National Coalition on Disability Rights (NCDR)

Community Engagement Project

Authored by Ari Ne’eman

American Civil Rights movements have long understood the importance of grassroots
organizing. The establishment of the Americans with Disabilities Act was the culmination
of a widespread grassroots effort as were other disability rights successes. As the
disability community moves into the 21st century and faces new challenges and an
environment where grassroots activism is an accepted and widely used means of lobbying
for public policy change, it is important that we engage in effective infrastructure
building in order to have the ability to mobilize the disability community to respond to
threats at the local level and to utilize local resources for national-level advocacy. In
doing this, the disability community should look to other communities and their success
in organizing to pursue their interests in public policy and social change. With that in
mind, the National Coalition on Disability Rights is launching a new project for
community engagement with the goal of developing resources for local and national
disability rights activists.

NCDR shall seek to establish disability rights cadres consisting of representatives from
pro-disability rights (DR) organizations and community activists representing different
constituencies that are part of or are engaged in supporting the disability community. The
mission of these cadres shall be to monitor local issues relating to the rights of people
with disabilities and to maintain relationships with local pro-DR organizations and
individuals with the intent of mobilizing these constituencies for advocacy purposes.
NCDR cadres will consist of approximately 5-15 people and will meet on a monthly
basis. They will work to be broadly representative of the disability community while still
maintaining a small, effective, advocacy-oriented atmosphere of individuals who share
the same goals and vision.

NCDR will maintain regular communication with its local cadres and inform them
through a monthly newsletter of the disability community’s legislative priorities. NCDR’s
Washington, DC office can serve as a means of communicating local concerns to national
policymakers in the context of NCDR’s federal advocacy. At the same time, local cadre
activities can act to show the strength of the pro-DR position within individual
congressional districts, thus improving the ability of NCDR to reach new legislators and
maintain the support of currently pro-DR legislators. Furthermore, NCDR’s DC office
will work with each cadre to develop best practices for activism, community organizing,
public policy and social change advocacy and other important activities that benefit the
disability community.

Cadre activities will include the following:

• Community Networking: The local NCDR cadre should serve as a means by

which self-advocates, service-providers, family members and other allies who
share the pro-DR perspective can connect and coordinate their efforts. Frequently,
there exists a disconnect between the various stakeholders advocating for similar
 pro-DR goals within a community. NCDR cadre meetings will offer an
opportunity for coalition building between individual activists and organizations
from a wide variety of backgrounds, as well as professional and service-delivery
entities such as Centers on Independent Living and local provider organizations.

• Public Policy Advocacy: By bringing together advocates from a variety of

backgrounds, NCDR cadre meetings will offer a chance for coordinated action to
address issues of de-institutionalization, self-advocate representation, housing and
employment supports, ADA compliance and enforcement, transportation
accessibility of public buildings, state and municipal laws that do not yet
recognize the needs of the disability community and many other issues. NCDR
cadres will be able to share best practices and discuss common goals while
bringing together the resources and perspectives of the broadest possible pro-DR
coalition.

• Resource Development: Each cadre will be well positioned to assess the needs of
the local disability community and identify gaps in the legal, financial, service-
delivery and cultural infrastructures that serve people with disabilities in their
area. Cadre members will seek to fill those gaps through public policy advocacy
and/or infrastructure and capacity building with the private and non-profit sectors.
By engaging in these activities, individual communities can be brought closer to
the disability community’s vision of an accessible, fully inclusive society.

• Media Outreach: One of the greatest difficulties that activists run across is
finding a way to get positive coverage in the media. For disability rights activists,
this issue is all the more poignant in that even ostensibly positive media coverage
can be counterproductive if reporters are unfamiliar with the terminology and
history of the disability community. NCDR cadres will work to form relationships
with local, state and regional press with the aim of educating reporters and editors
about the perspectives, priorities and realities of the disability community. By
engaging in these activities, substantial improvements can be made in how
disability issues are covered in the mainstream media.

• Social Change: One of the priorities for the disability community has always
been working to change public perception and attitudes towards disability. This
goal cannot be achieved through government intervention, but only by creating
strong partnerships with local community organizations, businesses, cultural
groups and religious leaders. NCDR cadres will serve as a coordinating body for
mobilizing advocates to engage in such social change work effectively.

• Legislative Relations: On issues ranging from the Community Choice Act to the
appointment of federal judges supportive of the ADA and other federal laws
supporting the removal of obstacles to the full inclusion of people with
disabilities, federal advocacy is extremely important to the pro-DR community.
The creation of local cadres that can speak as constituents of individual Senators
and Representatives will serve as a valuable tool in federal lobbying efforts. In
 addition, cadres will be encouraged to form a relationship with their
representative’s local office for constituent relations and both Democratic and
Republican party organizations, so as to encourage and maintain the rising pro-
DR consensus in American political life.

• Rapid Response: Recent incidents like the Ashley X case, the NYU Child Study
Center’s Ransom Notes campaign and other attacks against the emerging pro-DR
consensus show the need for a disability community that can rapidly mobilize at
both the national and the local levels. By training NCDR cadres in the above skill
areas, the disability community will have local advocates that will be able to
mobilize in response to potential and existing threats. Furthermore, the existence
of advocates on these issues that come from the communities where the problems
are arising will add to the legitimacy of advocacy on these matters.