Disability Rights Advocates

Join DRA in 2025 to celebrate our achievements protecting the #CivilRights of people with #disabilities and to fortify our resolve for the road ahead! This year, DRA is hosting separate celebrations on separate dates in three cities across the country so that we can focus on YOU, our incredible supporters. We want to see you, gather with you, and most of all, #celebrate with you. On Wednesday, September 25th, DRA will host a ticketed cocktail party in Chicago at City Winery – West Loop. On Thursday, November 12th, DRA will party at our NYC Gala at City Winery on the West Side. And stay tuned for details about our San Francisco and virtual celebrations this year! Sponsorship and ticket sales go on sale soon! Image: “Save the Date, 2025 Celebrations. Chicago September 25th, New York November 12th, San Francisco TBD” + DRA logo

LEGAL VICTORY: Patients with mobility #disabilities will soon have improved access to MRI services thanks to a settlement that DRA and Access Living have reached with Preferred Open MRI, a provider of MRI services with seven locations throughout the #Chicago area.   Read the press release: https://lnkd.in/gns2J8M8   As a result of this settlement, Open MRI will implement new policies and practices to ensure its #healthcare services are accessible to patients with mobility disabilities, procure accessible medical equipment, and train its staff to provide transfer assistance.   #DisabilityRights #DisabilityInclusion #HealthEquity Image: "Press Release 04.10.25, Settlement Agreement with Local MRI Provider Improves Access to Healthcare Services for Chicago Residents with Disabilities" + Aerial view of a Chicago neighborhood + Logos for DRA & Access Living

DRA reached a milestone settlement agreement last week with the City of #Baltimore to increase access to the City’s curb ramps and #sidewalks! Check out coverage from Smart Cities Dive: https://lnkd.in/g9W69P5r This settlement is the first big step in resolving claims brought by DRA & Disability Rights Maryland, Dardarian Ho Kan & Lee, and Fox & Robertson on behalf of The IMAGE Center of Maryland and a class of persons with mobility disabilities alleging that the vast majority of curb ramps and sidewalks in Baltimore are not #accessible and therefore violate federal disability rights laws including the ADA. Under the settlement, Baltimore has agreed to the construction and/or remediation of thousands of curb ramps and the remediation of tens of thousands of square feet of sidewalks throughout the city. The settlement also requires Baltimore to ensure ongoing compliance with disability rights laws, to create new programs designed to increase sidewalk accessibility to Baltimore residents and visitors with mobility disabilities, and to improve its 311 system for requests and complaints related to the accessibility of specific intersections and sidewalks. #DisabilityRights #DisabilityInclusion #EqualAccess

Last week DRA & Brown, Goldstein & Levy filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Unified Court System (NYSUCS) on behalf of a blind #Brooklyn resident and the National Federation of the Blind - New York challenging the systemic discrimination against blind individuals who report for #JuryDuty. Check out coverage from CBS News New York: https://lnkd.in/gNHZQxan Among other relief, the lawsuit seeks an order to ensure that NYSUCS take all necessary steps to ensure blind individuals have #EqualAccess to jury service. #DisabilityRights #CivilRights #DisabilityInclusion

LEGAL VICTORY: DRA has reached a milestone settlement agreement with the City of #Baltimore to increase access to the City’s curb ramps and #sidewalks! Read the press release: https://lnkd.in/gFtFvXGU This settlement is the first big step in resolving claims brought by DRA & Disability Rights Maryland, Dardarian Ho Kan & Lee, and Fox & Robertson on behalf of The IMAGE Center of Maryland and a class of persons with mobility disabilities alleging that the vast majority of curb ramps and sidewalks in Baltimore are not #accessible and therefore violate federal disability rights laws including the ADA. Under the settlement, Baltimore has agreed to the construction and/or remediation of thousands of curb ramps and the remediation of tens of thousands of square feet of sidewalks throughout the city. The settlement also requires Baltimore to ensure ongoing compliance with disability rights laws, to create new programs designed to increase sidewalk accessibility to Baltimore residents and visitors with mobility disabilities, and to improve its 311 system for requests and complaints related to the accessibility of specific intersections and sidewalks. #DisabilityRights #DisabilityInclusion #EqualAccess Image: “Press Release 04.03.25. Accessibility Improvements for Pedestrians with Mobility Disabilities Result from Partial Consent Decree with City of Baltimore” + Inaccessible sidewalk in Baltimore (via Google) + Logos for DRA, DHKL, DRM, F&R, & IMAGE Center

Check out HuffPost coverage of the court order that DRA, The Legal Aid Society, and Winston & Strawn LLP secured earlier this month that compels the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to make transparent which provisions of the HALT Act they claim to have suspended in response to the illegal strike by correction staff at prisons across #NewYork. https://lnkd.in/gUpiHjZm The HALT Act prohibits the use of #SolitaryConfinement to punish people with #disabilities and is far too important to be suspended. The article also highlights the report that Legal Aid Society just published about the conditions during the strike: LAS_PrisonersRightsProject_ClientStoriesReport_Final.pdf #DisabilityRights #CriminalLegalSystem Image: HuffPost logo + "How Prison Guards Used An Illegal Strike To Fight Reform. At least 12 incarcerated people died during the three-week strike. By Jessica Schulberg, Mar 28, 2025, 06:00 AM EDT"

Yesterday DRA President & CEO Rebecca Williford and DRA Staff Attorney Jameelah Najieb gave a presentation on #DisabilityRights and #inclusion to a full room at Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP!   DRA's Kate Hamilton and Stephanie Ossesia were there to support them as they discussed the history of the U.S. disability rights movement and laws, the results of ADA impact litigation, #DisabilityPride and culture, and supporting people with disabilities. Image Collage: Image 1 = Rebecca Williford and Jameelah Najieb seated at a desk and speaking into microphones while giving their presentation with information on a screen next to them. Image 2 = Portrait of Rebecca Williford, Kate Hamilton, Jameelah Najieb, and Stephanie Ossesia smiling with a screen behind them that says "Disability Rights & Inclusion."

DRA has a case against Hertz for failing to provide hand controls in most of the types of vehicles they offer for rent. If you have tried to rent a vehicle with hand controls from Hertz, but could not get the type of vehicle you wanted, we want to hear from you! Just fill out this form and we'll get back to you as soon as possible: https://lnkd.in/gcttGQZ8 Read more about the case: https://lnkd.in/ge53wmmG #DisabilityRights #DisabilityInclusion Image: DRA logo + "People Who Need Hand Controls Denied Equal Access to Hertz Rental Cars. DRA has a case against Hertz for failing to provide hand controls in most of the types of vehicles they offer for rent. If you have tried to rent a vehicle with hand controls from Hertz, but could not get the type of vehicle you wanted, we want to hear from you!"

LAWSUIT FILED: Today DRA & Brown, Goldstein & Levy filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Unified Court System (NYSUCS) on behalf of a blind #Brooklyn resident and the National Federation of the Blind - New York challenging the systemic discrimination against blind individuals who report for #JuryDuty.   Among other relief, the lawsuit seeks an order to ensure that NYSUCS take all necessary steps to ensure blind individuals have #EqualAccess to jury service.   Read the press release: https://lnkd.in/g4sKPmyz   Juror service is one of the most important civic duties in a democracy, and in New York, it is a civil right. Federal law requires courts to ensure no person is excluded from jury service on the basis of their disability. This unlawful exclusion not only deprives blind individuals of the honor and duty of jury service, it also deprives those facing criminal charges a grand jury composed of a fair cross-section of New Yorkers.   #DisabilityRights #CivilRights #DisabilityInclusion Image: "Press Release 03.25.25, Lawsuit Alleges That New York Courts Systemically Discriminate Against Blind Jurors in Grand Jury System. Brooklyn Resident Sues for Illegal Exclusion From Grand Jury Participation Due to Blindness" + Outside view of a courthouse with columns + Logos for DRA, BGL & NFBNY

Today wraps up another impactful National Federation of the Blind Jacobus #tenBroek Disability Law Symposium where DRA was honored to give a presentation on "Advancing Disability Rights through Impact Litigation." The symposium theme for 2025 is "Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law: Protecting Our Right to Live in the World" which is something we should all be invested in. Let's keep up the energy as we all continue to fight for #DisabilityRights in 2025 and beyond! DRA attorneys that attended the conference include Rosa Lee Bichell, Victoria Pilger, Emily Roznowski, Rachel Weisberg, Rebecca Williford, and Thomas Zito. Image Collage: Image 1 and 2 = Six DRA staff members posing together at the 2025 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, Image 3 = Three DRA staff members sitting at a panel during their presentation while an ASL interpreter translates