Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living
We all watch short videos on Facebook, but do we know how best to use video in our community organizing work? Learn from experienced organizers and social media strategists how to incorporate visual media into your organizational toolbox to do outreach and win campaigns. Find out how to prepare videos simply and effectively and how to use them in your work. [Read more…]
THANK YOU for taking action and demanding your Senators vote NO on Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Because of the work of advocates around the country, the Senate’s vote has been delayed – but a vote is still rapidly approaching. If the last few weeks have proven anything, it’s that Judge Kavanaugh is unfit to serve on the highest court in the country. Kavanaugh would pose a threat to people around our country for decades to come, so we must keep the pressure up!
Take Action!
You live in a key state with a target Senator, so we need you to take action! The following Senators are critical in this effort and we must get them to publicly commit to voting NO:
Call them now and tell them to vote NO on Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Keep the pressure up until they’ve committed to a NO vote! Your Senators can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY).
As a reminder, NCIL has conducted a review of Judge Kavanaugh’s past decisions which have proven him to be dangerous for people with disabilities. Judge Kavanaugh proved that he does not support self-determination for people with disabilities when he ruled against individuals with intellectual disabilities who had been forced to undergo elective surgeries without their consent or input. He has repeatedly attacked the Affordable Care Act, which is critical to healthcare access for many disabled people. He has repeatedly made decisions that would harm the disability community. For more information, please refer to NCIL’s full statement of opposition.
Today, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh are testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Kavanaugh will not protect our rights, and his appointment to the Supreme Court would pose major threats to our community for decades.
If you live in a state with one of the below Senators, please call and tell them to Vote NO on Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation:
Throughout the confirmation process, we have seen protests, arrests, arguments among Senators, and repeated requests from Democratic Senators to delay the confirmation process. The drama surrounding these hearings illustrates how many people have concerns about Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, and we unequivocally share those concerns.
A review of Judge Kavanaugh’s past decisions on healthcare, self-determination, employment, education, civil rights, and voting rights (among others) have proven him to be dangerous for people with disabilities.
We are thrilled that Liz Weintraub, the Association of University Centers on Disability’s Senior Advocacy Specialist, provided testimony with a focus on Kavanaugh’s threats to people with disabilities, and particularly his decision in Doe v DC. You can view an uncaptioned video of the testimony or read a transcript. For more information on that decision and others, please refer to NCIL’s full statement of opposition.
In yet another attack on immigrants, this weekend the Trump Administration announced their proposal to change the “public charge” rule (PDF). The changes proposed would be devastating to immigrant families by making it harder for immigrants, and especially disabled and poor immigrants, to enter the US or become legal permanent residents. NCIL strongly opposes this proposal.
Under US law, individuals seeking admission to the US or seeking to become lawful permanent residents (green card holders) can be denied if they are found likely to become a “public charge”. Currently, the term “public charge” refers to an individual who is likely to become “primarily dependent on the government for subsistence” by either the receipt of public cash assistance or institutionalization for long-term care – a definition that clearly already disproportionately impacts disabled immigrants. The proposed changes would significantly broaden the definition of “public charge” to include immigrants who receive one or more public benefits, dramatically expanding the benefits that could be considered to include non-emergency Medicaid (with a few exceptions), housing assistance, SNAP, and certain healthcare subsidies. Immigrant families could be denied entry or residency if they use, or are “likely” to use, any of this wide range of assistance programs. [Read more…]
We are sad to inform you that Kalle Könkkölä, a leader in the global independent living movement and good friend of NCIL, passed away on September 10, 2018. Kalle was a tireless advocate for disability rights in his native Finland and around the world. He visited the US many times, and NCIL staff and members had several opportunities to meet with and learn from him at the NCIL office, last year’s Global IL Summit, and this year’s Congressional Briefing. He will be greatly missed by all of us.
Kalle was a disability rights leader based in Finland and working around the world. He was the Executive Officer of Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI), Vice President of the Finnish Disability Forum, Founder and Chair of the Abilis Foundation, and the Founder and former Executive Director of the Threshold Association. He was also the first disabled member of Parliament in Finland.
Kelly Buckland, NCIL’s Executive Director, said “I was very sad to learn of Kalle’s passing. I had the pleasure of meeting Kalle several times when he visited the US, and he truly was an incredible advocate. Countless individuals and organizations around the world are better off and more inclusive as a result of his efforts. He will be missed by many, including the NCIL family.”
Our thoughts are with Kalle’s friends, family, and colleagues in Finland and elsewhere during this difficult time. You can read more about Kalle in this tribute by Judy Heumann, who was a close friend and longtime colleague. You can also read this tribute to him from the International Disability and Development Consortium.
The Disability & Intersectionality Summit (DIS) is a biennial one-day conference that centers the experiences and knowledge of multiply marginalized disabled people such as, queer disabled people of color, undocumented transgender disabled people, or formerly incarcerated disabled people among others. This conference serves as a platform to highlight the multiple oppressions that shape the lived experiences of disabled individuals, as told by disabled people, in a setting organized by disabled activists. DIS aims to create dialogue on how our society must address systemic oppressions using an intersectional approach. [Read more…]
The Obama Foundation Fellowship is a two-year, non-residential program that offers hands-on training, resources, and leadership development to help Fellows scale the impact of their work. Fellows participate in four multi-day gatherings where they collaborate with each other, connect with potential partners, and collectively push their work forward. Throughout the program, each Fellow pursues a personalized plan to leverage the Fellowship experience to take their work to the next level.
A new class of 20 civic innovators is being selected from around the world – transformational leaders who have demonstrated a meaningful impact and are poised to use the two-year Fellowship program to take their work to the next level. The Obama Foundation Fellows are a diverse set of leaders who bring a community-centered approach to science, criminal justice, healthcare, education, the arts, and more. Together they model the powerful truth that each of us has a role to play in civic life. [Read more…]
This Annual Conference Wrap Up is also available in Word.
NCIL’s 2018 Annual Conference on Independent Living was an amazing experience. Over 1,011 people joined us from all over the US, as well as a large contingent from Japan. We want to thank each and every one of you who devoted the time, money, and energy to join us in Washington! Your participation makes the NCIL Conference what it is – the world’s largest Independent Living event and a force to be reckoned with.
NCIL is always a special event – unlike any other conference – but this year’s conference was especially unique. This year’s theme, Mobilize: Resistance through Action, was more than just a catchy title. From day one, we focused on preparing NCIL’s members to take action at the conference and back home. NCIL’s pre-conference sessions, Resistance through Direct Action: How IL and ADAPT Work Together and Integrating Disability Into Emergency Management: A Blueprint to Saving Lives in the Community, were action-oriented and very well presented. The opening plenary featured a rousing speech from Rebecca Vallas from Center for American Progress, who shared her vision for collaboration and action from all oppressed people, to demand their civil and human rights.
NCIL’s 2018 March, Rally, and Day on the Hill, was as lively as ever. The incessant rain didn’t deter hundreds of people with disabilities from marching in the streets and taking their concerns to Congress. Speaking of Congress, we had such a huge turnout at our rally that we had Members of Congress lined up behind the stage to address NCIL members. See below for the details on this year’s Rally – it was one for the books.
We’re proud to announce that we had another huge group of Youth Scholars and young adults participate in this year’s conference. We want to thank all of our Youth Scholars, young participants, and youth scholarship sponsors for investing in NCIL and young advocates. This work has changed the face of NCIL and we have to make sure that it continues.
We were also so excited to have the Laura Flanders show with us this year. The Laura Flanders Show is a popular internet television show focused on social activists, artists, entrepreneurs and other innovative individuals that refuse to wait to make change in the world. “Since 2008, The Laura Flanders Show has reached 3.1 million viewers on YouTube (over 150,000 people every month). The program is syndicated in the US on KCET/LINKtv and Free Speech TV for a combined reach of some 74 million homes, and internationally, in English and Spanish on the pan-Latin American network teleSUR, reaching an additional 180 million homes around the world.” – from www.lauraflanders.org. Laura Flanders was on hand to document the NCIL Conference and interview everyone from NCIL leaders to first time attendees to gather their input on NCIL and the Independent Living Movement. The Laura Flanders show on the NCIL Conference will be available this fall. Stay tuned to NCIL for further details on its release.
There are so many more highlights and details of the conference in the wrap-up. We hope you’ll take the time to read it and look through the photos. If you attended the conference, please take a few moments to tell us about your experience.
We are very happy to announce that all 1,847 pictures from NCIL’s 2018 Annual Conference on Independent Living are now available on Flickr. We apologize that we do not have the capacity or knowledge to caption every picture. If you see a picture of yourself or others you know, please caption it for the benefit of all. This year, we’ve created an album of select (captioned) photos that capture the overall feel of the 2018 Annual Conference. If you would like a specific photo added to this collection, please caption the photo in the comments or email [email protected] with the link and a description. You can comment on photos using a Flickr / Yahoo account. Special thanks to Michael Clegg for his amazing photos and, as always, thanks to our members, who made these photographs what they are: the story of our people gathering in our nation’s Capital to bring about equality and freedom for people with disabilities!
Yet again, this year’s March and Rally was one of the biggest we’ve ever seen! Well over 1,000 NCIL members from across the country along with local disability rights advocates marched through the streets of DC making noise, holding signs, and creating a disturbance in the streets in the name of disability rights! The MCI D45 CRT LE Commuter Coach served as the “chase vehicle” for the March and offered assistance to anyone needing it as we made our way to the Capitol.
After arriving at the US Capitol, Rally participants listened to remarks from over a dozen Members of Congress, including:
Our Rally speakers talked about many of the issues that are important to our community, including protecting Medicaid, preserving access to healthcare, employment rights, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and of course community integration and the Disability Integration Act. Members took the mic and pledged their support for disability rights and the Independent Living community – and three Members even pledged to cosponsor the Disability Integration Act on the stage!
The Independent Living community is facing a lot of threats right now, and the March and Rally was a meaningful opportunity for us to have our voices heard and listen to Members of Congress who want to have our backs. This year’s event was incredibly successful, and it reinforced how strong (and loud) we are together!
Immediately after the Rally, NCIL members stormed the Hill to meet with their elected officials and talk about the key issues we’re fighting for. NCIL members secured even more commitments from new DIA cosponsors, and talked about other key priority issues important to their Members’ disabled constituents and the entire IL community.
The March and Rally and Hill Visits are an exciting and important part of the Annual NCIL Conference, and this year was as successful as ever! Thank you to everyone who made this day a powerful and effective event!
What better way to learn the skills of mobilizing and resistance than staging a direct action protest?
Wednesday morning, a group of approximately 50 advocates left the conference for the Capitol, where ACCSES was holding a briefing on H.R. 5658, the “Workplace Choice and Flexibility for Individuals with Disabilities Act”. ACCSES is an association of sheltered workshops – businesses that make money by segregating and often paying subminimum wages to employees with disabilities. H.R. 5658 is not about choice, nor flexibility. Instead, it would lead to more limited options and more segregation by redefining competitive, integrated employment to include segregated settings. This bill would allow sheltered workshops to continue to keep disabled people in isolated, segregated settings, working for mere pennies while they profit off of our labor – all at taxpayer expense.
We will not stand for this! Advocates disrupted the hearing with chants of “Segregation is not community integration!” We demanded real, competitive, integrated employment. Twenty four people were arrested as the Congressional briefing was completely shut down.
Last year, our community rallied around preventing cuts to Medicaid and protecting the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This year, advancing the Disability Integration Act was a major rallying point, and did we ever rally! We started the week off right.
This year’s theme, Mobilize: Resistance through Action, created a perfect opportunity for NCIL to highlight a new grant project: the National Organizing Project (NOP), a collaboration between NCIL and ADAPT funded by the Ford Foundation. The NOP aims to advance direct action in support of disability rights and community living. An entire half of our afternoon pre-conference was dedicated to “Resistance through Direct Action – How IL and ADAPT Work Together”. The session filled the room with folks who were fired up and ready to take further action in support of both organizations and our partnership.
After our pre-conference session on how CILs can support ADAPT in direct action, we learned about “Organizing and Action to Advance the Disability Integration Act”. We had another packed room with eager participation from the audience.
Next up was our 1,000+ person March and Rally at the Capitol on Tuesday, where 3 of our Congressional speakers – with some prodding from advocates – announced their cosponsorship of the DIA from the podium! Another legislator pledged to get as many others to sign on as she could.
Fired up from these successes, advocates secured pledges of cosponsorship all afternoon as they visited their legislators. One visit brilliantly exemplified our theme of Mobilize: Resistance through Action as two ADAPTers secured another cosponsor by refusing to leave before the Senator signed on – which happened very quickly!
NCIL was thrilled to have the winners of our DIA Art and Essay Contests join us for parts of this year’s conference. The winning writers, Daniel Anderson and Sam Anderson, and the winning artists, Bridget Gabriel and Eli-Robles-Cranston, each received awards during the Annual Awards Luncheon for submitting entries that captured the spirit of community integration and thoughtfully described how the DIA will improve the lives of millions of people with disabilities throughout the US. We were honored to have such passionate young people at the conference to meet with other IL advocates and to talk about how important the DIA is for young disabled advocates all around the country! Additionally, all of the artwork submitted to NCIL was turned into wearable buttons that people wore proudly throughout the conference.
An exciting surprise came Monday morning when the Centene Corporation announced that they formally support the Disability Integration Act, officially becoming the first health insurance company to do so! To wall-shaking applause and chants of “free our people” and “DIA today”, Centene joined forces with their disabled stakeholders to ensure that we can live without fear of unnecessary institutionalization. Kudos to the many advocates within Centene Corp, ADAPT, and NCIL who worked hard to make this a reality, thereby also making our right to freedom that much closer to being realized!
NCIL’s primary business at our 2018 Annual Council Meeting was to elect new members to the Governing Board. The agenda for this year included elections for the following positions: Vice-President, Secretary, Diversity Chairperson, and three new Members at-Large.
There were three new Members at-Large positions available. These are the new Members at-Large:
The Youth at-Large member is elected ahead of the conference by NCIL’s youth members and the results were announced at the Annual Meeting. Eiryn Griest-Schwartzman, a student and advocate from Columbia, Maryland, was elected to serve as the Youth at-Large member.
Regional Representatives rotate elections every other year, with even-numbered regions elected in even-numbered years and odd-numbered regions elected in odd-numbered years. Elections for the Regional Representatives in even-numbered regions were held prior to the conference and announced at the Annual Council Meeting:
Congratulations to all of our new and returning Governing Board members!
On Thursday morning, NCIL hosted a break-out session that made history. “Providing Culturally Competent IL Services in the Orthodox Jewish Community” put this underserved community on the national stage. Sharon Shapiro-Lacks, Executive Director of Yad HaChazakah (www.yadempowers.org) highlighted the unique challenges of doing competent IL work within the Orthodox Jewish Community while NCIL’s own Sheryl Grossman underscored the skills and resources necessary to competently serve Orthodox Jews in secular CIL settings. The session was well-attended and generated much lively discussion online for several days after. This was just one example of NCIL’s attention to being representative of its diverse membership and we hope to continue to see this grow and prosper in the coming years.
Jamey George, Executive Director of The Freedom Center in Frederick, Maryland passed away unexpectedly just two weeks before the NCIL Conference. Jamey was an outstanding advocate and long-time NCIL member who had served on NCIL’s Board and Subcommittees multiple times through the years. Jamey will be missed by so many of us. A special election will be held in Region 3 to elect a new Region 3 Representative after the conference. A photograph of Jamey will be added to NCIL’s Wall of Fame in our office in Washington, DC, which includes all of NCIL’s past Board members that have passed away.
Each year NCIL uses the Awards Banquet to recognize and thank advocates for their outstanding work during the past year. We strive to select and honor individuals that are not often awarded on a national stage. The Awards Banquet is truly a special event and we offer our deepest appreciation for this year’s winners, listed below.
National Advocacy Awards:
Regional Advocacy Awards:
We would like to sincerely thank all our sponsors and exhibitors for the 2018 Annual Conference on Independent Living. We had a record number of exhibitors this year who provided great information to all of our attendees. Many of our exhibitors and sponsors were new to NCIL this year and were absolutely blown away by the amount of passion and energy that the IL Movement can generate! Without the support of our sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers, this conference would not be possible. We hope to see you next year!
Soldier for Justice
Champion
Revolutionary
Mover & Shaker
Activist
Catalyst
Donors: Tracfone Wireless, American Association for Homecare, Shepherd Center, American Association of People with Disabilities, and Yoshiko Dart.
It is with great sadness that we write to inform you of the passing of Roger Frischenmeyer. Roger was an Independent Living Specialist at Prairie Independent Living Resource Center, Inc. (PILR), a NCIL Governing Board Member, Chair of NCIL’s Annual Conference Subcommittee, and a friend and mentor to many. Roger passed away at his home on Saturday, August 11. Read Roger’s complete obituary.
Roger was an Independent Living Specialist at PILR for nearly two decades. During this time, he served on numerous boards, including the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns, the Kansas Disability Caucus, and the Assistive Technology for Kansans Advisory Council. In 2014, Roger won NCIL’s Region VIII Advocacy Award for his outstanding systems advocacy efforts. Chris Owens, Executive Director of PILR, said “Roger believed that everyone has the right to live, love, work and play in the community of our choice, and to that end was quite outspoken. Roger’s passion was working with our youth with disabilities. He wanted them to be proud of being a person with a disability and to be contributing members in the community. Nothing gave him more joy than when a youth he’d mentored came up to him to tell him about becoming employed. His PILR family misses him greatly.” [Read more…]
For Immediate Release
July 22, 2018
Contact: Eleanor Canter, NCIL Communications Coordinator – 231-755-5063 or [email protected]
This Media Advisory is also available in PDF, Word, and plain text.
Washington, DC — On Tuesday, July 24, approximately 1000 people with disabilities, advocates, and allies from across the nation will march to the US Capitol in support of disability rights. Participants will meet at 11th and G Streets NW at 9:30 a.m. and the 1.2 mile March to the Capitol will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. All members of the public and press are encouraged to attend.
Approximately 1000 people march to the US Capitol carrying signs and chanting in support of Independent Living and disability rights in 2017
This event will precede the 28th Anniversary of the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990.
The March route will end at the West Front Lawn of the US Capitol, where participants will gather for an empowering Rally for Disability Rights, which will feature Senators, Representatives, and Independent Living and disability rights advocates. Advocates will then make their way to the US Capitol Building to meet with their elected Members of Congress in order to promote NCIL’s Legislative and Advocacy Priorities, which are developed bi-annually by the organization’s membership.
Some of the priorities advocates will be addressing include funding for America’s Independent Living Program, protecting the ADA from Congressional attack; protecting Medicaid and Home and Community Based Services; and promoting the Disability Integration Act.
Confirmed Rally Speakers include: Senator Bob Casey (D-PA); Senator Duckworth (D-IL); Representative Gene Green (D-TX); Representative Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI); Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH); Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA); Representative Joe Kennedy (D-MA); Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA); Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI); Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA); House Minority Leader Pelosi (D-CA); Representative Stacey Plaskett (D-VI); Senate Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY); Representative Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA); Representative Dina Titus (D-NV); Representative Juan Vargas (D-CA); Senator Van Hollen (D-MD); Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL); and Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX).
The March and Rally for Disability Rights is being organized by the National Council on Independent Living as part of its 2018 Annual Conference on Independent Living, MOBILIZE: Resistance through Action, which will take place July 23-26 at the Grand Hyatt Washington.
The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is the longest-running national cross-disability, grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Founded in 1982, NCIL represents thousands, including: individuals with disabilities, Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs), and other organizations that advocate for the human and civil rights of people with disabilities throughout the United States.
