CLICK HERE to register now!

The first of its kind: Asian Americans with Disabilities Initiative’s FREE Resource Guide is here!

Containing sections on:

• ADVOCACY 101

• ACCESSIBILITY

• CULTURE

• ALLYSHIP

• and more…

AADI’s free & accessible Resource Guide provides the next generation of AAPI individuals with the tools needed to combat ableism and encourage allyship within their communities. When you open this guide, you’ll get access to 50+ pages of tips, first-person testimonials, and articles that help fill the current void in information on our community.

CLICK HERE to access it now!

A Webinar for Social Security Beneficiaries

Join the American Dream Employment Network on March 17 from 2:00-3:00 PM EST!

Are you a Social Security disability beneficiary and want to know how working will affect your benefits? Are you afraid of losing benefits or medical coverage if you return to work? Learn about important topics that will help you return to work and explore a better financial future.

The American Dream Employment Network (ADEN) invites you to the informational webinar, “SSA Disability Benefits and Work Incentives.”

Date & Time: Thursday, March 17, 2022, 3:00-4:00 P.M. ET

Registration is required and there is no cost to attend.

CLICK HERE to register!

In celebration of National Entrepreneurship Week, join National Disability Institute (NDI) on Thursday, February 17, from 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET, for the webinar, Entrepreneurs with Disabilities: An Emerging Force.

Hear from entrepreneurs with disabilities about their journey to business success. Learn about NDI’s new SBA-funded Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP) that is expanding the eco-system for entrepreneurs with disabilities through collaborative partnerships with more than 25 organizations in the greater Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area.

Speakers include:

• Adam David Jones – CEO/Founder of Zeer
• Diego Mariscal – Founder, CEO & Chief Disabled Officer – 2Gether-International
• Doris Quintanilla – Co-founder of The Melanin Collective
• Diana Perkins – Co-founder and CEO of includesign
• Nikki Powis – Program Director, CNPP
• Michael Morris – Legal Advisor, CNPP

CLICK HERE to register!

Stakeholder Engagement Will Help Redefine Maryland Education;
Guide Implementation of Multi-Year Strategic Plan and the
Blueprint for Maryland’s Future

BALTIMORE, MD (January 31, 2022) – Charting a course to transformational change by leading the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and shaping public education, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is launching the Maryland Public Schools Strategic Planning Survey. The Maryland State Board of Education and MSDE invite all Marylanders to participate in the survey to share their experiences and ideas that will help define the future of public school education. In conjunction with other wide-reaching engagement activities, including town halls, roundtables and focus groups, the survey will guide the development of the State’s multi-year strategic plan for the future of public education.

“The development and implementation of our multi-year strategic plan will operationalize our mission to ensure that every Maryland student has access to excellent and equitable educational opportunities that realize their full potential. Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. We cannot accept a return to normal, because normal was not good enough, especially for those who have been historically underserved. Rich, meaningful engagement with all of our stakeholders will be critical as we move forward and become better,” said Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury. “We are counting on our stakeholders to help us expand the tent to include all voices – especially those who do not have time or resources to attend Board meetings, who do not speak English, or have limited opportunity to participate.  Please join us as we seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to implement the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future; your participation and voice are needed to get this right for Maryland’s children.”

“While developing the multi-year strategic plan, we will be actively reaching out to both traditional and non-traditional partners in an inclusive strategic planning process informed by students, families, educators, business and industry leaders, higher education representatives and more,” said Maryland State Board of Education President Clarence C. Crawford. “Public schools serve to develop our future workforce and future community leaders, and it is critical that we hear from as many people as possible while we work through this process of developing and implementing a shared vision for the future of Maryland education.”

The Maryland State Board of Education and MSDE are developing the Strategic Plan to guide the Department’s organizational direction as it leads the implementation of the unparalleled opportunities presented by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. The Strategic Plan will establish MSDE’s vision and mission and define core priorities and goals delivered through impactful strategies and actions. Engagement, collaboration, accountability and innovation will steer the journey ahead and drive results.

The Strategic Planning Survey, currently available in English and Spanish, is available here: https://www.marylandpublicschools.org/survey. The survey will soon be available in additional languages as well.

If interested in participating in or inviting MSDE to engagement opportunities, please complete this brief form: bit.ly/MSDEEngages.

It’s no secret that people of color face systemic inequities in virtually all aspects of society. Access to disability services and community living support is, unfortunately, no different. Barriers that disabled people of color face when pursuing effective community living are upheld at an institutional level, with intrinsically discriminatory policies and practices around housing, policing, healthcare, education, and even access to food. 

It’s important for people with disabilities to live in our communities, and important to understand the difficulties they face when striving to. “Crisis in our Communities: Racial Disparities in Community Living” from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, explains how policy choices, now and in the past, keep disabled people of color from accessing community living.

This toolkit begins by talking about what racial disparities are. It explains how policies cause racial disparities in emergency management, employment, community supports, the criminal legal system, housing, and health care. It also talks about how we can start to fix inequality in each of these areas. The toolkit is available in Easy Read and plain language. You can find both of these materials here.

We hope you’ll use this toolkit in your advocacy, and share it widely. It’s important to keep talking about community living, the barriers that disabled people of color face, and what we can do to change them!