The National Council on Independent Living thanks you for your generous donations on #GivingTuesday! Your gift will support NCIL’s mission to advance independent living and the rights of people with disabilities. With your help, we will create a world in which people with disabilities are valued equally and participate fully.

If you missed the opportunity on #GivingTuesday, it’s not too late.

Make a year-end gift today:

• Make a donation

It is with great sadness that we write to inform you of the passing of Kent Mickelson, a longtime NCIL Board member and CIL director who passed away on December 1, 2016. Kent was a passionate advocate who spent his life fighting for the civil and human rights of the disability community. The disability rights movement has lost a strong and passionate advocate and friend.

Kent was a tireless advocate for over three decades. He served as the Executive Director of several Centers for Independent Living, including the Disability Resource Agency for Independent Living (DRAIL) and the Center for Independence of People with Disabilities (CID) in California, and most recently, the Alliance of People with disAbilities in Washington state. Sheri Burns, fellow Californian and NCIL Region IX Representative, described Kent as “a humorously bombastic and friendly guy who was extremely passionate about IL and lit up a room with his laugh and funny stories.”

Kent was a dedicated advocate, serving on several NCIL, state, and national committees. He served on NCIL’s Board of Directors 1997-2003 and 2009-2011. He served on NCIL’s Rehabilitation Act Subcommittee (1990-2010) and was a contributor to the changes in the Rehab Act that were passed in WIOA. Kent contributed to our community in countless ways, and he was also a close and personal friend to many. Kelly Buckland, Executive Director of NCIL and longtime friend of Kent, said “I considered Kent a dear friend and a really effective advocate. We will miss him greatly.” As a previous Board member and leader within NCIL, Kent’s picture will be added to NCIL’s Wall of Fame here in the office.

Kent will be missed dearly by the whole NCIL community, and we would like to express our condolences to Kent’s family and friends during this difficult time.

Today, the National Council on Independent Living’s Diversity Committee releases “We Can’t Breathe: The Deaf & Disabled Margin of Police Brutality Project.” This project includes a video and toolkit that can be utilized for educational training for disability organizations and agencies. The video discusses the narratives of 5 people with disabilities on the margins that have been victimized by police brutality and other forms of systemic violence. The We Can’t Breathe Toolkit was designed to equip disability organizations, agencies, and community members with the tools to process the video and build policies, programming, and advocacy that center intersectional organizing. The project addresses how state violence affects people with disabilities who are also women, people of color, and LGBTQ+. This training intentionally utilizes an intersectional framework to combat the racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia that pervade disability organizations and agencies.

In conjunction with the release of the We Can’t Breathe Project, there will also be a Facebook and Twitter chat this evening, November 30th from 7pm – 8pm EST. Anyone can participate in these conversations through the Facebook event page and/or NCIL’s Twitter page. For more information contact Keri Gray ([email protected]) or Dustin Gibson ([email protected]).

Full Toolkit | Facebook | Twitter | Video

#GivingTuesday is a national movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give. The #GivingTuesday effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners – non-profits, families, businesses and individuals – to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. This year’s #GivingTuesday falls on November 29, 2016, and NCIL has partnered with #GivingTuesday in order to draw attention to and raise funds for the important work of making independent living a reality in our communities.

The work NCIL does has always been important, but your donation this year is more critical than ever. In the upcoming year we are prepared to face further attacks on the ADA, renewed efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, attempts to block-grant Medicaid, and other potentially dangerous attacks on the needs of our community.  NCIL will continue to fight for the human and civil rights of all people with all disabilities, but we need your continued support.

Your donation to NCIL in honor of #GivingTuesday will help us to protect our reputation as the strongest grassroots cross-disability organization in the nation’s capital. Our small staff works diligently to represent CILs, SILCs, and people with disabilities on a shoestring budget, and we are still operating with advocacy positions unfilled due to budget constraints. In order to ensure that our policy staff can be on the forefront of our community’s input is heard, we need your help!

• Make a donation to NCIL

“#GivingTuesday is a counter narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. “The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends and neighbors is the commitment to work together to help build a better world.”

About NCIL

The National Council on Independent Living is the longest-running national cross-disability, grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Founded in 1982, NCIL represents thousands of organizations and individuals 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.  [Read more…]

Following a truly historic election, we find ourselves facing an unknown future. Despite a great deal of speculation, we know very little about President Elect Trump’s intentions toward our community. What we do know is that the important issues that concerned us prior to the election are still there. In the coming months, there will be many attempts to dissect this election. There will also be efforts made to work with the Republican White House and Congress. What we cannot do is abandon our core values including recognition of the diverse and intersectional nature of our community. Doing so would divide and weaken us.

The disability community has grown stronger this election cycle. We are better organized; we have built thicker networks with strong alliances. Social media campaigns like #RevUp & #CripTheVote have mobilized many who have not traditionally participated in disability activism/advocacy. We have done all of this by embracing our diversity and by working with other justice movements, not against them. While some might be tempted, it would be reckless to take a path of chasing power at the expense of the erasure of so many in our community. We cannot go back to that all too recent past in which we thoroughly ignored and excluded the voices of disabled people who belong to multiple communities. Disabled people of color and Disabled LGBTQIA people are not tangential parts of our community; they are us.

Disabled people live in every corner of our society and for our work to have any meaning it must represent all of our interests. There is no victory in clawing for a smaller piece of a diminishing pie. We must continue to fight for the constitutional and civil rights of ALL disabled people.  Beyond that, we must fight for justice for all. We cannot for one second forget that our diversity is our strength, and unity is essential to our cause.  [Read more…]

By Emily Ladau

The writing that flows from the disability community has long been a well from which I’ve drawn strength and power. When I speak out, the words of other disabled writers remind me I am not alone. And when my voice falters, I turn to those who have found within themselves the words to articulate what I struggle to say. It is this sense of solidarity, this feeling of being understood, that I hope to foster through my new role as Editor in Chief of the Rooted in Rights Blog.

But I don’t want anyone to get too comfortable, either. I believe in challenging the status quo and pushing readers and writers alike to think beyond the tired tropes of disability. This blog won’t be the place to come for those in search of their daily inspirational fix. Nor will it be a place for people to recount empty tales of woe. The pieces published on the Rooted in Rights Blog will be rooted in disability rights. I’m looking for writers who will share compelling stories and crucial facts that shine a bright spotlight on disability rights issues in all areas of life: inclusive employment, accessible housing and transportation, affordable healthcare, criminal justice reform… the list goes on.

The experiences of disabled people and the issues we encounter do not occur in a vacuum. Disability is but one aspect of the human experience, and it intersects with all other experiences and identities. All too often, the disability community and society as a whole fail to recognize this, especially in regard to the experiences of people with multiple marginalized identities. As such, one of my top priorities in managing the Rooted in Rights Blog is ensuring strong intersectional representation. Read more at Rooted in Rights.

• Submit your pitch online

Recent blog posts from Rooted in Rights:

• Autism and Homelessness: The Real Crisis
• The Public Health Statistic that Fails Disabled People
• This Year, I Have a Reason to Celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month
• How Workplaces Discriminate Against People of Multiple Marginalized Identities

The daily management and potential expansion of our disability programs is difficult work. We know first-hand the delicate balance between dreaming big and budget realities. We’re all committed to exemplary access and accommodations, but we also know that they can be difficult to afford. If your organization could use some practical tips and resources to engage new people, fundraise, and provide exemplary accessibility without breaking the bank, this workshop series is perfect for you.

NCIL, with support provided by The HSC Foundation, will hold four one-hour webinars on topics recommended by members of the Youth Transitions Collaborative. These are the day-to-day issues non-profits conducting youth and disability work struggle with daily.

The entire series is free-of-charge, but each call is limited to 100 participants. Registration will be closed when capacity is reached. Register online.

Access & Accommodations
Thursday, November 10, 2016; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

Youth Outreach & Engagement
Tuesday, November 29, 2016; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

Fundraising & Development
Thursday, December 1, 2016; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

Communications & Social Media
Thursday, December 8, 2016; 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST

Target Audience:

• Youth Transitions Collaborative members and other non-profits working with youth and young people with disabilities.

[Read more…]