD and an amputated leg. One common criticism regarding the representation of veterans in television and film is the portrayal often is of broken veterans. Viewers will quickly learn that while Nick has several issues to work through, he certainly is not broken. In addition, too many characters with disabilities are portrayed through the pity framework; The Village does not fall into that trap and showcases what Nick can do. [continue reading…]

Israel has a lot to celebrate – and we can and should take the time to kvell. A big part of the success is how Israel leads the world on several key innovations when it comes to disability.

I know that you’ve likely seen ReWalk, the exoskeleton that enables people who are paralyzed to “walk”. But what you may not know is that recently five Israeli organizations were given awards at the United Nations for their breakthrough work on helping people with disabilities. How do I know this? I was honored to be there to accept an award on behalf of RespectAbilitity. However, one of the best parts of being in Vienna to accept our award was that I got to meet more than 30 unbelievably driven, giving and fantastic Israelis who are on the front lines of improving the lives of people with disabilities. Hence, I’d like to share information with you on these leaders and their groups so you can kvell!

Read more in e-Jewish Philanthropy

People with disabilities want to work, they have skills that they can bring to the table, and if given the chance at a position that fits their skills, they can excel. On A&E’s groundbreaking new series The Employables, premiering on May 15th, viewers will see these three facts come to life.

Each episode of The Employables will feature two people with disabilities who are trying to find jobs. The first episode features Jeff, an autistic man with a stutter, and James, a man with Tourettes. Their families are supportive of them, but they both want to be more independent. They have valuable skills but they just haven’t gotten the right opportunity.

One of the most important things that the show highlights is that both men have abilities that make them stand out from the crowd. Jeff and James meet with job coaches in the episode, and take comprehension tests with them. It turns out that Jeff would score better on a test on language comprehension than 91 out of 100 people. And according to his coach, James’ verbal comprehension is “off the charts.” Jeff and James are both given the advice to disclose their disabilities, because with the right accommodations, they could both be major assets to an employer.

“The Employables showcases some of the challenges that people with disabilities face in trying to find jobs and be independent,” said Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility’s VP of Communications. “Highly skilled candidates who could be major assets to the right employer are not being given a chance.” [continue reading…]

New York City, May 3, 2019 – This year’s nominations for the Tony Awards – a major award ceremony honoring Broadway shows and performers – broke new ground for the disability community when Ali Stroker became the first performer with a wheelchair to be nominated for a Tony Award. She is nominated for Best Featured Actress in a musical for her sexy take on Ado Annie in the groundbreaking revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! 

Stroker also has been nominated for the same category in the Drama Desk and Outer Circle Critic awards. She shares the nomination for Drama League’s highly competitive Distinguished Performance Award with Gregg Mozgala – from the Off Broadway hit Teenage Dick – who is the first performer with cerebral palsy to be nominated.

Stroker told the New York Times minutes after her Tony nomination, “This show exists for people to see things different. And to be able to do this role — and to be an actress in a wheelchair — it feels like I have arrived.” [continue reading…]

A new Israeli study finds that negative views on aging are often passed down in families of Holocaust survivors with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The findings, published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series B, show that Holocaust survivors with PTSD view themselves as aging less successfully compared to survivors without PTSD as well as to older adults who weren’t exposed to the Holocaust.

Read more in Psych Central

New York City, May 1 – Nearly 500,000 women and girls with disabilities live in New York City, with a stunning 44 percent of New York women with disabilities living below the poverty line. Furthermore, in the city itself, only 24 percent of Latina women with disabilities have jobs. Hence, ensuring the inclusion of diverse women with disabilities in civic engagement, nonprofits, foundations and government sectors is vital. After all, people who have struggled with challenges and know the solutions are best able to create progress.

Women with disabilities are underrepresented significantly when it comes to civic engagement in the nonprofit, foundation and government sectors. In the name of inclusion and equity, it is imperative that women – including women with disabilities – take a place and secure a space as active participants and leaders in these civic-centered sectors: as employees, volunteers and board members.

Carol Robles-Román

With this backdrop, Carol Robles-Román, Esq., Hunter College’s General Counsel and Dean of Faculty and former NYC Deputy Mayor, will address critical issues impacting Latina women with disabilities in New York City on May 18, 2019 in a first of its kind program, Empowerment Training for Latinas with Disabilities. The session is part of a monthly six-part series created by RespectAbility, a national disability advocacy organization. However, it is unprecedented in its unique focus on Latinas with disabilities. Robles-Román and additional Latina speakers will talk about disability disclosure, mental health advocacy, self-advocacy empowerment tools and opportunities for civic engagement. [continue reading…]